Shadows of the pack novel Chapter 34

You are a really slow healer."
Aria raised her head, her eyes narrowing as she directed a sharp glare at Lucas. His words stung, hitting a nerve she hadn't realized was so raw. "That wasn't obvious," she retorted, her voice laced with sarcasm. "Thank you for pointing out the obvious, Captain Obvious."
Lucas shook his head, his expression a mixture of exasperation and annoyance. "Do you have to be so aggressive all the time? You're exactly like Maria."
Aria blinked, taken aback by the mention of her mother's name. "You knew my mother that well?" she asked, her voice softer now, tinged with curiosity and a hint of longing.
Lucas clicked his tongue disapprovingly, his gaze meeting hers as he spoke. "Unfortunately, yes."He turned to look into her eyes, "Gabriel never talked about her after she died, did he?"
Her lack of response told him everything he needed to know. "Of course he didn't," Lucas muttered bitterly, referring to Gabriel. "My brother has always taken the cowardly way out."
The glare returned to Aria's face, her eyes ablaze with defiance. "Stop calling him a coward," she snapped, her voice laced with a mixture of anger and protectiveness. "My father was the bravest wolf I knew."
Lucas chuckled wryly, the sound tinged with bitterness. "That's where you're wrong, dear Aria. I could have taken Silvercrest and made it greater, expanded its lands, but Gabriel refused to stand with me. What did he do instead? He sold me out to our father."
"You deserved it," Aria shot back, her voice filled with conviction. "What kind of son would want to kill his father for power? And when you say 'expand its land,' you mean forcefully claiming lands around you. That is wrong."
Lucas laughed, but there was no mirth in his voice. "I was never going to be Alpha, even though I was the older twin. The title would have fallen to Gabriel. It was my birthright, not his."
"It doesn't matter," Aria said, her voice tinged with sadness. "Killing for power only makes you a bad person."
Lucas stood up, his gaze cold and distant. "You're a small-minded wolf, Aria," he spat, his voice dripping with disdain. "You would never understand."
As Lucas turned to leave, Aria's desperation overcame her. "You're going to leave me alone again?" she called out, her voice laced with a mix of hurt and frustration. "Where have you been going for the past three weeks? And why did it take you so long to return? You could have always come back to challenge my father if you wanted to be Alpha so badly."
Lucas paused, his back still turned to her. He slowly pivoted, meeting her gaze with a complex mixture of emotions. "How do you know how long it's been?" he asked, genuine curiosity shining in his eyes.
"I've been counting," Aria replied. "Counting how many times the moon has risen in the sky."
Lucas's gaze traveled upward, towards the darkening mark on her wrist. His expression softened with concern. "How loud are the whispers in your head getting?" he inquired gently, his voice tinged with sympathy.
Surprised by his knowledge of her inner turmoil, Aria's eyes widened in astonishment. "How do you know about the whispers?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
Lucas sat down next to her on a fallen tree log, the weight of his presence palpable. His eyes were filled with a mix of understanding and sorrow as he met her gaze. "Did your father ever tell you why I was banished?" he asked,
"No," Aria replied, shaking her head. "Lilian told me what happened, but she never went into the full story."
A flicker of recognition crossed Lucas' face at the mention of Lilian's name. A bittersweet smile touched his lips for a fleeting moment. "Lilian," he murmured, as if savoring the sound of the name. Then, refocusing on Aria, he continued, "I'm guessing she never told you the complete truth, if your eyes are still clouded with ignorance."
Aria's brow furrowed, a mixture of confusion and curiosity washing over her. "What are you talking about?" she asked, her voice laden with anticipation.
Lucas lifted his gaze to the darkening sky, his eyes tracing the path of the sun as it gradually disappeared beyond the horizon. "How long would you say we have until the moon rises again?" he asked, his tone measured and calm.
Glancing at the sky, Aria estimated the time remaining. "A few hours, perhaps," she replied, her voice filled with curiosity. "But why does it matter?"
Lucas cleared his throat as he began.
Aria's silver gray eyes shimmered with curiosity, her features etched with anticipation as she awaited Lucas's account. It was a moment suspended in time, where the world held its breath, eager to bear witness to the untangling of a complex web of secrets.
With a furrowed brow, Lucas began to recount the events that had unraveled their lives. "Gabriel came to me the night before the coup," he began, "He questioned whether I still intended to proceed with our plans, even though they were already set in motion. The truth was, I had become trapped within a tide of events, unable to halt their relentless advance."
 His gaze shifted to the distant horizon, as if he could still see the outlines of his past etched against the canvas of the sky.
"There was a peculiar silence that night," Lucas continued, his voice laced with a blend of nostalgia. "As I entered my father's study, an eerie hush settled upon the room, punctuated only by the distant howl of a lone wolf. I knew deep down that the outcome would not favor me. The air itself seemed to thicken, pregnant with the tension of unspoken words."
Aria leaned in closer, captivated by the tale unfolding before her. The gentle breeze rustled her raven-black hair, lending an air of mystique to the scene, as if the very elements conspired to amplify the weight of Lucas's words.
"My father's voice was cold and unforgiving," Lucas continued, his voice laden with emotion. "He informed me that I would never ascend to the Alpha position, denying me the birthright that was rightfully mine. In that moment, the whispers in my head grew louder at that point, hungry for power, hungry for the blood of the wolf who didn't deem us worthy enough."
Aria's brow furrowed, surprise etched upon her features. "The whispers," she whispered, her voice barely audible.
Lucas's sad smile flickered across his face like a shadow passing over the moon. The weight of his words hung heavy in the air, casting a somber aura around the clearing. Aria's eyes widened as they searched for answers within Lucas's haunted gaze. The soft rustle of leaves carried a hint of anticipation, as if the very forest held its breath, eager to unravel the mysteries that had entwined their lives.
Gently, Aria reached out a hand, her fingers trembling with a mix of curiosity and trepidation. "How did the Shadowbane Crystal work on you?" she inquired, her voice a mere whisper that blended with the rustling breeze. Lucas's response came not in words but in actions that revealed a hidden secret.
With deliberate movements, Lucas unfastened the buttons of his shirt, baring his chiseled chest to the moonlight. . As Aria's eyes fell upon his exposed abdomen, she gasped at the sight that lay beneath the fabric—a mark, the same mark she carried in her wrist, the mark of the moon goddess.
Aria's confusion deepened, her mind reeling with questions. "How is this possible?" she whispered, her voice laden with wonder and disbelief. "How could no one have known about this mark, about the Crystal? And how are you still alive, even now that I am wearing it?"
Lucas's laughter danced through the clearing, a bittersweet melody that echoed off the trees. "Patience, Aria," he said, his voice tinged with a mixture of amusement and sorrow. "There is still more to my tale, and all your questions shall be answered."
He continued, recounting the haunting events that unfolded that fateful night. The air grew heavy with the weight of his words as he spoke of passing Gabriel's room and overhearing a heated argument between him and Aria's mother.
"And then," Lucas continued, his voice tinged with remorse, "I encountered Lilian and her pup. Her eyes held a mix of sadness and accusation as she cast me a dirty look before disappearing into the shadows. I never understood the meaning behind that glance, but it has haunted me ever since."
Aria's heart ached with the weight of the revelations, each piece of the puzzle falling into place. She listened intently as Lucas described the ill-fated encounter with Seraphina's mother, the tragic consequences that stained his hands with blood. The image of Seraphina's lifeless body, cradled by the fallen wolf, sent shivers down Aria's spine.
"I went straight to my room, where Seraphina's mother lay heavily pregnant with our pup. We were not mates, neither did we ever want to be mated, it was a single night of giving into our wolves desires. I went to bed that night and the next morning I woke up in the middle of the woods covered in blood and next to me lay the lifeless body of the wolf carrying my pup, underneath her was—"
"Seraphina." Aria whispered.
Lucas nodded, "I have tried so hard to remember what happened that night but it amounted to nothing. I took Seraphina back to the pack and Lilian took her from me. I looked at my hands, I had killed someone that was supposed to be family, and I knew I had to stop before it was too late. I went to Alpha Ryan to tell him it was off and by the time I returned, Gabriel had told my father of my plans."
"My pleas fell on deaf ears," Lucas continued, his voice heavy with regret. I was banished, cast out into the night, stripped of my heritage and any hope for redemption."
"The Crystal was given to me by my father", he confessed, his words laced with bitterness. "He claimed it would help me control my powers, the very powers he had forced me to conceal from the world. I was the marked wolf, hidden in plain sight, a secret known only to him. But now I wonder if he truly understood the Crystal's true capabilities, if he had ulterior motives for placing it upon me."
Aria's brows furrowed, her mind awash with a maelstrom of emotions. The revelation of her own connection to the Crystal and its dark allure sent a chill coursing through her veins. "But how did you manage to remove it?" she asked, her voice trembling with a mix of fear and curiosity.
Lucas's eyes held a glimmer of both resignation and defiance as he met Aria's gaze. "The Crystal thrives on the darkness within you," he explained. "It amplifies those darkest desires and the voices that feed upon them. The more you resist, the more they push back, consuming your very being. I reached a point where I realized that fighting against them was futile. So, I made a choice. I embraced the darkness, delved into its depths, and spent years mastering the powers it offered."
In a display of raw power, bones cracked and shifted beneath Lucas's skin, his body transforming into that of a majestic wolf. Aria's breath caught in her throat as she beheld the creature before her. It stood tall on its forelegs, its fur radiating an inky darkness that seemed to swirl with an ethereal smoke. Its eyes burned with an intensity that pierced through the inking sky.
But just as swiftly as the transformation occurred, Lucas shifted back into his human form, his eyes weary and filled with a haunting knowledge. "The darkness has much to offer, Aria," he murmured, his voice tinged with both caution and longing. "You have yet to tap into the immense power that resides within you. The Crystal, once it has consumed all the light it can corrupt, will release its hold. Your destiny awaits, and all you have to do is surrender to its embrace."
The voices within Aria's mind surged forward, their clamor growing louder, urging her to yield to the seductive call of power. Conflicting emotions battled within her, the fear of losing herself to the darkness warring with the yearning for the strength to protect those she cared for. Her hands trembled, reaching out as if to grasp the elusive power that lay just beyond her reach.
"Stop it." Aria screamed.
"You and I are so much alike. It wasn't until I looked into your eyes that I understood the look Lilian gave me that night. It is not something I am proud of but in a moment of weakness, Maria and I lay together."
Aria froze as he continued, "I guess the moon goddess was trying to right her wrong by marking you when you were born. I have watched you Aria, so many qualities we share. I didn't understand why my brother sold me out to our father all of a sudden, then their argument replayed in my head and then I finally understood when I saw you—"
He stopped as she did the exact thing he was about to say.
Aria raised her hand, untangling her hair, a move Lucas copied and then it hit her, she froze knowing Lucas' next words would change everything as she knew it.
"I am your father Aria."