Fated reborn - Chapter 215: Chapter 215

Victor's POV.
I paced back and forth across my room, my feet moving without thought, my mind racing faster than I could keep up with. The shipment had already arrived at our pack. It was only a matter of days before the others caught wind of it. And when they did, things would get worse. Much worse.
The last thing we needed was a war.
But holding back that tide was like trying to stop a wildfire with a single bucket of water. Henry had left us with a mess that just kept unraveling, and every day, every decision, was a gamble. One wrong move, and we’d be dealing with more than just broken contracts—we’d be dealing with blood.
I exhaled sharply, running a hand through my hair as I kept pacing. The room felt too small, my thoughts too loud. I needed to clear my head.
Walking out of my room, I barely noticed the cool air against my bare skin. I was only in my boxers, but I didn’t care. My body ran hot when I was stressed, and right now, I felt like I was burning up from the inside. I headed down the stairs, the quiet hum of the house filling the silence.
I caught the maids’ gazes as I passed, their eyes flickering to my chest and my shoulders. I ignored it. I wasn’t in the mood for anything other than drowning this frustration with a cold drink of water.
The kitchen was empty when I stepped inside. Good. I grabbed a cup, put it under the tap, and let the water run for a second before taking a long drink. The coldness helped, but only a little.
I sighed, setting the glass down. This wasn’t working. No matter what I did, the same thoughts kept circling back, over and over. The shipment. The other pack. The war loomed just beyond the horizon.
We had to stop this before it got worse.
Before it was too late.
I walked out of the kitchen, heading back upstairs. The weight of everything pressed heavier on my shoulders with each step. My hand reached for my door handle, but I hesitated.
Luciano’s room was just a few steps away.
He’d be awake.
Without thinking too hard about it, I turned and walked toward his door. My knuckles rapped against the wood, firm but not impatient.
A beat of silence. Then his voice, steady as always.
"Come in."
I pushed the door open and stepped inside.
Luciano was sitting at his desk, a massive book resting on his lap. Even in the dim lighting, I could see the tension in his posture, the way his eyes flicked up to meet mine.
"Hey," I said, leaning against the doorframe.
He closed the book, setting it aside. "Couldn’t sleep?"
I let out a breath, shaking my head. "No."
Luciano gestured to the chair across from him. "Sit."
I hesitated for a second before walking over and dropping into the seat. The room smelled faintly of books and something else—something distinctly him. It was familiar. Comforting, even.
"The shipment arrived," I said after a moment. I knew he had no interest, but I wanted to see if he had a change of mind or something, or maybe Lunawyn had talked him out of it.
He nodded like he already knew, which he probably did. "And?"
"And it won’t take long before the others find out." I rubbed a hand over my face. "We need to make sure this doesn’t spiral. If they think we’re stockpiling, they’ll assume the worst. And if they assume the worst…"
"They’ll act first," Luciano finished. But there was no concern in his voice. No hesitation. He wasn’t afraid of the possibility of war—he was ready to embrace it.
That’s what worried me.
"Luciano, we can’t let this happen. Not like this," I said, leaning forward, trying to meet his gaze. "We have a chance to stop this before it escalates. We need to find a way out." I added.
He tilted his head slightly, as if considering my words, but I could already tell I wasn’t getting through to him. His expression was unreadable, but there was a fire in his eyes that I didn’t like.
"You think we should run from this?" he asked, his voice calm and measured.
"No," I answered quickly. "I think we should be smart. There’s a difference." I said I was thinking of possibilities, but nothing could come up since I was tense.
Luciano leaned back in his chair, fingers tapping lightly against the desk. "Victor, I appreciate what you’re trying to do. But this… this isn’t something we can avoid. We either stand strong, or we get crushed. There is no middle ground." He said.
I clenched my jaw. "There’s always another way," "I wanted to close our border so no goods were going to come in or go out, but you did your manipulation," I added.
He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. "Not this time." He said
I stared at him, willing him to see reason, but it was no use. He’d already made up his mind.
I exhaled, shaking my head. "Fine. Do what you want." I said
I pushed myself up from the chair, not bothering to say anything else as I turned and walked out of the room. If he wanted to throw himself headfirst into war, I wasn’t going to sit there and watch him do it.
But that didn’t mean I was giving up.
As I stepped into my own room, closing the door behind me, my mind lingered on the plan I had before. A plan that could still work—if I moved fast enough.
Luciano might be ready to embrace the chaos.
But I wasn’t about to let it consume us.
Just a few days left; I had to be smart and fast about it and pray it does work to save the lives of the people of this pack, which was supposed to be Luciano's job, but anger has driven him so far.
"I pray it works."