Defying the Rogue Alpha
Chapter 143: Bloodshot

Chapter 143: Bloodshot

He stepped closer, his eyes bloodshot, but burning.

"Our mates!" he said, gesturing to Dennis. "You ask me to be patient?"

Dennis took a shaky breath, stepping up beside his brother.

"I only mean," Eryx said quickly, raising his hands as if warding off a supernatural slap, "that we need proper planning before we leave. We cannot march blindly into the North. The Alpha King now has the Daughter of the Moon and the artefact to activate her powers."

Lucas laughed. "And I have two weeks before the next full moon. That’s the window before that bastard turns my mate into a weapon and unleashes. But sure, let’s wait a few days, maybe bake some cookies while we’re at it."

"I understand," Eryx said softly, cowed.

Lucas and Dennis didn’t wait for permission to leave. They were already out the door before the next excuse could form.

As they walked through the corridors of the council building, Dennis leaned in close.

"Something’s off, Lucas," he muttered. "The Councilmen. They’re afraid. I saw it in their eyes."

Lucas’s gaze was ahead, laser-focused, but his mind spun with the implication. "I don’t care if they give us an army or not," he growled. "I’m getting Ava and Zoe back. If I have to march there alone, I will."

He had barely finished speaking when he heard a strange gasp behind him.

He turned on instinct, already shifting halfway to wolf.

Dennis staggered, eyes wide, one hand clutching his neck. He pulled something out slowly, a black-feathered dart.

For a moment, they both just stared at it.

Lucas’s stomach dropped to the floor. "Dennis?"

"It’s a silver tranquiliser."

Dennis, despite the wooziness clouding his vision, tilted his head slowly to the side, spotting the source. A man stood at the far end of the hallway holding a dart gun.

Both brothers turned simultaneously, eyes narrowing in unison.

Lucas’s body exploded with rage. His eyes glowed, claws extended, every step forward shaking the floor.

The marksman’s confidence visibly wavered. He fumbled to reload. Click. Shot one—missed. Click. Shot two—missed. Lucas ducked effortlessly, snarling. Click. Shot three—missed again.

The man’s hands shook now, and in his panic, he closed one eye and squeezed the trigger.

The fourth dart hit its mark.

Straight into Lucas’s arm.

He staggered mid-step, faltered for the first time. A silver tranquilizer. Fast-acting. Brutal.

Lucas hissed as he yanked the dart out, his claws beginning to fade, strength draining from him. But he didn’t stop. Oh no. He kept marching forward.

When he reached the man, Lucas barely raised his arm, but the punch was legendary. A bone-crunching, cartilage-shattering uppercut that sent the dart-gunner flying backward.

Lucas turned sluggishly to find Dennis already collapsed. His limbs splayed.

The councilmen stepped out from the conference room.

Lucas fell to one knee. His vision blurred. "Why...?" he rasped. It came out barely louder than a whisper.

Thorne stepped forward. His hands were clasped in front of him. "We cannot risk the anger of the Alpha King now that he has your Luna," he said solemnly.

Lucas blinked. His lips trembled. "You... cowards."

His knees gave in.

Eryx bent down beside him, lowering his voice. "I’m sorry, Lucas."

*****

Dennis awoke with a gasp.

His head throbbed. His limbs ached. He blinked a few times until the room came into view.

Thick, silver-imbued chains anchored to the wall beside him.

He let out a groan and glanced across the room, spotting Lucas unconscious, chained to the opposite wall but lying on a surprisingly plush bed. They’d been taken down but gifted hotel-level bedding?

Dennis let his head fall back onto his pillow. "Well, at least they didn’t skimp on comfort," he muttered.

But the humor was fleeting.

His mind, despite the headache, dared to drift—to Zoe.

Her laugh. Her sharp tongue. The way she kissed him.

Was she still alive?

Was she in pain?

He looked at Lucas again. His brother’s chest rose and fell slowly, his face turned toward the wall.

He regretted every goddamned second he had wasted.

Every minute he’d spent second-guessing the timing, every day he held back instead of moving forward with Zoe. He should have proposed the moment he laid eyes on her. Should’ve married her by the next sunrise. Should’ve marked her so deeply she’d glow in the dark. But no. He had been careful. Thoughtful. Respectful of her time and choices.

Now look where that got him.

His chest burned with the what-ifs. What if she died? What if she never came back? What would he do with himself? Would he even survive it?

Was this... was this what Lucas had felt when he lost Mara?

The thought struck him. Goddess, was he going to lose Ava too?

Dennis groaned, stood up, and kicked at the side of Lucas’s bed with just enough force to cause pain but not break a toe. "Get up," he snapped.

Lucas jolted upright. His eyes were wild, bloodshot. He looked around the room in confusion before everything hit him.

"Sons of bitches!" he roared, yanking at the silver chains binding his wrists. The metal hissed against his skin, smoke rising from the burn as he punched the wall with his free hand. His head dropped as his body slumped forward, and suddenly, he wasn’t the powerful Alpha anymore. He was just a man.

"I can’t..." Lucas whispered, barely audible. "Dennis, I can’t lose her. Goddess... I can’t! Fuck!"

He yanked at the chain again. And again. And again. He didn’t care if it ripped his flesh off—he wanted out. He needed to tear apart the world until she was safe in his arms again.

"Lucas!" Dennis snapped, trying to be the solid rock his brother clearly could not be right now. "Calm down. We’ll get out of here."

Lucas wheezed out a bitter laugh. "How?! You know, with the amount of silver being casually passed around lately, I’m beginning to wonder if it was ever actually banned or if that was just some farce to stop me from using it myself."

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