The Play-Toy Of Three Lycan Kings-Chapter 375: Troubled

ADAM

I had been trying to ignore the thought all morning, but it kept circling back like a persistent storm cloud.

Sage and Darius.

There was something between those two—something sharp-edged, hidden, threaded far too deeply for my liking. Not the softness of affection or the childish cling of old friendship.

No. This was something darker. Purposeful. Bound by secrets I wasn’t allowed to touch.

One of the contestants had reported it to me just before sunrise: He had seen them vault the fence in the dead of night.

Vault the fence. Like two shadows. Like two people with something to hide.

Where had they gone? When had they returned? How long had they been sneaking around without my knowledge?

I had dispatched my men the moment I heard the report. Their message came back not long ago—quiet, irritating, inconclusive:

"Sage is in her house."

"Darius is in his house."

As though that solved anything.

My jaw tightened. What were those two planning? What were they in together?

And why, in all the goddess’s twisted wisdom, did Sage insist so fervently that Darius be cast out of the pack? When they were practically inseparable? What game was she playing? Why did Darius go along with it?

None of it made sense. And I hated not knowing.

I hated being in the dark like this—blind, guessing, reactive. I hated how every fragment of information slipped through my fingers the moment I tried to catch it. I hated the uneasy twist in my stomach, the instinct that whispered:

This has something to do with the vampire attacks.

I didn’t have proof. Just instinct. And instinct had kept me alive far more reliably than logic ever had.

Frustration clawed at my ribs. I stood abruptly, pacing. The office suddenly felt too small, too tight, too warm. I crossed to the window and shoved it open, letting the sharp morning air hit my face.

Outside, the weather was calm. Soft clouds, muted sun, a gentle breeze brushing through the compound. The land was at peace.

I wasn’t. Not even close.

"How," I muttered under my breath, "could the goddess mate me to someone this vague? This obscure? This... untouchable?"

Sage was a riddle dressed in human skin. A storm slow-walking through my life. A sharp silence where answers should be.

She infuriated me. And worse—she captivated me. That was the part I hated most.

I braced both hands on the window frame, bowing my head. I needed to stop watching them. I needed to stop caring what Sage did when I wasn’t looking.

But even now, as contestants were being released back to wherever they had come from, as the compound where they had stayed was being cleared, as order returned to the pack... my focus was still on her.

At this very moment, the contestants were packing up. Those who wanted to join the fight against the vampires would be engrafted into the pack, bound to me so they couldn’t betray us. The others would return their previous lives—including Darius.

Then Sage would join the elite of the pack.

Her new abode was already being prepared. Closer to the heart of the territory. Closer to me. Except she had said—so casually—that she planned to stay out of the pack’s doings.

Then what, exactly, would she be doing? Who was she? Where had she come from? And more importantly—who was chasing her?

The thought lodged itself in my chest like a thorn. Sage, in danger. No. No, I didn’t like that at all. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

I didn’t like that it affected me. I didn’t like that the idea made my pulse kick, made my instincts sharpen, made this restless anger coil low in my gut.

I cursed under my breath. Cursed at myself. Cursed at these damned feelings I had not asked for.

A knock on my door dragged me from my spiraling thoughts.

I straightened. "Enter."

My beta stepped in, expression tight. "Alpha... Darius is waiting out front. He’s about to leave the pack."

I exhaled slowly. A long breath. A calming one. "I’ll come."

I dismissed the guards with a flick of my hand. The moment they left, I rolled my shoulders, grounding myself before stepping out.

And there he was. Darius.

Standing in the court with a large backpack slung over his shoulder. He looked like he belonged halfway between this world and another. An old aura always clung to him, something aged and knowing, something that suggested he’d seen far more than was normal for someone who looked that young.

He stood straight, expression unreadable as I approached.

"Darius," I said, extending my hand.

"Alpha." He shook it firmly.

We traded the kind of pleasantries that meant nothing, words layered with unspoken tension. He studied me with those strangely calm eyes, like he could see every thought I was trying to lock away.

I didn’t like that either.

After a moment, the question slipped out of me—instinctive, unplanned, honest:

"Will you return?"

He hesitated. Only for a heartbeat. "Yes."

Deadpan. Like the decision wasn’t mine to influence. Like nothing on this earth could stop him.

My wolf bristled.

Darius adjusted the strap of his backpack. "If I don’t return... the kingdom might be in trouble."

I stiffened. "What does that mean?"

Another hesitation.

But instead of answering, he offered me a smile that wasn’t truly a smile. "Keep your eyes open, Alpha. Be careful."

Then he turned, and walked away. Just like that. Just like Sage.

I stood there long after he had disappeared from sight.

My beta hovered nearby, unsure.

I had half a mind to call the guards. To order Darius seized. Interrogated. Tortured, even. Anything to break the fog of secrets surrounding him.

But my wolf growled low inside me. Not a good idea then. What to do then?

I clenched my jaw, forcing my fists to unclench as I turned back toward my office.

Claire spotted me from across the courtyard, her expression lighting up. "Adam! Why have I been barred from your quarters? What did I do? Adam... Adam, wait!"

I did not stop. I did not answer. I simply walked faster while frustration simmered through my veins, hot and restless.

Something was coming. I could feel it. And I hated how blind I was to the shape of it.