JACK’S POV
Lucian didn’t flinch when I smiled at him like I meant to draw blood.
“I hear you’ve become a lackey for my parents,” I said.
Anyone else would have bristled, or snapped, or at least let the insult register in the tension of their shoulders.
Lucian only watched me.
Calm. Measured. Unmoved in a way that felt less like restraint and more like indifference.
“That would be inaccurate,” he said, his tone as even as it had been before.
I huffed a quiet laugh, circling him, pressure coiling tighter under my skin with each step.
“What title would you prefer?” I asked. “Errand boy? Servant?” I chuckled. “How does it feel to be an Alpha at someone else’s mercy?”
His gaze tracked me without turning his head, as if he had already calculated every movement I could make before I made it.
“I would argue that between you and me right now, I’m not the one at someone else’s mercy.”
Something sharp twisted low in my chest.
“The fuck is that supposed to mean?” I snarled.
