CHAPTER 143: NO FOUL PLAY

"Rurik, you exposed yourself to Lucien!" A deep voice growled.

"Yes, Dad," replied the young man in his mid-twenties, "Why am I not allowed to do that? He must know that he was defeatable too. I managed to injure him," he declared proudly.

Adrian walked to his son and slapped him hard. Rurik staggered, and he stopped blinking at his father’s reaction. He glared at his father, bringing his hand to his cheek.

"Have you forgotten what he did to us? Do you think he will let you live after what you did last night?" Adrian barked and grabbed his son by the collar. Despite his age, his strength was remarkable. "I told you to wait for the right time to strike him. But you, like a foolish person revealed to him what kind of wolves exist in Eboncrest."

"Alpha, let Rurik go. He’s still too young to understand all of this," requested the old lady. She was none other than the caretaker, who looked after Rurik since he was two.

"He is 24! Yet, he doesn’t understand how things work." Adrian shoved his son away. Not able to balance himself, Rurik fell on the marble floor, his eyes burning with anger.

"He killed my mother!" Rurik bellowed finally. "I waited for years for an opportunity to check his abilities myself. Everyone here fears him. Why? I’m a hybrid alpha, the son of an alpha and a witch. Why am I supposed to be scared of him?"

"Rurik, please keep quiet," the old lady urged.

"You’re not allowed to step out of the pack house for two days. Try doing it and I’ll make sure you get worse punishment," Adrian warned his son. Then, turning to the old lady, he continued, "It’s your responsibility, Thelma, to keep a close eye on Rurik."

Rurik clenched his fists and ran out while the old lady followed him closely.

He stopped in his room and looked at his injured hand.

"Dad never once asked me about my injuries. All he does is scold me," Rurik complained. "I lost my mother. How am I supposed to stay quiet?"

"You have to because your father has a plan brewing in his hand. It took him years to develop this pack and live like an independent pack."

"I should’ve been chosen as the next alpha by now. But Dad thinks I’m still a kid, who has to remain shut in these four walls. I want to kill Lucien for what he did to my mother. Please help me," Rurik requested, taking a step closer to the old lady.

"I-I can’t do anything," Thelma said. "Your father will truly punish you if you don’t do what he wants," she added.

"This is also a punishment to me," Rurik muttered and went towards the window. "I want to be alone," he murmured, sounding low.

Thelma looked at him for longer than a second before stepping out of the room, closing the door behind her.

~~~~~

"Leia, you’ll be eliminated in the first round if you’re scared of something this small," Ronan said in a firm tone.

Leia stood frozen on a thick tree branch, still in her human form. She had never admitted her fear of heights to any of the Alpha Brothers, but now it was impossible to hide. Her heart pounded against her ribs, and her head swam every time she dared glance at the ground far below.

"Leia, just jump. I’ll catch you," Kieran called from beneath the tree, his voice carrying steady reassurance.

Lucien watched in silence, trying to understand what was holding her back. The drop wasn’t high enough to be dangerous.

"What are you waiting for?" Ronan stepped closer. "You came to me asking for training. You said you wanted to be strong in defense. Then prove it. The contest will only be fun if you can actually stand against your opponents."

She shut her eyes, bracing herself to jump when suddenly, an arm wrapped firmly around her. Her eyes flew open, and she tilted her head.

"Lucien!"

"Close your eyes," he murmured, covering them gently with his hand. The branch was sturdy beneath their feet, wide enough to hold them both without strain.

Before she could protest, Lucien stepped off the edge, leaping with her in his grasp. One arm stayed secure around her lower back as they descended together.

He lowered his hand from her eyes, and Leia blinked slowly, her gaze dropping to the solid ground beneath them.

"Why did you do that?" Ronan asked sharply. This why he preferred to train her alone. His brothers always grew soft when it came to Leia, especially in moments meant to push her limits.

"Because Leia is afraid of heights," Lucien replied calmly.

Leia’s eyes widened in surprise. "How did you know?"

"It was written all over your face," Lucien said, his tone matter-of-fact. "You need to overcome that fear first. The contest will have obstacles involving heights. You’ll have to deal with them. Otherwise, as Ronan said, you’ll be eliminated right away. This knockout round for physical strength removes most she-wolves in the first stage."

Ronan exhaled, a hint of guilt in his expression. "Leia... you should have told me you had a phobia. I wouldn’t have pushed you like that."

"I thought you all would laugh at me," Leia admitted.

"Why would we do that?" Ronan asked, frowning. "How did you end up with acrophobia?"

"I fell from a certain height when I was in kindergarten. Ever since, I’ve had this fear. But I’ll try to overcome it," she said.

"It’s not easy to erase a fear," Kieran commented.

"But in my wolf form, I’m not scared," Leia pointed out.

The three brothers exchanged glances.

"The contest rules don’t forbid you from transforming," Leia added with a glint in her eyes.

"We don’t know for sure," Kieran replied. "From what I’ve heard, they change the rules every year. Sometimes they even require fighting only in wolf form, but if you’re seriously injured, shifting can be difficult."

Leia hummed, considering his words.

"Let’s not worry about it yet," Lucien said, his tone lifting her spirits. "We still have a whole month before the contest. Start with basic training, and little by little, we’ll work on your fear."

"Yes, that’s a good idea," Leia said with a small nod. "My training hour is almost over anyway, so I’ll head to the construction site to check on the progress."

"I can drop you off," Lucien offered immediately.

Leia frowned at him. "Shouldn’t you be resting?"

"She’s right," Ronan agreed. "You should take at least today to recover at home. I’ll take Leia instead." He turned to Kieran. "You don’t have any outside work scheduled, do you? Want to come with us, or would you rather stay here?"

"I’ll stay here. What if Lucien needs something?" Kieran murmured.

"Good," Ronan said with a small smile.

"Let’s head back, then," Leia said, already striding ahead of them.

Once they reached the mansion, Leia and Ronan set out for the construction site while Lucien quietly retired to his room. He sank back against the headboard, closing his eyes for a moment, until the buzz of his phone broke the silence.

Reaching for it on the bedside table, he noticed several missed calls from Sorin. He immediately called back and lifted the phone to his ear.

"Lucien, why didn’t you answer any of my calls?" Sorin’s voice came through, sharp with concern.

"My phone wasn’t with me," Lucien replied evenly. "What happened?"

"How are you?" Sorin asked.

"Are you seriously trying to sound concerned? I’m fine, and resting," Lucien said flatly. "Since you’ve called, you might as well tell me why you went to Eboncrest. That place isn’t just crawling with humans. It is also an abode to witches and hybrids."

"I told you, I went to gather evidence," Sorin murmured. "The murders happened in that forest, victims like those we’ve been tracking. But I didn’t expect it to be so dense... And so disorienting. It’s the kind of place where you lose all sense of direction."

"Yes, I know. You weren’t supposed to go there alone. Well, the hybrid wolf who attacked me now knows we were there. Strangely, he even recognized me. The concerning matter is that the packs in Eboncrest don’t follow the rules like us wolves do," Lucien pronounced.

"I wanted minimum attention," Sorin stated.

"Who told you would find the evidence in such a place? Why would lone wolves be taken there? And there are multiple places, where such lone wolves have been found. You chose that place for some reason. You should tell me the truth," Lucien said with a stern tone.

"I worked based on the intel. I didn’t know it would be this tough," Sorin explained, "there’s no foul play from my side."

"Alright. I’ll hang up," Lucien said and ended the call.

"But why do I feel Sorin wanted me to die there?" Lucien murmured. He decided to investigate this personally.