Lucien

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"Again!" Maia screamed, the floor beneath her splattered in her own blood and tears.

A sharp sound echoed off the walls, and only when her arms flew apart... did she realize it broke.

She dropped the fragmented remains of her torture, staring in awe for a moment at her free ankle.
The flesh was seared down, covered in blood, and her hands were no better... but it was gone.

"I did it! I did it Mia-" she stopped, realizing the space around her was completely empty.
Yet, unlike all the previous times, the ache wasn't as terrible. Instead, a small smile played on her lips as she finally collapsed into unconsciousness.
Her wolf was struggling to heal her, and remaining conscious was slowing the process down.

Maia wasn't sure how much time had passed when she woke again, but the pain in her body was much less now... but she felt entirely exhausted. Wolves needed a high caloric intake, and even as small as she was, she needed food desperately. She'd cut her hair off for a cup of her Noona's strawberry milk.
Standing up on legs like a newborn fawn, Maia stepped closer to the door of the cage. It was locked, but the cage itself was just cheap metal.
It only took a little strength to rip the padlock off, and push the door open.

Her eyes adjusted to the rest of the room, and she realized this must be an underground bunker, because the stair case she looked at led up.

She only paused for a moment, because it only took that second for the image of Lucien to appear in her mind for her to walk forward.
Up the stairs, barefoot and completely nude.
The door was locked as well, but once again, it was just a plain wooden door. It broke like a toy beneath her hands, and when she pushed it open...

There was no one. Not a single guard.
Her senses heightened, aware this was likely a trap. She was surrounded by the scent of burnt sugar and human blood. Her stomach churned, the thought of blood made her sick...
She was in a den.

Lucien, we're about to hit Maddox's territory. What's the plan?
They ran in a formation, going straight into unwelcome grounds. They'd likely be fighting. Micheal was on his left flank.

Kill them if they get in your way. Maddox knows the importance of allowing us to search for my mate. He made his decision.

Lucien felt little sympathy. As a werewolf, wasn't Maddox completely aware of the bounds he was willing to go?
Lucien would annihilate his entire pack overnight, and sell the land without a second thought.
Maddox knew this too, and still denied access- which meant he wanted war or he was hiding something.

They sped past the boarder, and within seconds the howls of the patrols shot off and alerted nearby areas. They were warning them of their crimes for trespassing.
His pack knew he wasn't in the mood for a full blown fight, so when the first two wolves jumped out to ambush them, Micheal took the lead in snapping their necks faster than they could fight back.

More blood shed followed.

When they reached midlands, they had already ended the lives of 32 wolves. Lucien wondered if Maddox found it all worth it? Did he not care as an Alpha about the health and safety of his pack? Was it not common sense to care more about welfare than pride?
Another wolf fell, at the feet of Tanya, who's muzzle was stained deeply in red now.
They likely all matched.

Lucien kept his head a bit lowered, searching for any familiar scent which could lead him to Maia. He trusted his team, they wouldn't let their guards down.
He was going to find his mate if it was the last thing he did before returning to the Goddess.

Spread over more ground, keep looking.
His orders were crisp amongst the howls of battle.

"You won't make it out looking like that" Maia could feel her hair stand on end, the delirium setting in as she collapsed at the door.
Just a normal door, unlocked, and visibly simple to pass through.

Blood is everywhere. The ground was seemingly a bath for the amount she couldn't believe belonged entire to only a few.

"You're a werewolf, this shouldn't stop you. It should make you want to see more" the child was as talkative as ever, and Maia was finding it harder not to lose herself as she watched the space around her soak in the blood she smelt.
This was all a hallucination, she knew it wasn't real, but her body wasn't listening to her mind.
How could she want to see this?

"You aren't human. You've denied your wolf too long. What does she want to do?" Maia felt the air in her lungs become icy, the feeling of drowning in oxygen causing a panicked flight or fight response to settle over her.
It had been a long time since she felt this way.

The child was a blur, the surroundings turning into a fog.

"They aren't going to help you leave, no one is, why are you still wasting time? Do you like it here?" She never remembered the voice of Mia to be so grating on her ears...
All she wanted was to curl in bed with her mate, hold Richie while she slept, and focus on the oblivion.
She was hungry, starving, and her beast didn't want to stay still like she did.
Maia was usually very good at pushing the control away from her wolf.

But this wasn't a pup anymore, and she wasn't a child. She was dying and she was losing control.

She felt the shift take over. The pain which came as a child was no longer so severe, the snapping of her bones while they reshaped and healed into place was slower than normal, but her wolf was blocking all of her out. She couldn't feel anything.

A bystander.

When four paws scrapped the wooden floorboards beneath her, she finally saw...

Nothing. No blood, no hallucinated child. Just an ordinary door, which in the next moment, was smashed through by a charging wolf.
She could smell, the scent of overripe fruit, the sea salt smell she imagined belonged to the ocean, and the crisp air.
The forest floor was blanketed in a cover of fog, but her wolf paid little mind to it all.

She had one agenda...

And it was taking her towards the smell of vampires again.