Free Web NovelChapter 243: You are dead for me
At the dining table, the atmosphere was noticeably tense.
Just yesterday, the same people had been chatting and laughing freely. Today, however, something felt different.
A certain man sat with a grumpy expression, staring down at his meal in silence.
Monica couldn’t help but feel uneasy seeing Terek remain completely silent, especially toward Gustav and Luke. Still, she held back from asking questions for now. Later, she would speak with Zuri. If anyone knew the reason behind Terek’s behavior, it would be her.
"Ah, the meat is so tender."
As though completely unaffected by the gloomy mood hanging over the table, Luke broke the silence after finishing a bite.
"Who cooked this? It really hit the spot."
A broad smile spread across his face.
"I did..." Ginna replied softly.
The tense atmosphere seemed to have affected her as well, causing her voice to come out as little more than a whisper.
Luke hummed. "Why are you speaking so quietly?"
Shaking his head, he turned to Lex.
"Well, how about you? Joining the hunt today?"
Dalia glanced at her mate as well, waiting for his answer.
Lex hummed. "The hunt... you mean the contest?"
Luke nodded.
"Yeah. Now that you’re back on your feet, why not use the best way to recover?"
"The contest, though..." Dalia interrupted. "Wouldn’t it be a little too much? You only recovered yesterday."
Zuri snickered.
"Don’t try to restrict your man. You’ll only make him want to do it even more."
Dalia’s concern deepened, but Lex shook his head.
"I won’t participate, so don’t worry. I will go out and hunt a few small beasts today, though."
Dalia let out a sigh of relief. freewebnσvel.cøm
She understood her mate’s pride well. If his younger brother was participating in the contest, Lex would have felt compelled to join as well. Fortunately, that didn’t seem to be the case.
"Hmm, what about you, Father? Are you participating?" Luke asked the old man after finishing the last of the meat, leaving only bones behind.
"Me? Nah. I don’t think I’ve still got it in me to participate."
Luke scoffed.
"You definitely do. That man in you hasn’t gone anywhere."
"You really believe so?"
For the first time since morning, Terek spoke.
His eyes remained fixed on his food as he added, "Do you still see him as a man, or just a burden?"
Gustav frowned.
"Terek, didn’t we already talk about this?"
Terek shrugged.
"I’m just asking for his opinion. I need to know what your children think of you so I can make arrangements for you."
The atmosphere in the hall instantly grew heavier.
It was obvious that whatever conversation Gustav and Terek had shared the previous night had not ended well. Somehow, Luke had become involved in it as well.
By now, Monica had more or less figured out the cause, which explained the look of panic that appeared on her face.
Luke let out a slow sigh and leaned back in his seat. Resting his hands on the table, he said,
"If you have something to say, then be direct about it."
Terek stopped pretending to be indifferent and raised his gaze to meet Luke’s.
At this point, the only person still eating was Lex.
"Then I will be direct with you," Terek said, his eyes sharp. "When you were nothing more than a crybaby who couldn’t earn a single coin, it was your father who supported you. And when you finally stood on your own feet and became a well-known hunter, the first thing you did was cut off his life support?"
He snarled.
"Who gave you the right to come between two mated partners?!"
Laila froze upon hearing those words.
She was the only person who hadn’t figured out the root of the entire situation. Now, she finally understood.
Surprisingly, Lex continued eating as though none of it concerned him.
Luke remained silent for a moment.
The one who spoke instead was Gustav.
"You have no right to speak to him like that. This is between us."
Terek growled.
"Just because he started earning a few coins and tossed some your way, you’re taking his side now and pretending his vulgar act never happened?"
Monica could no longer stay silent.
"Brother Terek, there’s nothing—"
But she was cut off.
"You shut up, woman. You backstabbed him during the worst period of his life—"
This time, however, Terek was the one who got interrupted.
A massive presence suddenly descended upon the entire hall.
Luke slowly rose from his seat, his eyes dark with fury.
His fist clenched at his side as he spoke in a cold voice.
"I remained silent while this was between us. But no one in this world gets to speak to her like that. Do you hear me?"
By then, Zuri and the others had already risen to their feet.
Everyone except Lex.
He was still calmly finishing his bread.
The room was gripped by a suffocating tension.
For people like Ginna and even Zuri, it was the first time they had ever seen Luke this furious.
And as a supernatural being, Zuri could sense the bloodlust radiating from him.
It was directed at one person and one person alone.
Terek didn’t back down. He met Luke’s glare head-on.
"And what if I do say something to her?" he challenged. "Do you even have what it takes to protect her?" fɾēewebnσveℓ.com
"Terek, stop!" Zuri suddenly protested, grabbing his arm. "You don’t—"
"Shut up, woman. Don’t come between us."
He shoved her aside, his aura flaring as his voice thundered through the room.
Ginna and Monica quickly caught Zuri before she could fall.
At that moment, Lex rose from his seat.
"If you two are going to fight, do it outside," he said calmly. "This house doesn’t belong to either of you alone to destroy."
With that, he picked up his bowl, took his mate’s hand, and headed back to his room.
"Luke... please..." Monica called out. "He’s family. We can solve this another way."
Luke took a deep breath and turned toward her.
"How am I supposed to stay calm when he doesn’t have a shred of respect for anyone here?" he growled. "He’s not picking a fight because he feels bad for Father. He’s doing it to assert dominance, to remind everyone who the strongest person in this house is."
Gustav’s eyes widened as he looked at Terek.
Terek smirked.
"You might be right about that, kid."
His aura suddenly receded as he turned toward the door.
"But now I know where you stand."
He continued walking.
"I no longer consider you a member of this family. Stay or leave, it makes no difference to me. As far as I’m concerned, you’re already dead."
Luke watched his retreating back in silence.
He had more than three ways to kill the man where he stood.
Yet he remained still.
"Luke..."
Gustav placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Thank you for controlling your anger just now. He’s a moron, I know. But please... give him one chance."
"Yes, Luke," Monica added as she stepped to his other side. "I know you’re angry with him, but Terek has supported us for a very long time."
Luke closed his eyes and drew a slow breath.
When he opened them again, the fury had faded slightly.
"Okay. I won’t go after him." His voice turned cold. "However, Father, if he ever speaks to Monica like that again..."
"I’ll make sure he doesn’t," Gustav promised.
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A/N:- I hope you liked the Chapter.
