"What is it Lucifer?, you're unusually quiet," Lucian inquired. The dark-haired man stood in the corner of the room, arms crossed and scowling as he watched his brother and his mate laughing and chatting together. He couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy deep in his chest, it seemed like Lucian captivated Alexa's attention, while he was left out in the cold.
How strange, he thought to himself. He was funnier, and better looking than his brother, so why was she interested in him instead?, why would she choose the ever-quiet brooding, self loathing man who preferred to keep to himself?
At this point he wished she was Lycan, so he wouldn't only be one affected by the mate bond and make his job much easier.
He tried to mask his jealousy in silence but no matter how hard he tried to hide his jealousy, it was clear as day on his face. His eyes were narrowed and his jaw was clenched, and anyone who came near him could feel the tense energy radiating off of him.
"Does she amuse you Lucian?, is she some whore you desire?," He asked turning his gaze toward the blonde-haired man with a stoic expression.
"Why should it matter?," Lucian inquired with slanted brows sensing something amiss with the whole situation. He had never seen his brother get this upset and disturbed over any woman. Why should he?, there wasn't any woman on the planet he couldn't have. Yet here he was, seemingly concerned about his feelings for Alexandra.
"Answer me," Lucifer requested with a glare approaching him in long strides, "Do you desire the girl?,"
"Yes," Came his short response. Lucifer's veins twitched in annoyance as he spoke in a deep menacing tone
"She is off limits brother, I don't care who you choose to fuck or kill, but you stay the fuck away from her," He said with a callous smile void of everything good and personifying everything that was not.
"That won't be possible Lucifer," He refused earning a frown from his brother. His brother barely defied his orders. Why was this any different?
"And why is that little brother?," He said to intentionally remind him of their hierarchy and who held greater strength. A ten-year age gap existed between both brothers, with Lucifer being thirty-five having the deceiving appearance of a twenty-year-old, and Lucian being twenty-five. They had clashed many times in the past with Lucifer triumphing each time.
"She's my mate," An eerie silence followed soon after. As Lucifer stared in disbelief. How was this possible? how could two lycan brothers be mated to the same woman?, it had never been heard of until now. Lucian noticing the dumb and shocked look on Lucifer's face asked
"Why do you look so surprised?,"
"I won't let you have her," He sent a terrifying glare at Lucian, "She is mine, do you understand,"
It didn't take long for Lucian to realize and understand the situation. There was no mistaking it, Alexa was also his chosen mate. Still, how could this be possible?, is this perhaps one of the many curses they were to experience in their lifetime?
At his birth, for their father's sin, both brothers had been cursed by a powerful witch. Lucifer was cursed with the daily urge and need to consume blood to suppress his Lycan beast from taking control of his body and spiraling out of control, going berserk. While Lucian had been cursed to a lifetime of darkness. His curse prevented him from ever stepping into the sun which would inevitably burn him like it would a vampire.
Lucian was also cursed to suffer an excruciating pain that would set his lycan beast loose and out of control every ten days. To control this fate, he had a secret dungeon where he spent the night in chains to keep himself and his beast restrained.
Until now, all he knew was pain and suffering. However meeting his mate changed everything, for the first time in his life, he saw a light at the end of the tunnel, however, it seemed even the light would inevitably fade into the dark with the realization that meeting Alexa might be part of his curse. Nonetheless, she controls his burning emotion. It would be impossible to stay away from his mate.
"Do you understand Lucian?," Lucifer asked again growling at him. He couldn't let anyone stand in his way, not even his brother. He couldn't bring himself to kill his brother, nonetheless, he was willing to imprison his brother till his death if it came to it. The mate bond was both the most beautiful and dangerous phenomenon in the lycan world.
"You know I can't Lucifer," He said with a stoic gaze. Losing his temper Lucifer dashed towards the windows and swung the cotton open as rays of sunlight seeped into the dark room.
"Well then, die with the consequences," Lucifer clenched his jaws as Lucian stumbled out of his chair gasping for air. His eyes had adjusted to the darkness, but the sudden brightness of the sun was overwhelming. He tried to shield his eyes with his hand, but it was too late. The sunlight was already burning his skin.
Within seconds, blisters began to form on his pale flesh. He dropped to his knees, writhing in pain. The scent of burning flesh filled the air
"Brother enough!" He struggled to say as his skin turned from pale white to a sickly shade of brown, however, Lucifer stood with a stern gaze and in the blink of an eye Lucian while slowly burning launched his claws towards Lucifer's face, slashing him across the eyes which blinded him immediately before dashing for the cotton which he drew together to block the rays of sunlight.
He fell on his knees while panting for breath as the burns and blisters on his skin slowly healed when he heard the sudden sadistic laughter from Lucifer whose eyesight had healed.
"That was fun," He said with a smile, "How about I rip the cotton to pieces?," The air was thick with tension as he circled Lucian with a smirk, each waiting for the other to strike.
Lucian was the first to move. He lunged forward, aiming a swift kick at Lucifer's chest. Lucifer however caught his leg midair and twisted it, dislocating his bones and sending him tumbling to the ground. Lucian flipped backward, landing gracefully on his feet as the sound of amending bones echoed through the room.
The older brother grinned, revealing his razor-sharp fangs. "Not bad," he sneered. "You always were the most entertaining to fight,"
Lucian ignored his remarks, instead launching a flurry of punches toward his Lucifer who stepped back receiving some punches while narrowly avoiding a few. He responded with a swift counter-attack, his movements graceful and deadly.
The brothers continued to fight, their movements faster than the eye could follow. They clashed with a loud thud, sending shockwaves through the room. Furniture toppled over, shattering on the ground as the brothers grappled with each other.
Lucian was fierce and quicker with his attacks, but Lucifer was more experienced. He managed to disarm Lucian's weapon, sending his silver-bladed dagger flying across the room. Lucian stumbled back, his movements sluggish as the older brother seized his chance.
With a quick motion, he slashed Lucian's throat. Lucian gasped, eyes wide with shock as blood poured from his wound. He staggered backward, slowly sinking to his knees.
Lucifer stood over him, his triumph clear in his eyes. "You were never a match for me," he sneered. "You should have known better than to fight me little brother."
Lucian's eyes flickered as he looked up at Lucifer with a smile on his face
"What's so fun.." He halted his words as he felt a sharp and sudden pain in his abdomen. He lowered his gaze and found two daggers plunged at both sides of his guts which dropped him to his knees.
"What the fuck?," He cursed surprised at Lucian's surprise attack. It seemed he had purposely left himself open for an attack to lure him into a trap. one that ends with two daggers sticking through his abdomen. Not bad, he thought. However...
"You think two daggers are going to stop me?" He laughed pulling out the daggers, one after the other
"Of course not brother," He chuckled as his gashed neck healed itself, Lucifer looked at him with a puzzled expression, he tried to move his legs for another attack when he felt a bolt of lightning pain strike his core and brought him on his knees
"What..what did you do?," He gritted through the pain
"Wolf's bane," He pointed at the daggers which he had cloaked in wolfsbane. Staring at the daggers Lucifer broke out a mild chuckle. It was the first time his brother had defeated him in a battle. He had completely underestimated him and Lucian had taken advantage of it. Tsk he wasn't surprised, although he possessed greater power than Lucian, his brother's intelligence and cleverness were unrivaled.
"It should knock you unconscious in a few seconds, we'll talk when you wake up..hopefully with less hostility," He said watching his brother fade into deep sleep. He let out a frustrated sigh as he slumped back in his chair wondering how they could possibly deal with the situation. Both brothers were unwilling to back down from having Alexa as their mate.