Chapter 196

Chapter 196: Chapter 196

Lysander’s pov

There was a sickening feeling in my gut, I could feel it.

I sat on the edge of the bed, my hands resting lightly over the subtle curve of my stomach.

The warmth from the floor grid was comforting, but the air inside my chest was still tight, tangled with a mixture of quiet relief and lingering exhaustion.

The memory of Drake’s touch from earlier, the heat of his large, rough palms pressed over my core, the desperate, raw hunger in his kiss still burned hot against my skin. The iron wall between us had shattered, if only for a few fleeting hours, leaving a fragile, precious hope taking root beneath my ribs.

I closed my eyes, taking a slow, deep breath, letting my wolf aura settle.

A soft, metallic click echoed from the heavy door.

My eyes snapped open instantly. My mother was resting in the small adjoining alcove, exhausted from days of endless vigilance, but my instincts flared on high alert. The digital lock chimed softly—a flat, strange tone that lacked the usual security ping.

The door swung open smoothly, sliding into the wall without a sound.

I stood up from the bed, my loose linen tunic swaying against my knees, expecting to see Drake’s towering frame or one of his guards stepping into the room.

Instead, a familiar, slender figure stepped through the doorway.

Julian.

He was wrapped in a plain, dark cloak, his silver hair slightly damp from the rain, his pale face carved into a calm, patronizing smile that made my stomach twist with instant disgust. He closed the door behind him, locking out the quiet hallway, his silver-tinted eyes scanning my face with dark, triumphant satisfaction.

"What are you doing here, Julian?" I asked, my voice flat, firm, and completely devoid of the fear I used to feel in his presence. I took a slow step forward, shielding my lower middle with one arm, my dark eyes narrowing into razor-thin slits. "Drake confined you to your quarters. You aren’t supposed to be anywhere near this wing."

Julian let out a light, melodious laugh that sounded like dry ice scraping across glass. He adjusted the edge of his cloak with delicate, manicured fingers.

"Rules are so tedious," Julian purred, his voice dropping into a smooth, soothing register that set every wolf instinct under my skin on edge. "Especially rules set by a man who is currently fast asleep in his study, completely dead to the world."

My heart gave a sharp, frantic thud against my ribs. "What did you do to Drake?"

"Nothing that will harm his precious pureblood health," Julian replied casually, taking two slow, unhurried steps toward the center of the room. "Just a small draught in his wine to give us a quiet window. I am here to offer you something you have been begging for ever since you were dragged back to this mountain."

I kept my posture rigid, my feet planted firmly on the floorboards, refusing to shrink back. "I don’t want anything from you."

"Oh, but you do," Julian whispered, stepping closer until he stood just five feet from where I stood. He gestured toward the open hallway beyond the door. "Freedom, Lysander. Real, unmonitored freedom. Drake has finally realized that keeping you locked in this house is destroying his domain and tearing his life apart. He has agreed to let you go."

The words fell into the quiet room like cold stones.

For a fraction of a second, my breath caught in my throat. I stared at Julian’s pale, unreadable face, searching his silver eyes for the lie I knew was buried beneath his sweet, poisonous words.

"You’re lying," I rasped out, my jaw tightening as I shook my head firmly. "Drake would never say that. He was just here. He held me. He wouldn’t send you to tell me to leave."

"He doesn’t want the spectacle of a messy farewell," Julian lied smoothly, his tone dropping into a soft, sorrowful whisper that sounded almost convincing. "His pride is too wounded, Lysander. He cares for the child you carry, yes, but he cannot look at your face without remembering Darius’s mark on your skin. He opened the gates tonight so you could slip away into the storm without trial, without guards, and without shame."

He extended his pale, slim hand toward me, his fingers reaching out like a spider offering a web.

"Come," Julian urged softly. "There is a carriage waiting at the boundary ridge. You can go back to your mother’s old territory, or hide in the neutral borderlands where Drake’s guards will never bother you again. You can raise your baby in peace, far away from pureblood court politics and cold iron doors."

I stared at his outstretched hand, then slowly raised my eyes to meet his gaze.

A week ago, when I was shivering in the dark, crushed under the weight of my own secrets and terrified of Drake’s cold anger, those words might have broken me. I might have run out into the rain just to escape the suffocating walls of my golden cage.

But sitting in the quiet with my mother, feeling Drake’s warm palms pressing over my stomach, and hearing his raw, broken confession had changed everything.

I took a slow, deliberate breath, drawing strength from the fact that I know Drake still wants me. I lifted my chin, squaring my broad shoulders, and looked Julian dead in the eye with an absolute, unyielding resolve.

"No," I said.

The single word cut through the quiet room like a iron blade.

Julian’s outstretched hand froze in mid-air. The smooth, patronizing smile on his lips flickered, a sharp line of irritation pulling his dark eyebrows together. "What did you say?"

"I said no," I repeated, my voice rising in volume, clear, strong, and completely steady. "I am not going anywhere with you, Julian."

"Don’t be a fool, Lysander!" Julian snapped, his gentle purr instantly dissolving into a sharp, venomous growl. "This is your only chance! Drake will never truly forgive you! He will keep you locked in this room like a prisoner, inspecting your body like a piece of property until that child is born, and then he will throw you aside!"

"Then that is between Drake and me," I declared firmly, taking a sharp step toward him, my dark eyes flashing with fierce wolf fire. "I don’t care how angry he gets. I don’t care if we fight, or if he builds ten more iron doors. I am not running away like a coward in the middle of the night."

I pressed my hand flat over my stomach, feeling the soft, rhythmic warmth of the life growing inside me—the life that carried Drake’s mark.

"This is my home," I whispered, every word carved in pure, unshakeable truth. "Drake is my mate. I made mistakes, and I hurt him, but I am staying right here to fix what I broke. I belong by his side, and I will never abandon him or this house again, least of all because a serpent like you told me to."

Julian stared at me, his chest heaving, his face turning sickly pale with pure, unadulterated shock and bitter rage. He realized, in that quiet moment, that his poisonous words had no power over me anymore.

"You stupid, arrogant half-breed," Julian hissed through his teeth, his fingers curling into tight fists at his sides. "You think you have a choice?"

He turned his head toward the open doorway, his voice rising in a desperate, sharp call.

"Gideon! Now!"