CHAPTER 40: IN THE CABIN

Lucien’s eyes fluttered open slowly as a groan escaped his lips. His sleep was broken by the relentless sound of rain and wind, the rhythmic clatter against the window echoing through the small space.

He blinked several times before his surroundings began to make sense.

A fireplace crackled a few feet away, its glow painting the wooden walls in shades of amber. Clothes and trousers—his included—hung neatly near the fire to dry.

This wasn’t the comfortable manor he was used to. They were inside a small cabin, the kind used by hunters as shelter in the woods.

He was naked beneath a thin blanket, the fabric barely covering his body from the cold.

"Huh? What’s happening?" he murmured, pressing a hand to his aching head.

His gaze shifted toward the corner of the room, where Silas and Adrian sat naked, eyes closed, their skin glistening faintly from the heat of the flames.

The soft rustle of fabric made Silas open his eyes. He turned instantly, worry flashing across his handsome face as he rushed to Lucien’s side.

His hand rested gently on the omega’s back, his amber eyes trembling.

"Are you okay? Does your head still hurt?" he asked, voice thick with concern.

"A bit, but I’m fine... We’re here because of the storm?"

Lucien’s voice was a whisper. He inhaled deeply, forcing his breathing steady as the sharp sting in his head slowly faded.

"Correct," Silas replied, sitting beside him and rubbing his cold hands together near the fire.

"We couldn’t bring you back to the manor. The wind is too strong, and the distance is far. We were afraid your condition would worsen."

Lucien fell silent. His mind wasn’t in that cabin, it was still trapped in that flower field, in the memory of being dragged away while two boys were shot. Their faces were blurred in his mind, but deep down, he knew.

"I saw myself in a flower field," he said quietly. "Running and playing with two boys who looked like you and Adrian."

His gaze found Silas again, and he lifted a trembling hand to the alpha’s cheek. His fingers traced along Silas’s jaw, brushing over the faint tremor of his lips and those gentle eyes that seemed on the verge of tears.

"Was it you? Were they both of you?"

Silas froze. His eyes widened just slightly before he reached up to hold Lucien’s hand against his face.

He closed his eyes, savoring the warmth for a fleeting second. When he finally spoke, his voice was soft but heavy.

"I don’t think so, Lucien. We never met as children." He smiled faintly, though it didn’t reach his eyes.

"It must’ve been a hallucination. You’re exhausted, and we’ve pushed you too much."

Lucien frowned. The tone was sincere, yet underneath it lingered something fragile and bitterness, an ache that contradicted his words.

Adrian words this morning echoes in his mind:

’You really don’t remember us?’

Lucien’s heart skipped. His thoughts circled back to those two boys in his vision: their laughter, the gunshots, the fear.

He hugged his knees and looked down, eyes dark with confusion.

No, that wasn’t a hallucination. It felt too real and painful.

Something had happened, something buried so deep even his mind refused to uncover it. And Silas... was lying because remembering it might destroy him.

"Oh dear God! You’re finally awake! I thought you were dead for sure!"

Adrian’s loud voice shattered the silence. He jolted up from his nap, scrambled over, and immediately pinched Lucien’s cheeks, stretching them with a grin.

"What’s with that frown, huh? Oh, right! You lost!" His laughter echoed across the cabin, louder than the storm outside.

Lucien slapped his hand away and rubbed his sore chin. "Shut up! So what if I lost? You guys cheated! Of course you’d win if you used my pheromones!"

The air lightened instantly, the heaviness from earlier swept away by Adrian’s ridiculousness.

Lucien almost wanted to ask again about his fragmented memory, but Adrian’s booming voice tore right through his thoughts.

"We can find you even without your pheromone." He grabbed Lucien’s shoulder and leaned in with a teasing grin. "Just admit it, you suck at hiding."

Lucien gasped, scandalized. "I do not! I’ve been a Don for almost ten years and not once—not once—have I ever been caught!"

"Maybe because it wasn’t us chasing you,"

Silas added with a sly smile, his tone light but sharp enough to bruise Lucien’s ego.

The omega pouted, crossing his arms with a dramatic huff. "You’re all insufferable."

"Now, now," Adrian said, lowering his voice until it grew deep and rough, "let’s move to our reward."

His grin darkened, eyes gleaming with lust. "I want to try BDSM."

"WHAT?! ARE YOU INSANE?!"

Lucien shot to his feet, the blanket falling off his naked body before he could grab it.

"That’s too much! You’re all sadists who love torturing me!"

Adrian stood up, completely unbothered. "No, we’re not! We just want to try something different. Imagine it, BDSM gear on you? It’d look so sexy. Or maybe white lingerie. That would be even better."

Lucien stared at him in disbelief, rubbing his temple. "Do you hear yourself?"

’You hunted me around the island like I was some rat, laughing the whole time while I thought the devil himself was chasing me! If that’s not sadism, what is?"

"If you two had chainsaws and axes, it would’ve been a horror movie!"

Silas snorted, shaking his head. "I can’t believe the mighty Don of Lucero—the great Silver Serpent himself—is scared of a little BDSM. And you’re seriously refusing to honor the winner’s reward?"

"Oh, so now you’re bringing up ranks?" Lucien clicked his tongue, glaring between them.

They had a point, damn it. The winner’s wish was law. He sighed, defeated.

"Fine! Do what you like. BDSM isn’t even that kinky, it’s just overrated."

The twins exchanged matching grins, their eyes gleaming with shared mischief. Adrian leaned in, tilting Lucien’s chin up with a single finger.

His voice dropped low, honeyed and dangerous.

"Since the equipment isn’t here yet," he murmured, "why don’t we start with a threesome instead?"