Chapter Twenty-One
Magnus Escapes
Caleb POV
I felt it before the words reached me.
That was the problem with bonds forged in blood and lies—they didn't wait for permission. They didn't knock. They just hit.
I was halfway through rewrapping my knuckles when the air shifted. Not magic exactly. Not Helene's cold divinity or Hazel's volatile power.
Something older.
Something wrong.
It somehow felt like Helena, her type of darkness. It made it hard to breathe.
Adam stilled inside me, hackles rising.
"No," he said quietly.
I froze.
The door to the training hall creaked open, and Lucien stepped in without ceremony. His expression was carved from stone, but his eyes—those damn eyes—gave him away.
"Magnus has vanished," he said.
The world narrowed to a single, awful point.
Vanished.
Not escaped. Not overpowered guards. Not killed his way out.
Vanished meant planning. It meant preparation. It meant he'd been waiting.
My pulse thundered in my ears as the sensation deepened—sharp, intimate, invasive. Like fingers brushing the inside of my skull.
Magnus.
He was awake.
He was free.
And gods help me—he knew I could feel him.
"He's smiling, Adam muttered darkly. I can feel it. Like rot under gold."
I swallowed, forcing my breathing steady, my face neutral. Lucien watched me too closely.
"You sensed it," he said flatly.
"Yes," I admitted. Lying to Lucien was pointless. Dangerous. "Before you spoke."
His jaw tightened. "Hazel?"
The question was a blade.
"No," I said quickly. Too quickly. I recalibrated, schooling my tone. "She didn't react. If she felt anything, she didn't show it."
Lucien studied me in silence.
Adam laughed under his breath. "You're doing it again."
"Shut up," I snapped internally.
"You will tell her, or I will." Lucien said at last. It wasn't a threat. He meant it.
I met his gaze. Held it. "When I know more."
"When," Lucien repeated coldly, "I've known Hazel since we were little, Caleb, she's my best friend, one thing she hates more than anything is being lied to, I've been hiding this from her since I learnt about it for your sake. Because I wanted you to tell her and it's killing me, I'll give you three days. You're my best friend and Alpha, but I care about her alot. After three days if you don't tell her then i will."
"I'll tell her. I mean it. I just.... I've been chasing her, put a bounty on her head, almost killed her when I found out she was a thorn, I denied her of having a mate, I.... she'll hate me and I deserve it but.... Will she ever forgive me?"
The truth pressed against my teeth, sharp and dangerous.
Because I already knew the answer.
He avoided my eyes.
Damn.
"Magnus didn't run without purpose. And Hazel—gods, Hazel—was written into every plan that man had ever made." Lucien said
"I'll find him, and I'll kill him, for my parents, my pack, Hazel's pack, and for Hazel." Was what I was going to say.
"I'll handle it," I said instead.
Lucien's eyes hardened. "You are not the only one carrying secrets, Caleb."
I almost laughed.
If only he knew.
He turned and left without another word, the wind blowing softly behind him.
The silence that followed was worse.
I leaned back against a tree, dragging a hand down my face. My scars burned faintly now, old marks reacting to a presence they remembered too well.
"You should tell her." Adam said. No humor. No filth. Just tension pulled tight as wire.
"She's barely holding herself together," I whispered. "After Selene. After Helene. If she knows Magnus is the middleman—"
"—she'll hunt him, Adam finished. And you know what he'll do if she comes for him. She'll end up forgiving us. Not telling her is wrong. If you mess up any chance I have with my mate Caleb, I'll never speak to you again."
I closed my eyes.
I saw Hazel as she'd been this morning—furious, radiant, shaking with power she was still learning to leash. I saw the way she'd walked away from me, spine straight, pride bleeding through every step.
She trusted me.
That was the worst part.
"I'll fix it," I said quietly. "I'll find him first."
Adam didn't argue.
That scared me more than anything.
Because deep down, in the place where instincts told the truth before fear could dress it up—
We both knew Magnus wasn't running from us.
He was running toward her. Towards Helena. We'd have to find him first. And kill him. Then I'll break the news to Hazel.
And when Hazel found out I'd known all along—
Not if.
When—
The lie wouldn't just hurt.
It would break something we might not get back.
That's what I was scared of the most. Even with our half broken bond, it was still so strong. We were able to communicate with our minds now. He scent was stronger. My every instinct screamed to go to her. To always be near her.
Even now I can feel her heartbeat if I listen enough. If I close my eyes and breathe in, I can smell her.
Adam wasn't helping either, He's been stuffing nasty images in my mind. Images I won't normally think of because I'd have to take a cold shower after I do.
Even that isn't enough these days.
"Adam please for the love of the Selene not now." I whispered
"What? I like fantasizing about my mate. I want her and you should too. As much as I do. That's why I need you not to mess this up for us. For me."
"Whatever. Fantasize yourself leave me out of it. Youre such a horny wolf. How'd I get stuck with you?"
I said standing straight. He burst out laughing in my mind and I smiled. I was heading towards a stream. Hoping to selene that it's cold. Cold enough for what I needed right now.
As for Magnus, I hope he drops dead. I should've taken the oxygen mask off when I had the chance.