Chapter 19: Gifts
LUCIAN'S P.O.V.
I started the morning with one goal in mind: avoid Teresa. I decided to skip breakfast with the pack. Coward's way out? Sure. But I had no intention of being drawn into whatever strange spell her doe-eyed innocence cast. She'd be fine. Rylan and Juliette could handle her. Besides, if I stayed any longer, I might actually start to care more than necessary about her. And that... was not happening.
Ares, naturally, had other thoughts.
"You're making a mistake," Ares growled in my mind, his voice sharp and insistent. "She won't weaken us. She'll make us stronger."
I rolled my eyes. "Stronger? The last thing I need is to feel attached to someone, especially someone like her, someone that could be snapped like a twig by any of my numerous enemies. I can't turn to my father, I'm better off keeping her at arm's length."
"You're acting like she's some helpless creature," he shot back. "She's more than that. You know it."
"What I know," I replied, "is that the more I'm around her, the more my life is going to spin out of control. I have a pack and an empire to run, remember? Not a heart to babysit."
Ares let out a low, frustrated growl. "You're blind, Lucian. She's worth the risk."
I blocked him out, focusing on the view from my office window. Outside, the early morning fog clung to the trees, thick and heavy, while the scent of pine drifted into the room, oddly grounding. Not that Ares would let me enjoy it. He was still prowling around in the back of my mind, like a caged animal.
Ignoring him, I called Juliette through the mind link. "Did you prepare the wardrobe and car I asked for Teresa?"
Her response was immediate, with enough excitement to give me a headache. "Of course! She's going to love it!" Her voice practically bounced around in my head.