Chapter 6

Lucian’s pov

"You know it's just a holograph, right?" Mason's voice filled the room I was in just as I went down on my knees and shot at the last operative.

I wiped at my brow as the whole forest clearing environment fell away to reveal the stark white room. I looked up to the observation chamber, separated from the rest of the simulation room by a transparent wall, and met Mason's eyes.

"Of course I know, but that doesn't stop me from treating them as though they were real."

"Anyone who sees you would think you have a personal beef with each and every one of these operatives," he said. I could detect the smile in his voice, and I didn't like that he was making light of my situation. In fact, I didn't like that his voice was all around me.

"I thought I asked that no one supervise me while I train."

"Well, someone has to turn down the simulation, or do you want it to continue forever?"

"I wouldn't mind that," I muttered under my breath. I still felt the rage flowing through my veins, and I was just realizing that it was not the best option to choose the simulation against the operatives—the very people who made me angry in the first place. Seeing their faces now and fighting against them only made me boil more.

It wasn't like I was losing the fight, but it stung that I could only win against them in virtual reality and not in real life.

I walked briskly to the door, and just as I placed my hand on the knob, Mason spoke again.

"Are you done already?"

"You can have the room all to yourself since you decided to interrupt me," I said, making up my mind to make some changes to how the simulation chambers work. Perhaps a timer could be incorporated so that no one would have to come to turn it off.

I stepped out into the rest of the training room and went straight to the dumbbells. If combat did not help me blow off steam, then that certainly would.

I placed two additional weights on each side, knowing that it would be terribly heavy to lift now, but I didn't care. I needed the pain to get a grip of myself and think clearly.

Moments later, I was panting and finally succeeding in focusing my mind on what I was doing instead of my new problem when a voice broke through my concentration.

"Alpha," it was Alan.

It took me a moment to remember that I had sent him to pass down some orders.

"Well, what's the update? Be quick about it," I said.

"She said no." The shock of hearing those two words made me stumble, and the weight came crashing down. I stepped aside just in time to avoid a broken foot and turned to him with a growl. "What did you say?"

"Not me, Alpha," he said immediately, defensive. "She, Selene, said no. She said she's not going anywhere."

My eyes twitched in annoyance. "Does she wish to stay in the hospital instead?"

"Would you like me to repeat her exact words to you?" Alan asked.

I knew it would be better if I did not hear them because I had a feeling they would be terribly rude, but I nodded anyway.

"I actually think it would be unwise to tell you everything, but let me tell you a good percentage of it," Alan replied. "She said she doesn't want to be anywhere near you and that if you don't want her around, then why do you want to take her to your estate?"

"Did you tell her she has no choice but to follow my orders?"

"She said she didn't care about your—" he paused for a while, like he was thinking of another word to use. "Orders," he finally said.

The sheer audacity of the girl made me laugh. "So she thinks she can defy me and just get away with it like that?" I demanded, grabbing the towel from the treadmill handles that I had hung it up on.

"Please, Alpha, I'm sure she's just stressed out," Alan began.

"Not another word from you," I seethed. "I'm pretty sure she didn't ask that you plead on her behalf."

With a growl, I brushed past him to the bathroom.

After a cold shower, I was level-headed enough to realize that me stomping off to the hospital to demand that she come with me would lead me nowhere. I needed some advice on what to do, and I knew exactly who to go to.

Raven's quarters looked regular enough on the exterior. The usual potted flowers around the peach-colored building. No one would guess she was anything special unless they stepped inside.

I strode through the hallways, ignoring the fact that there were no lights on but torches hanging on every wall instead, and burst out at the garden where I knew she would be.

There she was, her wild blonde hair billowing in the wind as she stood in the midst of the flowers. She gave off a peaceful aura was only a knew the amount of chaos she was capable of causing.

"You came to visit today," her voice carried in the wind through to me, and I smiled, relishing the calmness it brought.

"I come to visit as often as I can," I replied, taking the few steps two at a time and stepping onto the garden floors.

She didn't turn to meet me. She just stretched her hand to the side, waiting until I was standing beside her, then she took it.

I looked into her stormy gray eyes, the only part of her that held so many stories—enough to make me know how aged she was. Merely looking at her, one would assume that she was in her late 20s because of how timeless she looked.

"Something bothers you. I've told you not to let things bother you anymore."

"I can't help it, you know how much I think," I replied, lowering my eyes. It was too easy for her to read me, but she was my advisor after all, and she was the only one who could, so maybe it was not such a bad thing.

"Do you wish to tell me what bothers you this time around?" she asked, and I nodded. That was the reason I came here in the first place.