Page 32 of Abandoned By My Alpha Husband

That's when it happened.

Several servants standing near the noble wolves suddenly pulled out knives and drove them deep. Screams erupted. The smell of blood flooded the room. Someone shouted, "They drugged the wine—we can't shift!" The speaker's throat was slit a second later.

Guards tried to rush in, but the doors had been locked from inside.

Lucifer leaped up, drew his sword, and drove it through the heart of a man lunging toward him. I flipped the table, blocking another attacker. "Run!" Lucifer shoved me back. I stumbled, turned—

Two men were charging at Lina and Liam.

Lina trembled. Then she let go.

Liam froze. He watched the knives come at him.

"Liam!"

In an instant, I half-shifted—I hadn't drunk the wine—I moved as fast as I could and grabbed the man's leg, slamming him hard into the ground. He flew backward into his accomplice. Both crashed into a stone pillar. Blood ran down the edge.

I quickly shifted back and scooped up Liam. He was terrified. He didn't react until my fingers touched his face, then he burst into tears, clinging to me desperately, snot and tears streaming down. My heart broke. I comforted him while trying to stand.

"Elena!"

Lucifer's voice.

Something pierced my abdomen.

I looked down. Black vapor rose from the blade. Almost instantly, searing pain spread through me. I convulsed, arching backward, but I still held Liam tight. He stared at me. Blood splattered across his face.

Lucifer killed the man who'd stabbed me. He caught me as I went limp.

"Elena!"

I couldn't hear anymore. Liam was still crying. I lost consciousness completely.

Chapter Nine

Elena

When I woke up, pain hit me first.

Something in my abdomen felt torn open from the inside, pulsing with every beat, each throb shooting straight up my spine. I frowned and tried to move my fingers, wanting to push myself up. The moment my hand touched the sheets, another hand closed around it.

The hand was large, the palm warm.

My wolf shot upright, snarling a warning—then a familiar scent flooded my nose. Instantly, my wolf went limp, curling up again with a contented sigh.

Lucifer.

I turned my head. Lucifer sat in the chair beside the bed, elbows on his knees, leaning forward. My hand lay in his against the edge of the mattress. His head was down, stubble shadowing his jaw, dark circles carved deep beneath his eyes and spreading to his cheekbones. His hair stuck up in messy strands across his forehead. Uncombed.

He was asleep.

I stared at him. His grip wasn't tight, but he hadn't let go either—loose, like he was afraid I'd run. My wolf stirred inside me. It wanted to speak, but its throat seemed blocked too. It just curled tighter and nuzzled my heart.

Something in my chest softened. I tried to slip my hand free, the movement barely perceptible—but Lucifer's eyes opened anyway. Those gray eyes looked unfocused at first, blank. When he saw me watching him, he froze for half a beat. Then he shot to his feet. The chair legs scraped across the floor with a sharp screech—he'd moved too fast, nearly toppling it. He didn't care. His other hand still gripped mine as he bent down and pulled me into his arms.

I sat there, stunned. His weight pressed against me, but carefully, holding back. Heat poured off him.

"You're awake." His voice came out raw, like he hadn't spoken in days, like coarse sandpaper dragged across his throat, grazing my earlobe. Lucifer's arms locked tight around me through the blanket. My face pressed against his chest. I could hear his heartbeat—fast, pounding.