All Chapters of The Lycan’s Tribute: Claimed By My Foster Brothers: Chapter 81 - Chapter 90

Kade POVI didn't sleep worth a damn.The twitch. That stupid eyebrow twitch. It played in my head on repeat like a song I couldn't turn off. Corvus knew something. I was sure of it. I just didn't know what, and that was what pissed me off the most.I stared at the ceiling for what felt like hours. The water stain in the corner looked like a duck. Or maybe a frog. I wasn't sure. Didn't care. I just needed my brain to shut up for five minutes.It didn't.Aldric was already at the table when I walked in the next morning. Book open. Coffee cold. Same old same old.“You look like hell,” he said without looking up. His voice was flat, like he was commenting on the weather.“Good morning to you too,” I said, dropping into my chair. I rubbed my eyes with both hands. “You always know how to make a guy feel special.”“Someone has to keep you humble.” He turned a page. The paper crackled.“I don't need humble. I need answers.”“You're thinking about the eyebrow again.” He finally glanced at me.

Aurelia's POVWe stumbled out of the ruins like the dead coming back to life.The daylight hit my face, and I almost cried. I didn't. But I wanted to. The mist was thinner here, just a haze hanging over the rocks, not the thick blanket that had swallowed us for what felt like forever. I could see the sky. Actual sky. Not glowing crystals. Not darkness. Just gray, miserable, beautiful sky.Kaelen was leaning on Rylan, his face pale, his breathing still shallow. He'd been quiet since we left the heart. Too quiet. Torin walked ahead, scanning the path, his hand never leaving his blade. I stayed in the middle, wrapped in a torn blanket someone had found for me, my feet sore, my head pounding, my wolf finally quiet.We didn't talk much. There wasn't anything left to say.The path wound down toward the settlement. I recognized the broken pillars, the crumbling walls, the statues with faces worn smooth. We'd passed them before, on the way in. Now they looked almost familiar. Almost welcoming

Aurelia's POVDawn came gray and cold.I woke before the others, lying still in the shallow hollow we'd found for the night. The ground was hard, sleep wasn't nice, my back ached. My wolf was quiet for once, which should have been a relief but somehow wasn't.Rylan was already awake. Sitting against a rock, watching the tree line. He didn't look at me when I sat up. Just nodded toward the east, acknowledging that he's aware that I'm awake. “We should move,” he said.That's when I realized I was the last to wake up, I didn't argue.We broke camp fast. No fire. No noise. Just cold bread and water, swallowed standing up. Kaelen moved better today, though his jaw was still somehow tight, or maybe I just thought it that way. Torin kicked dirt over our footprints, then took point.The road east was wider here and flatter. The trees thinned out, replaced by scrub and rocky ground. I kept glancing back and kept feeling eyes on me that weren't there.Rylan noticed. “You're jumpy.”“I'm tired,

Aurelia's POVThe door to Kade's chambers was heavier than I remembered. Or maybe I was just tired. Rylan pushed it open, and we walked in like we belonged there. Kade's room was warm. Too warm. The fire in the hearth was huge, flames licking at the stone, throwing orange light across the walls. Candles on the table. A decanter of something dark on the sideboard. He sat in a high-backed chair by the fire, legs crossed, a glass in his hand. He didn't stand when we entered.“There you are,” he said. His voice was smooth. Too smooth. “I was starting to think you'd disappeared for good.”I caught the reference. Rylan didn't answer. He stood by the door, arms crossed. Torin moved to the window, looking out at the dark. Kaelen stayed close to me, still pale, still leaning on furniture when he thought no one was looking.I scanned the room.No Lyra.I wasn't sure if that was good or bad.“Sit,” Kade said. He gestured to the chairs across from him. “You look exhausted.”We didn't sit.He sm

Aurelia's POVThe door was locked. Torin had checked the windows twice. Rylan was pacing in front of the fireplace like a caged animal, his boots loud on the stone floor. Kaelen sat on the couch, his eyes half closed, his hand pressed against his still-healing side.I stood by the window, watching the dark.“We can't trust her,” Rylan said. He didn't have to say who. We all knew.“Maybe,” Torin said. “But why warn us? What does she gain?”“She's Kade's daughter. She gains everything by lying.”“Or maybe she's finally had enough of him.” Kaelen's voice was quiet. Tired. “People change you know.”Rylan stopped pacing. “People don't change that fast.”I turned from the window. “She cut my hair. She threatened to kill me. She told me I was nothing.” I looked at Rylan. “And then she warned me. Twice. So which is it? Enemy or not?”No one had an answer.The fire crackled. The seconds stretched.Then someone knocked.Rylan was at the door before the sound faded. He opened it a crack, hand on