Alina’s pov

An entire week had dragged by, and the house felt like a tomb. There was still absolutely no sign of Lucian.

I was completely losing my mind. Sleep had become a distant memory, and my clothes now hung loosely off my frail frame; I had lost so much weight that looking in the mirror was painful. The agonizing wait was slowly killing me from the inside out.

"Alina, please. You need to eat something," Sammy pleaded, pushing a plate toward me.

I didn’t even look at the food. "I just want Lucian to come back," I whispered, my voice thick and hollow. I turned my gaze to him, my eyes bloodshot and heavy with unshed tears. "Is he ever coming back, Sammy? Tell me. Will he ever come back?"

I hated how broken I sounded. I was so frustrated, so completely desperate for any shred of hope.

Sammy’s expression softened with deep sorrow. "Lucian will come back, Alina. But you have to take care of yourself. Please. If you let yourself waste away like this, how are you going to take care of Leo?"

Before I could answer, the door opened and Ragnar stepped into the room. His posture was slumped, his shoulders heavy. He looked up at us, a dark shadow hanging over his face. "I have something to say to you both," he began, his voice tight. "I am so sorry. I never meant for any of this to happen."

Sammy and I exchanged a confused, wary look.

Ragnar swallowed hard, staring at the floor. "I intentionally lured Lucian out that night... with the intent of killing him."

The air left my lungs. My eyes widened in absolute shock, a cold horror freezing the blood in my veins.

"What the hell are you saying?" Sammy demanded, stepping forward, his jaw clenched.

"Aiden came to me," Ragnar confessed, his voice trembling. "I fell for whatever lies he told me. I actually agreed to bring him Lucian’s head. But... I couldn’t go through with the plan. When the moment came, I couldn’t do it. I broke down and told Lucian everything."

I choked back a sob, gripping the edge of the table as Ragnar continued.

"Lucian got furious. He told me he was going straight to Aiden to end this. I realized what a mistake I’d made, so I rushed back to Aiden’s place to stop him, but Lucian was already gone. I was worried, but I thought... I thought maybe he had just cooled off and gone back home. It wasn’t until I arrived here and you told me he was missing that I realized..." Ragnar looked at me, tears filling his own eyes. "I am so sorry, Alina. If I had never done what I did, Lucian would have never left the house that night. This is all my fault."

A fresh wave of hot tears spilled over my cheeks.

"How could you?!" Sammy roared, lunging forward and grabbing Ragnar by the collar of his shirt. "How could you go to the enemy? How could you even sit there and listen to a single word out of Aiden’s mouth?!"

The room erupted into chaos, but my legs completely gave out beneath me. I collapsed onto my knees, the hard floor biting into my skin, but I couldn’t feel it. The pain in my chest was blinding.

"Lucian..." I sobbed, his name tearing from my throat.

I was broken beyond repair. Why would he leave me like this? How was I supposed to survive this nightmare?

Suddenly, the heavy doors burst open. A member of our rogue pack ran into the room, his face flushed and breathless with excitement. "Lucian is back! Lucian is outside!"

My heart skipped a violent beat. My eyes snapped open, wide with disbelief. I scrambled to my feet, my hands flying to my face to frantically wipe away my tears. "Are you lying to me?" I breathed, my voice shaking. "Tell me you’re not lying!"

"No, Alina! He’s really back!"

A sudden, breathless smile broke through my tears. Without waiting another second, I pushed past Sammy and Ragnar, following the guard as he led the way through the corridors and out toward the courtyard.

But the moment I saw him, my footsteps halted.

More tears rolled down my face, hot and fast. He was standing there. Alive. Whole.

"Lucian," I whispered, the sound barely escaping my lips.

I took a slow, hesitant step forward, as if terrified he might vanish if I moved too fast. "Lucian," I said again, louder this time.

At the sound of my voice, he turned around. The moment his eyes landed on me, they completely lit up.

"Alina!"

That was all it took. I threw all caution to the wind and sprinted across the courtyard, throwing my frail, exhausted body against his chest. I wrapped my arms around him, holding onto him with every ounce of strength I had left. I cried into his shoulder, the heavy sobs shaking my entire frame, but for the first time in a week, the crushing weight in my chest lifted. It felt like my entire world had finally been returned to me.

Slowly, I pulled back just enough to look at him, keeping my hands pressed tightly against his warm cheeks. "You’re finally back," I laughed through my tears, looking over his face. "Where did you go? What happened?"

Before he could even open his mouth to answer, a soft voice cut through the air from behind him.

"Lucian? Who is this?"

My hands froze on his cheeks. I blinked, my gaze instantly snapping past his shoulder to the young woman standing right behind him.

A cold wave of confusion washed over me, my smile instantly dying as I stared at her.

"Lucian," I whispered, forcing myself to look at him. "Who is she?"

He didn’t answer. He kept his eyes fixed firmly on the ground, deliberately avoiding my gaze. A sickening dread pooled in my stomach.

"Since he’s not speaking, I’ll just introduce myself," the woman said, stepping out from behind him with calm confidence. "I am Ilya. Lucian’s fiancée."

My hands dropped from his cheeks as if I had just been burned. A violent wave of shock tore through my body, and I stumbled backward.

"What?" I choked out, the word breaking in my throat.