Chapter 104

Lucian’s POV

Most of the elders are shocked by my words and the harsh tone I delivered them. The elder who recovered first, the senior to the others, glared at me instead.

“You do not take that tone of voice with us, Alpha King or not,” he said flatly.

I didn’t have the patience for his threats, my anger still flaring.

“You will stop disparaging my mate,” I snapped.

“Your ex-mate,” the senior reminded me.

Embarrassment surged through me at this mistake, but it didn’t little to quell my anger. I was still furious at them for speaking about Aria in such an unkind way. She deserved better from everyone in this pack. She never deserved any of the dislike she’d received over the years.

If only I had done more to protect her from the pack’s unnecessary hostility.

Slowly, the other elders recovered from my outburst. Though many seemed annoyed, a few were sympathetic.

“I did not realize you felt so strongly about Aria,” one of them said, in a softer tone of voice. Looking at his colleagues, he added, “I think we can be understanding about the position you are in, given your recent divorce. A tough circumstance, certainly.”

His words seemed to soften the others. However, one of them continued to speak up.

“Regardless of your personal feelings, Lucian, you must consider what is best for the pack. The pack needs a Luna. She is essential to the structure and stability of the pack. Without one, we look weak to other packs that might think of encroaching on our territories.”

“He’s not wrong,” another chimed in. “For the good of the kingdom, you must find another Luna soon, Lucian. Even if you don’t want Dr. A, you must make a decision soon. The longer Nightfall is without a Luna and an heir, the more vulnerable we appear to our enemies.”

Right now, we didn’t have any enemies. We’d been at peace since before I had taken over as Alpha King. Yet, I understood how fragile these things could be. Many of the Alpha Kings of packs surrounding Nightfall were the ambitious sorts. They agreed to peace for now, but if we appeared weak, they would start pushing boundaries to see how much they could get away with.

In that regard, there was truth in what the elders were saying. I might not have liked it, but I couldn’t deny the knowledge of their words.

The pack did need a Luna.

The problem was, the only woman I wanted as my Luna had just divorced me.

The pack elders were not as discreet as I wished them to be. Therefore, by the time I made it home that evening, their desire for me to find a new Luna was all over the news stations. They’d even spread the word that they were eying Dr. A as my new potential mate.

Because of the spread of this news, I was pleasantly surprised when I arrived home to find that Sheila was not throwing a temper-tantrum. In fact, she seemed mostly calm, if not outright friendly.

“Let’s have dinner together in the dining room, Lucian. It’s been so long since we’ve actually sat down together for a meal.”

I was still carrying the weight around of the elders’ request, so I was happy to have a moment to spend with a friend. It had been so long since Sheila had acted this calm and composed, so much like she used to.

At one point, she had been an elegant kind of woman, friendly and kind. Over the years, she’d turned vicious. I assumed this was Travis’s fault, and therefore my fault. If I had kept Travis from destroying her life, perhaps she would still be the magnanimous woman I had once known.

I was the only one to blame for this change in her. I knew that.

“That sounds nice,” I said, and she smiled.

I went to my room to change out of my stuffy suit into more comfortable slacks and a t-shirt, when I suddenly heard a shrill sort of shriek and then something crashing. Changing quickly, I rushed downstairs, half ready to shift and fight an intruder.

But there was no intruder. It was only Sheila, screaming at the news.

“He will not marry Dr. A, you bastards!” She threw a vase against the wall of the den. It shattered into a million pieces.

Behind me, the maids, now wearing their coats, hurried toward the front door. I didn’t bother stopping them. From my conversation with the former head housekeeper, I knew that any of my servants who decided to stay were on their last nerve with Sheila.

Though I increased their salary, they were still not being paid enough to deal with her tantrums. No one was.

Unfortunately, as I was the cause of these violent mood swings, I was the one who had to deal with it. I had no other choice.

Stepping into the room, I braced myself for an argument. “Sheila.”

Hearing me, she spun on her heel, facing me. “Lucian, what is this bullshit they are spewing on the news? Saying you are going to marry Dr. A?”

“That’s what the elders want, but I haven’t agreed to anything,” I said. “Neither has Dr. A.”

Despite the elders’ confidence, Dr. A had seemed so set in her dreams and her plans that I doubted even a proposal from me would stop her from leaving. If I even felt like giving it.

I liked Dr. A, truly. But the only thing that even romantically attracted me to her was the fact that she reminded me so much of Aria.

Aria was truly the one I wanted. Though she was also the one I had to let go.

“You can’t marry her,” Sheila said, tears welling in her eyes. “Please, Lucian. You need to marry me. I’m the one who is perfect for you. The elders have no idea. Please.”

This conversation had only just begun and already I was so, so tired.

Aria’s POV

I’d thought and rethought what to do with this check from Harold and Julia. There had been many ideas flitting through my brain, though all of them were to donate it. But to whom? To what?

The hospital had enough money, and most of the causes I supported were well financed in the pack, thanks to Lucian’s leadership. No. Whatever I was going to use this money for had to be for something most people wouldn’t think of.

Or had forgotten.

With a flash, I realized just where I needed to spend this money.

I knew a thing or two about being forgotten, because there had been a time, after my parents died, where I had thought I was forgotten to.

Privately, I removed my Dr. A disguise. When I arrived at my destination, I wanted to be strictly Aria.

Outside the hospital, I hailed a taxi and then gave them the address. I still knew it by heart.

Before long, the car pulled up in front of a massive building. It had once been an old school house reformed into bedrooms and playrooms.

The orphanage.

Holding my check close, I paid the cab driver and then headed into the building.

I saw a car pull up behind my cab, but didn’t think anything of it.

Not until I came back out of the orphanage feeling great about what I’d just done, only for a reporter to stick a microphone under my nose.

“Former Luna Aria! What are you doing at this orphanage? Are you considering adoption?”