12: Lucien

**Tristan**

"Lucien Michaels?" My father repeated after a moment of silence.

I nodded curtly and my father, once again, fell silent. And so, Oliver took it as his opportunity to speak. "L-Lucien? Oh, Moon Goddess... and so the plot thickens. Who would have thought you'd be mated to Lucien and Damon would-"

But before he could finish his sentence, my father shot him a glare, one I recalled as voicing his command to have Oliver stay silent.

"What should I do, father? I'm afraid having him around may be to the detriment of my mission. I know you said that rejecting one's mate goes against everything werewolves stand for, but I'm afraid I have no choice."

Again, my father fell silent, falling into a deep sense of contemplation. I wondered what he was thinking about. It was always dangerous inside his mind.

"Mated to Lucien Michaels... I couldn't have asked for a better opportunity." He uttered softly.

I was, admittedly, quite surprised by his words, but made no effort to show it. How on Earth could Lucien be seen as an 'opportunity'. He was nothing, if not a giant nuisance. And so, I asked, "What do you mean by 'opportunity', father?"

He looked up at me and slowly a spine-chilling smile made its way onto his face, and he gave a little snicker before answering. "You will seduce Lucien Michaels, my soldier. You will make him fall madly in love with you, and once he's wrapped around your finger you *will* have him join us. No one is more important than he is to our plan."

"But father-"

"Have I made myself clear, soldier?" He uttered sternly, an indication that I'd have no say in the matter.

Not one to disobey him, I nodded and then said, "Yes sir. I will do as you say. Nothing is more important than him."

"Good," he nodded and then turned towards Oliver, "Why don't you give Tristan a bit of background information of Lucien. After all, you know who he is now better than I do. In the meantime, I have an important meeting to attend to regarding the upcoming Alpha gathering. Apparently, the rumours of our rogue pack are starting to spread."

With this, he stood up from his seat and began to exit the living room leaving Oliver and myself behind. I turned towards the handsome young man and raised an eyebrow.

"So, you're well acquainted with my mate?" I asked.

Oliver chuckled, stood up from his seat and took one next to me. "He is my cousin, so of course I'm well acquainted with him. Speaking of which, how was Damon's engagement party. Did I miss out on anything by not accepting their invitation?"

"Y-you were invited?" I asked, quite shocked. As far as I was concerned, Oliver, like my father was shunned away from the Blood Moon pack. But perhaps things had changed in the time that he'd been away from here.

Oliver nodded and then said, "Of course I was invited. Damon's mate would have ripped his head off had I not been invited. She's a very kind young woman and perhaps the only person who doesn't deserve the wrath of your father. Poor woman."

"Why didn't you attend then?" I asked, curious why anyone would refuse an invitation from such a supposedly wonderful person that Damon's mate appeared to be.

Oliver sighed and leaned back a bit. "My mate. She attended and I didn't want to spoil things for her. I've been quite the asshole in the past-"

"You have a mate?"

"*Had*. I rejected her... I broke her poor heart and I've suffered the consequences of it. Rejection is far worse than death for both the mate rejecting and the one being rejected. So, no matter how much you may dislike Lucien- which I find hard to believe- rejecting him should *never* be an option. You don't know what you've got until it's gone. And you don't know love until you've rejected the one you were meant for."

"You regret rejecting her?" I asked. It was so interesting to observe the emotions of others, to investigate how they felt and wonder what it would be like to feel that way.

Oliver nodded slowly. "I do, yes. I'd do anything to have her back, but I'm afraid it might be too late." And as he said this, a tear fell from his eye and began to trickle down his cheek. Entranced by the intense emotion it seemed to hold, I reached out and touched at its wetness with my finger. As I did so, Oliver's hand snatched at my wrist and I gasped out, not frightened, but surprised. Oliver held my hand steadily in place and stared up at me with a slight tilt of his head.

"Sometimes," he whispered out, "I wish I were like you. I wish I didn't feel pain."

"I do feel pain." I corrected him, but he shook his head. "Not physical pain. I wish I didn't feel emotional pain. I wish I only felt anger and annoyance and nothing else."

It was strange. While he wished he felt less, I wished I felt more. I wanted to feel sadness. I wanted to cry my eyes out, to shout, to laugh, to be happy and sorrowful and to feel more of what I felt for Oliver: affection. But I never once voiced this. Instead, I just stayed silent, watching as his eyes analysed mine. Then suddenly they changed, falling back into their former friendliness.

"Enough about my mate. Let's talk about yours." He said, dropping my hand gently from his.

I nodded and then said, "Yes. I really want to know why such an idiot would be considered so important."

"Idiot? Tiger, Lucien is not an idiot. He is, by far, one of the most intelligent men I've met. Royally screwed up in the head as well though. There's a fine line between being absolutely insane and being brilliantly brilliant, and he's crossed to insanity many times."

Insanity? Of course, he seemed a little crazy, but I'd never say the man was *insane*. And brilliant? He seemed far from it. But Oliver was never one to praise someone if praise was not due, and so I had no choice but to try to believe him.

"Did you know that he was the founder of the Vixen organisation. Him and Damon's mate."

My curiosity really peaked at the mention of this. "Damon's mate?"

Oliver nodded. "Yes. She was the first Vixen. It's a long story though, but the tale is the reason Lucien might be so important to your father's plan. I'm sure, however, that you're not interested in a long story."

By Goddess, he knew I was. He'd caught my interest, and now I was itching to find out about the sort of past Lucien and Damon's mate shared.

"Of course, I want to hear it." I uttered.

Oliver smiled, clearly itching to talk. That's all he really liked to do, talk. And I liked to listen. So, he began to speak about a young orphan, scarred by the world with nothing but survival on her mind. She was rescued by Lucien who welcomed her loneliness with his own. He grew attached to the young woman and did everything in his power to make her life worth so much more than survival. He taught her to read, write and most importantly, to be a Vixen. In looking after the young woman, Lucien soon fell in love with her which, according to Oliver was his downfall. That was when Lucien began to walk the path of insanity and evil. I couldn't quite understand it- which was understandable considering I'd never been in love- but according to Oliver, the young woman soon began working for Damon. She was human back then and from what I gathered, had been turned by him. Thereafter, she fled, a she-alpha wolf. And so, Lucien began to do what my father loved to do: he began to play a game, a deadly little game. And as Oliver described all of the events leading up to the incident three years ago, I soon began to understand just how dangerous Lucien Michaels was and why he was so important to us. He had been the only person to successfully bring not only Damon, but his mate down to their knees and, if he hadn't been so confused and conflicted, he could have completely destroyed the both of them.

"There is no greater game maker than Lucien Michaels. He may not look it, but inside lurks a darkness even more terrifying than your father's."

"But how could such a dangerous man be so tame?" asked.

"He's changed slightly since his three-year long absence. I can't say I don't approve of it though. Lucien had always had a softer side to him and as dangerous as he is, he truly is a good man. That is why, perhaps he decided to leave in the first place. But I'm afraid that dragging him into this mess might destroy him again and I can't say I'm fond of the idea. But if it helps you, well then I can't go against it."

"Destroy him?" I questioned.

Oliver nodded. "Lucien is a badly broken individual, much like you and me. He's suffered the darkness before and barely made it back alive. I'm afraid dragging him down with us will only kill him emotionally, and in turn, kill him physically, especially since he hates the dark part of himself the most... but, if you could love him, just a little bit, perhaps there's a way to save him."

"Love him? I thought father said-"

"Your father is just scornful over his own experience with love. The Michaels men don't know how to truly appreciate the beauty and brutality of love, myself included. But Lucien and Damon are different. While Damon is already loved, Lucien just wants to be loved."

"I'm afraid I can't fall in love with him. Not only will it complicate things more, but I lack the capability to love anything." I said.

Oliver scoffed at this and rolled his eyes. "You care for me, don't you?"

"Of course, but that's because-"

"Exactly. And if you can care for me, then you can definitely fall in love with someone. You doubt your emotional capabilities, but I think it's because my uncle trained you to be as cold and numb as he is. But trust me, I *know* you better than you do."

"No one knows me better than I know myself." I grunted out.

Oliver just chuckled, completely unconvinced, and then he shifted slightly in his seat. "Fine. Whatever you say, Tiger. There are, however, worse things in life than being mated to a literal Sex God."

"He’s not a Sex God." I retorted, not at all liking where this conversation went and was continuing to go. Love Lucien? Please, over my dead body.

"How do you know? You haven't slept with him yet, have you?" Oliver asked.

My eyes widened and I launched a punch into his shoulder, making him wince immediately.

"All I'm saying is that according to what I've heard, Lucien is nothing short of absolutely amazing in bed. Perhaps taking him out for a *ride* might prove worthwhile. It would definitely be better than the guys you choose to sleep with here."

Again, my fist collided with his shoulder. It seemed our conversation had run its course, and I wasn't sure it had been my favourite little discussion with Oliver... or my father. I had to seduce Lucien despite the fact that I lacked a single seductive bone in my body. But it seemed I'd be playing Lucien's Game of Seduction after all. Only this time, it would be mine.