Chapter 161; We didn’t do it
Lucian’s POV
"I don’t think this is a good idea," Boca said, deep concern laced in his tone. "We haven’t even gone far, and we already have people attacking us. I am sure Alina will understand why we can’t attend this birthday party."
"Hey, come on. You know I already promised her, and it is really hard to say no to her," I said, sighing as I tried to wipe some of the grime from my jacket.
"Fine. But you really need to wash that blood off your face. It looks like you’ve been through a slaughter," Boca noted, grimacing as he gestured to my jawline.
"Where is Ragnar with that goddamn water?" I snapped, already completely frustrated by the delay.
"I’m here! Here you go," Ragnar said, rushing over to hand me a bottle of fresh water. I snatched it from him, pouring it over my hands and thoroughly scrubbing the blood off my face.
"Did I get all the blood out?" I asked, squinting at my reflection in the car’s side mirror.
"Yes, you did," Ragnar responded, breathing a sigh of relief.
"Where are the rest of our men?" I asked, looking around the clearing.
"They are injured, so they won’t be coming. I sent them back to the territory to heal," Ragnar explained.
"It’s alright then. Just the three of us is okay," I said.
We piled into the car, and I slammed my foot on the gas, driving straight toward Aiden’s mansion. We were incredibly late, but I was confident I could explain to Alina that we had an unexpected encounter on our way. Once she heard we were ambushed, she would understand.
When we finally parked and walked into the banquet hall, the entire room went dead silent. Hundreds of pairs of eyes locked onto us, filled with a mixture of terror and hostility. What the hell is their deal? I thought, my instincts immediately going on high alert.
I scanned the crowd until I finally spotted Alina. I couldn’t help but let a small smile touch my lips, but it quickly faded when I saw how pale and worried she looked.
Before I could even take a step toward her, a heavy fist suddenly collided with my jaw.
The force of the blow rattled my teeth, sending me stumbling back a step.
"You murderer!" Aiden yelled, his face contorted in pure fury.
My hands clenched into tight fists, a wave of dark anger boiling in my chest. How dare he lay a hand on me.
"I told you not to trust this man, Alina! He is a rogue, and he will forever be one!" Aiden added, turning his head to shout at her.
Boca’s eyes flashed gold, and he almost launched himself at Aiden, but I quickly threw an arm out to stop him. We were in the middle of their territory; starting an all-out brawl right now would be suicide.
"What the hell is your problem?" I spat, irritation and anger laced deep in my tone. "If you didn’t want us here in the first place, you should have simply said so instead of playing these pathetic games!"
"Why did you kill them?" Aiden demanded, the irritation in his tone causing a frantic murmur to ripple through the crowded hall.
"Kill? Who the fuck did I kill?" I asked, my annoyance rapidly turning into genuine confusion.
"You killed my brother and sister, didn’t you?" a weak voice cried out.
I looked past Aiden to see the heavily bandaged, bloody warrior standing in the middle of the room. I narrowed my eyes. It was the exact same bastard who had attacked us on the road earlier for absolutely no good reason.
"Are you on drugs?" Ragnar scoffed, stepping forward. "We didn’t attack you, and we definitely didn’t kill anyone. You and your people came at us!"
Aiden let out a sharp, jagged laugh that held zero humor.
"And now you want to deny it," Aiden said, his voice dripping with pure rage.
This was completely stupid. A setup. Looking around at the hostile faces surrounding us, I felt a heavy weight sink in my chest. I knew we shouldn’t have come to this goddamn house.
"What the hell are we going to deny?" Boca snapped, his voice sharp with irritation. "We didn’t kill anyone, so what is your fucking problem?"
"No one fucking wants you here!" someone yelled from the crowd.
Suddenly, a half-eaten plate of food flew through the air, splattering right across my chest. Another hit Boca’s shoulder.
And just like that, the world seemed to tilt.
The banquet hall, the angry faces, the shouting—it all began to blur as dark, suffocating memories flooded my mind. The years of ridicule. The torment of being a banished rogue. The endless cycle of being blamed, hunted, and treated like a monster no matter what I did. It all came crashing back over me in a suffocating wave.
My chest tightened, and I struggled to draw in a breath. I took a stumbling step backward, my vision tunneling as the room closed in on me.
But before I could completely lose my grip on reality, a warm, steady hand slid into mine.
I snapped my head up, my chest still heaving, to find Alina standing right in front of me.
"You don’t have to worry. I believe you," she whispered, her eyes filled with an unwavering trust that cut straight through my panic.
She turned around, placing herself between me and the hostile crowd, and raised her voice so everyone could hear. "Lucian is my mate! He wouldn’t have done something like that, and I believe every single word that he says!"
A wave of ugly murmurs immediately rippled through the pack.
"What? A rogue is her mate? How ridiculous!"
"You’re supporting a rogue? How can you turn your back on us like this?"
The insults turned into physical aggression. Someone hurled a heavy glass cup, and others started throwing whatever they could grab straight at her.
Seeing them target Alina snapped something vital inside of me. A savage, blinding rage exploded in my chest, completely drowning out my panic. My claws began to push through my fingertips, and my vision tinted red. I was on the absolute brink of letting my wolf take over, ready to slaughter everyone in this room to protect her.
But before I could even shift, Alina’s grip on my hand suddenly went entirely limp.
I watched in slow, agonizing horror as her eyes rolled back, and her knees buckled beneath her. She collapsed toward the hard floor.
My heart stopped.
"Alina!" I roared, diving forward to catch her.