CHAPTER 43: YOU ARE MY SON AND YOU WILL DO AS I SAY!

Lucas’s POV

As expected, Liora had reported me to my father.

My father stood before me, his face a storm of fury and exasperation as he ran his hands through his hair in frustration and his eyes, those piercing cold eyes were now fixed on me in disappointment.

"What have you done, Lucas?" he snapped. "Do you have any idea of the mess you’ve created? The chaos you’ve unleashed in less than 24 hours here?"

I stood near the far wall, my back straight, my hands clasped behind me as I kept my expression neutral, my eyes locked on him. I wasn’t about to give him the satisfaction of seeing me regret my actions, no. Not him. Not Liora, who stood a few paces away, her arms crossed tightly over her chest as she snapped.

"Father, you need to send him away, he’s nothing but bad luck" Liora interrupted, her voice cutting through. She stepped forward. "He’s going to ruin everything! Do you know what this could cost us? He’s a liability, a reckless fool who can’t control himself!"

She was speaking about me with so much disrespect but I stayed silent, I’d gotten used to it as usual. Considering her as my step sister, whose mother is my father’s mistress, I had to overlook it. My father stopped pacing, his head snapping toward Liora for a moment before he turned back to me. He walked towards me.

"You need to apologize, Lucas," he said. "Do you understand what you’ve done? Your little stunt with Zane could jeopardize everything. The marriage between Liora and Alpha Darius’s son, the triplets, the alliance, the future of our pack! Do you even comprehend the stakes?"

I lifted my gaze to meet his. "I was only defending the maid," I said, "Zane and Liora were out of line, humiliating her, treating her like she was nothing. I couldn’t stand by and let him..."

"This isn’t Warborn!" my father interrupted, cutting me off. His hands shot up. "You’re in Black Bane now, Lucas. Darius’s rule, Darius’s pack. You don’t get to play hero here. You don’t get to interfere with how things are done!"

I clenched my jaw, my hands tightening behind my back. "So I’m supposed to just watch while they treat the less privileged like garbage? Because of power? That’s not who I am."

My father’s face darkened, his eyes narrowing to slits. "You are my son, and you will do as I say. I should have known you were bad luck from the moment you were born. The moment you took my wife’s life coming into this world. That I will never forget. His words hit me, each one landing harder than the last. "I gave it the benefit of doubt, Lucas. I thought you could be more better than a curse. But clearly, I was wrong."

The room seemed to shrink, My chest aching from emotional pain that had nothing to do with physical wounds. I wanted to shove him away and walk out, enough of his emotional maltreatment but I stayed, my legs rooted at the spot. Before I could find my voice, Liora’s sobs broke the silence.

"Father, please!" she cried as she clutched her hands together, tears streaming down her face. Her makeup was smudged, black streaks of mascara trailing from her eyes. "Do something! I can’t lose the triplets, the title of Supreme Luna. It’s all I’ve worked for! He’s going to ruin it all because he can’t keep his hands and temper to himself and..."

"Liora, enough!" my father snapped at her, spinning to face her. His voice was sharp enough to make her flinch, her sobs cutting off abruptly. "Be quiet. I need to think." He added.

Seeing her crocodile tears didn’t work on him, she wiped her tears as she shot me a deadly glare. The silence that followed was suffocating. And then father turned back to me, his expression still unreadable and his eyes still held that storm of anger.

"You will walk out that door," he said, pointing to the door at the far end of his chamber, "and you will apologize to Zane. To whoever else you’ve offended with your recklessness. You will not question me, Lucas. You will do it. And make sure you stay away from that slave.

I felt something snap inside me. "Why?" I demanded, stepping forward. "Why are you so hell-bent on supporting what’s wrong? Just so you can steal the throne from Darius? Someone you claim to call your friend? The man you call your brother? All for your own selfish ambition?"

"What?" My father snapped, surprised at my audacity. His face contorted and before I could say another word, his hand flew up, and a sharp, stinging pain exploded across my cheek. It was a resounding slap. The slap echoed in the chamber, loud and jarring, as I staggered back a step, my hand instinctively rising to my face as I didn’t look away from him.

"How dare you?" he snarled, his voice fueling with rage. He stepped closer, his fists clenched at his sides, his entire body radiating fury. "Darius will pay for what he did to me. For everything. You think you know what happened? You think you understand? Do not interfere with what you know nothing about, child." He was shouting now and at some point, I assume someone might hear him. "We went to war together, Lucas. We took an oath to stand by each other, to protect each other. And when I needed him, when I was bleeding out, when I was dying, he chose to save his sons instead. He left me to rot! He doesn’t deserve this pack, this throne, or anything good!"

His words poured out with pain, each one filled with a bitterness I’d never fully understood. His chest heaving, his eyes wild, and for the first time, I saw not just anger but deep, festering pain from him. I opened my mouth to respond, to say something, anything, but before I could respond, there was a sharp knock on the door.

We all froze. My father’s head snapped toward the door. Liora’s fake tear-streaked face turned too. I stood rooted to the spot, my cheek still stinging from the slap as the door creaked open, and a maid stepped inside. That was... Amelia. Amelia, I remember her. The asthmatic girl as she entered.