The Lycan Prince

"I'll Rip Your Lips Off of Your Mouth."

I cannot sleep. No matter how much I try, I cannot sleep.

I toss and turn in the comfortable bed, but no matter what I do, I can't sleep.

Should I go and find Luca?

How is Ares? Is he okay?

How is Kaden holding up?

Was it Michael who attacked us back at the penthouse, or Carla's pack members? 

I get out of bed and make my way downstairs. It's 1 am in the morning and it's terribly quiet. Well, what else can you expect from an empty cabin in the middle of nowhere?

As I reach the bottom of the wooden staircase, my eyes fall on Luca's tall frame lying on the sofa. I walk over to him as quietly as possible. He doesn't look like his normal intimidating self; he doesn't look ruthless or angry or.... emotionless. He just looks like the plain old Luca that I became friends with a few months ago.

His face is not relaxed, though. His forehead is creased and his lips are pressed in a tight line. "Aren't you a weird guy?" I ask his sleepy self, but to my surprise his eyes suddenly fly open.

I quickly put my hand against my mouth and then with the same speed drop it down as well, trying to sit normally. Meanwhile he sits up, rubbing away the sleep from his eyes.

"Is there anything you need?" He asks as he yawns. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah there is, actually," I answer, tucking a loose strand of my hair behind my ear. "I want to call Ares and ask him how he's doing."

Luca suddenly stiffens and looks at me with... disappointment?

Why is he disappointed? I am asking about his family, what else did I do? 

"You want to know how Ares is doing?" He asks in a low tone that that has an undertone of sadness in it. 

"Yeah. Can I call him?" I ask again.

"Yeah, umm," Luca clears his throat, stands up and walks towards the kitchen, "There is no reception here, so you can't call him. However, he mind-linked me before I fell asleep, and they are all fine." I follow him into the kitchen.

"Oh and what about Kaden? Is he," I pause for a second, "Okay?"

Luca slowly nods while gulping down the glass of water he's poured for himself. "He has calmed down for now. We don't really know whether he is okay or not." His answer saddens me so much more than I already was.

"I really hope that he feels better soon," I mumble. "Alright then, I'll go back to sleep."

"Yeah, sure." He nods.

I nod in return and make my way towards the stairs.

But then I stop, turn around and walk back to Luca. He's standing in the kitchen, with his hands supporting his large frame and his back facing towards me.

"Umm, Luca?"

He turns around in a flash, "Yeah?"

"How are you holding up?"

He looks taken aback. The look of utter surprise that lightens up his face sort of surprises me as well. "I shouldn't have asked that, yeah. Clearly, you aren't feeling better. God, I'm stupid," I turn around, mumbling to myself as I try to walk away from him in a haste when suddenly he catches my wrist and makes me stop dead in my tracks.

My eyes dart towards his hand on my wrist and then shift to the golden skin of his hand before I softly pull my wrist out of his grip.

"Oh, I am sorry," he mutters, "And no, you're not stupid. Thank you for asking about me too. It really means a lot to me." He gives me a small smile.