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“Well, if she begs me nicely, I won’t be able to say no for too long. She smells really good. Hot and wet. I’d hurry if I were you.”
The screen went dark as the call ended. Lucian put the phone down, got out of the car, and popped the latch on the trunk. Antonio blinked up at him, not looking the least bit worried. Lucian punched him, smiling at the minuscule measure of joy he got from hearing Antonio’s nose crack.
He slammed the trunk closed and stalked back to the driver’s seat. He wished he had a faster car, that was for damn sure. But he’d get there in time to save Mia. There was really no other option.
He hadn’t made this journey in years, but he still knew exactly where he was going. His foot was on the floor as the car raced to his destination: a house he hadn’t been to in twenty-three years. When he turned onto the long gravel drive, he saw the mailbox with his original last name, Rhodes. Dismissing the memories that surfaced, he followed the curving drive that cut through a wooded area until he reached the top of a hill.
He got out of the car, leaving the engine running. Inhaling deeply, he took in all the old scents of his youth, from the dark woods to the crisp air. It was home but not home, a place full of memories he’d purposely put aside.
The front door opened and a large male stepped out, shotgun hanging loosely at his side. Lucian knew that the male could fire the gun in a heartbeat; that although he appeared casual, he was anything but, like a cobra that stopped hissing just before it struck.
Lucian stared at the male. He wanted to say about a hundred things, but all he could think about was Mia’s pain-filled voice calling out for him.
“I need your help.”
His brows rose. “Lucian?”
He swallowed against the lump in his throat and nodded. “I…they took my mate and I can’t get her on my own.”
His father pushed the door open wider and said, “Come in.”
Lucian walked in, stepping over the threshold and trying not to look around and see what had changed in the last two decades. He didn’t care about this house anymore. He didn’t care about the male who shared his DNA. He cared about Mia, and her alone.
“Tell me how I can help.”
“You’re not going to give me grief?” Lucian asked, facing him. He looked the same, just twenty years older. Broad-shouldered, muscular, a few days’ worth of stubble on his cheeks. And those blue eyes that stared at Lucian every morning in the mirror.
“I don’t think you came here for tea and a chat. You came to me for help, so it must be serious. What do you need?”
Lucian told his father about the hunters, the ravens, and sweet Mia.
“I thought I could keep her safe by staying away. If I hadn’t gone back to Wilde Creek, they wouldn’t have ever found anything to use against me.”
“There’s no use whining about something you can’t change.”
“I know.”
“What do you need from me?”
“I want you to come with me to the nest’s stronghold. I need someone strong enough to keep me from hurting Mia if things go sideways.”
“What’s your plan?”
“Kill them all.”
Lucian stripped out of his weapons and clothing, until he was standing in his father’s family room in his shorts.
“What the ever-loving hell?” his father said as he looked at him.
“They’re magical,” Lucian said. “When I felt the beast stirring as a teenager, I went to a magical tattoo shop and had a witch put one on. I have to add one each year, and sometimes get the older ones redone.”
He shook his head. “Why do you hate it so much?”
“What? It’s a monster. There’s a fucking monster inside me, and it needs to be locked down. I’m letting it free tonight to save Mia, but I’m fucking putting it back down the moment she’s safe. This is a one-time thing.”
“The berserker isn’t a monster, Luc. You have to learn how to use it. People you love won’t be in danger from it.”
Fury edged his vision. “Don’t talk to me about hurting people you love.”
