His Liege

Fault Lines

Lucian looked down at his scrolls with disdain. He wanted nothing more than to be curled up with his mate, waiting for him to wake up. Normal mating bites left submissive wolves comatose for sixteen hours, but for a human, it would take at least three days for him to awaken. That did not change that Lucian was restless, irritated, and impatient.

He suddenly heard a light knock on the door. He grunted for the person to enter. The door creaked open, and Lucian huffed.

"There's no need to parlor tricks, Antonia, if you want to pester me, then come and get it over with."

The red headed woman opened the door slowly, then swept into the room. Lucian rolled his eyes at seeing her corporeal form.

"Why you insist on floating around and scaring my staff, I will never understand." Lucian retorted.

"It's not my fault I am a ghost. It's yours, actually." Antonia replied, sinking gracefully into the open leather chair before Lucian.

"Anyways, I mean to talk to you about that boy you dragged in from the woods." She said smoothly. Lucian's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"You will stay away from my mate." Lucian snarled. Antonia merely laughed.

"What did you do?" Lucian shouted, slamming his hands on the desk. Antonia face steeled itself, and she stood, looking directly into Lucian's eyes.

"My job. To make sure you don't hurt another human the way you hurt my daughter." Antonia said, her voice dripping with venom.

"You know, as well as I, that Violetta was not my true-"

"You dare speak her name!" Antonia bellowed, and the glass window behind Lucian shattered, glass coating the room like fresh fallen snow.

"She's dead, Antonia." Lucian stated, a trail of blood dribbling down his cheek.

"And whose fault is that, Lucian?" She asked, her voice shaking with emotion. She turned, wading through the glass to the door, and placing her hand on the worn wood. 

"But I suppose... This one will be my fault." Antonia said quietly, her lip quirking up into a bitter smile. Realization struck Lucian like lightning, and he roared, throwing his desk into the wall, running toward the flash of red hair as the ghost woman burst into smoke.  

Lucian flung the door clean off of its hinges, moving quickly toward Stelian's chambers. The servants standing outside cowered in fear as Lucian approached, sinking as close to floor as they could get. Lucian paid them no mind, flinging the doors open with a loud thud. He snarled at the sight of the room in disarray.

Stalking in, he took notice of the bed, the bloody pillows and sheets leaving his heart crying out with worry. His eyes trailed to the bedpost, then to the chain of linens leading out the window. He rushed to the windowsill, looking down at the human shaped imprint in the snow and the footsteps leading into the forest.

He roared, his fury echoing through the castle, and he turned, bellowing a single order at whoever had the misfortune of being in sight.

Find him.