Lucien Ashford's Arc

Chapter 5 of 5

Lucien did not go home. He followed the two men instead. He told himself it was to learn their plans. The truth was harder. He wanted to know why they hunted him at all. He kept a full street back, dresses still folded under his arm, and watched their broad backs move ahead. Axel Cross and Dante Steele were the men who had chased him from the lace shop. The blond in white walked loose and easy. The dark one in black moved like he owned the ground. They had triggered his charm before, forced it near the change. Now they did not look for him. They talked low and turned toward a squat building with long metal doors. Lucien slipped close and pressed to the wall. A gap in the door let sound through. He listened. "The boy took the charm on his own," Dante said. "His folks paid us to make sure." Lucien froze. His stomach dropped. "His mother wanted him softened," Axel said, laughing. "His father too. Tired of the runt shaming the name. So they hired the cat girls. Set the whole thing up. The wasteland, the fight, the charm around his neck." "And us," Dante added. "Keep him wanting. Keep him hot. One good flare and the change locks forever. Then he's their pretty daughter for good." Lucien's hands shook. His own mother. His own father. The brothers' mockery had never been the worst of it. His parents had planned every step. The beast he chased, the girls who beat him, the charm he bound himself — all a trap they built to erase the son they were ashamed of. The charm at his throat warmed. Not from the men now. From rage. He forced it down the way he had learned. He breathed slow. He made himself stone. The heat cooled. Boots scraped. The metal door slid open. Axel stepped out and stopped. "Well," he said. His grin spread. "The daughter came home to us." Dante filled the doorway behind him. "Saves the chase." Lucien did not run. He looked straight at the men and said “make me a girl then I lose”.