Chapter 104- First time in my life

Arabella Toussaint:

Lucien decided to drive himself, and I sat in the passenger seat beside him. It was only after we left the palace that I realized something. I had never sat beside him in a car before.

I glanced at him. He had one hand on the steering wheel, and his eyes were fixed on the road. He hadn’t said much since we left, and I was too tired to start a conversation.

What a day!

First, I had gone back to Blackthorn after three years. And just when I thought I could finally sit down and eat in peace, I found out my father and Vikki had somehow been standing in the same place for hours.

How was that even possible?

I leaned my head back against the seat and stared outside. We were getting farther away from the royal border, and the road ahead was becoming familiar. I really didn’t want to visit Blackthorn pack again.

Then another thought entered my head. What if there was nothing wrong with my father and Vikki?

My brows pulled together as I sat up a little straighter. They hated me, especially after what happened today. What if Alpha Chris had only made that call because they wanted me back at Blackthorn?

What if they were planning to kill me? To kill us? My heart jumped at the thought.

I immediately turned toward Lucien. "You shouldn’t have come." He glanced at me briefly before looking back at the road, clearly waiting for me to explain.

"What if this is a trap?" I asked. Now that I had thought about it, the idea didn’t seem completely impossible. "Maybe they made up the whole thing just to get me back there. And if they’re planning to hurt me, they might try to hurt you too."

I expected him to at least consider it. Instead, a sarcastic smirk crossed his face. "So now you’re worried about me?" There was something strange about the way he said it, almost as if my concern annoyed him instead of making him happy. "That’s new."

I frowned at him. What was that supposed to mean? Why was he behaving this way? Okay, I escaped the palace without telling His Highness, so what? He was the one who was adamant about not taking back his mark.

"I was only warning you." I rolled my eyes and turned toward the window again. "But apparently His Majesty doesn’t need anyone worrying about him," I muttered under my breath.

He was Lucien Volkov... a man too full of himself. But that wasn’t even what bothered me. It was the way he had said it, like I was his worst enemy.

I looked at him again, but his face had already gone blank as he continued driving. Ever since I had returned, he was talking in riddles and expecting me to somehow understand them.

I didn’t know what had gotten into him, and I was too tired to figure it out. I sank farther into my seat and yawned loudly. Goddess. I was tired and wanted to sleep.

If Blackthorn had really set a trap for us, they were about to learn that doing so while an already pissed-off Lycan King was standing beside me was a terrible idea. I thought, with a smile.

The moment we got out of the car, I headed toward the packhouse without looking back. "Arabella." Lucien’s clipped voice stopped me after barely two steps.

I turned around and found him closing the car door. "What?"

"Come here. Stay with me." I stared at him for a second before walking back to his side.

Did he think something was going to happen to me? Or was this his way of showing everyone that despite whatever problem he had with me, he still cared?

I almost looked at him again but stopped myself. No. I was not going to start making up meanings behind every little thing he did.

Alpha Chris was already waiting for us at the entrance with Luna Ava. Neither of them wasted time with greetings. They quickly led us through the packhouse and toward the same room where I had left my family earlier.

The moment I stepped inside, I stopped dead in my tracks. Oh, Goddess. For a few seconds, I honestly couldn’t decide whether I should laugh or be worried.

Alpha Chris didn’t lie. My father and Vikki stood in the exact positions I remembered leaving them in. For hours?

How?

I slowly walked toward my father and waved my hand in front of his face. His eyes immediately followed it. Okay. So, his eyes were working.

"Beta Rick?" He blinked rapidly, and the anger I usually saw on his face was gone. Instead, he was looking at me with wide, pleading eyes.

I moved closer and touched his arm. His body was stiff. He could see me, hear me, and even blink. Yet he couldn’t move a single part of his body.

"This ... I don’t know..." I pressed my lips together. No. Definitely not funny. Well, maybe a tiny bit. My father’s eyes suddenly shifted away from me. So did Vikki’s.

I followed their gaze and found Lucien standing right beside me. The change in their expressions was instant.

Real fear.

Before I could ask what was going on, Alpha Chris spoke from behind us.

"What have you done?" His accusing voice made me turn. He looked from my parents to me as if I had deliberately walked in here earlier and turned them into statues.

"I didn’t do anything, Alpha."

"They have been like this since you left." Luna Ava stood beside her husband, looking just as worried. "Not one of them has been able to move."

"How am I supposed to know why?" I looked back at my father. "They were perfectly fine when I left."

Alpha Chris’s expression tightened. "When you came here today, you should have remembered that they are still your elders. Whatever happened in the past, you should have shown them some respect instead of..."

A low growl rolled through the room, and every word died on Alpha Chris’s tongue. I froze too.

Lucien.

For a moment, I had actually forgotten he was standing there.

"Watch how you speak to her." His voice was quiet, but somehow I heard the threat in it. Everyone must have.

The man who had been driving beside me a few minutes ago was gone. Lucien’s golden eyes were fixed on Alpha Chris, and there was something so cold in his expression that even I didn’t want to interrupt him.

"You will not stand in front of me and blame her for defending herself after what was done to her in this pack." He took one slow step forward, and Alpha Chris visibly stiffened. "Speak to her like that again, and being unable to move will be the least of anyone’s problems."

No one said a word.

Lucien’s gaze moved over Alpha Chris and Luna Ava before settling on my parents. "If any of you threaten her again, I will tear this place apart until there is nothing left for anyone to find."

My mouth slowly fell open. Even my father’s eyes had widened, while Alpha and Luna had gone pale. Judging by their faces, they had understood every single word.

And then there was me. Standing right beside the Lycan King while he threatened to destroy everyone in the room for speaking badly to me.

This was the first time in my life someone was standing between me and my family instead of leaving me to face them alone.