Chapter 107

Lucian’s POV

As I watched, Sheila’s entire demeanor shifted, from happy and curious to increasingly upset and alarmed.

“That’s Aria’s room,” she said.

“Yes,” I replied, seeing no need to hide it.

“Why were you in Aria’s room?”

It wasn’t any of her business, but I knew I couldn’t just say that to Sheila and expect to not cause a scene that could last all day. She was incredibly… sensitive, especially when it came to Aria and me.

So I stayed quiet, holding my tongue for now. If she pushed the issue, I would push back, but I hoped for both our sakes, she would drop it and focus on other things.

Yet, the longer I stayed quiet, the angrier she seemed, narrowing her eyes at me. This was still preferable to tears.

“You should clean that room out,” she said. “The memory of her lingering over you isn’t good for you.”

“Actually, I find comfort in it,” I said.

Her upper lip curled. “Well, if you won’t remove her things for yourself, then do it for me. Out of respect for me. The last thing a woman should have to deal with is her fiancé’s former lover.”

Fiancé?

“I haven’t proposed,” I said.

She rolled her eyes. “Everyone knows you will. Don’t get caught up on technicalities.”

It was hardly a technicality when I wasn’t even certain I was going to get married again. Despite the elders’ insistence, I had no intention of moving on so soon. With my heart still tangled up with thoughts of Aria, it would be deeply unfair to promise myself to anyone else – even Sheila.

She’d never have all of me, not when so much of me still belonged to Aria.

“You shouldn’t assume anything about me or our relationship, Sheila,” I told her firmly. I knew my words would upset her, but that was something I was willing to chance.

I wasn’t going to be tied down to someone just because they wished me to be.

Not even Sheila, whom I owed a great debt to.

A debt I knew she would soon bring up, from how quickly her eyes filled with tears.

“You are terribly cruel to me, Lucian. How quickly you have forgotten the promises you made to ensure my safety, to always make sure I’m happy.”

“I can do those things as a friend,” I insisted.

“You don’t want me to be a mother, is that it?” she asked, her voice rising in pitch and volume. “You think I’d be a lousy mother?”

“I never said that.”

“Oh, yes you did. By not marrying me, that is what you are saying. You don’t want me to have pups, because you think I couldn’t raise them properly. I bet you and Dr. A conspired against me. Does her cure even work at all?”

“I would never do something like that.”

“Then say you’ll be my husband! Give me children, Lucian! I want to be a mother so badly!”

Her tears falling in earnest, she covered her face with her hands and her shoulders shook.

I had no idea how everything turned sideways so quickly. I had just been standing here, ready to defend myself, when Sheila had steamrolled the entire conversation and made me into some sort of heartless villain.

I almost gave in. Every part of me wanted this to stop however I could manage it. My guilt pushed me to just marry her.

But then she said, “You need to get rid of Aria’s things.”

That reminded me of who I was and who I really wanted.

“No,” I told her. I closed the door to Aria’s room and resolved to put a lock on it, not trusting Sheila not to go in there herself and destroy everything.

For now, wailing, she spun on her heel and ran to her room, tears streaming down her face.

She slammed the door to her room loud enough to echo through the hallways.

Sighing, I wondered if I had any hope of detangling myself from Sheila and this guilt without marrying her.

At this point, I just didn’t know.

Aria’s POV

Piper was on break and Cathy was in a different section of the hospital, leaving me to tend the phones of my office alone.

I didn’t mind as much these days. After all, I’d been winding down my patient list for a time now, so there weren’t many left to call or make appointments. Most others, who had once been trying to get in to see me, had heard the news of my soon departure by now.

As a result, the office was blissfully quiet.

In the silence, I let myself daydream a little. I wondered what the Moonglow pack would be like. Would they accept Silas, Piper, and I? Would I face less drama there than I had here?

To raise my child, I was ready for the quiet life. It would be much healthier for them to grow up outside of the public eye. While I wished Lucian could be a part of their life, I couldn’t hope for that any longer.

Besides, though I wanted to believe Lucian would be a good father, given his neglect of me as his wife, I didn’t have much hope that he would have made time for our child even if I had wanted to stay here and keep him in the child’s life.

No. By leaving, the child would never know the pain of neglect. I would shower the baby with love and attention. I was sure Piper would as well, and Silas would too, I was sure. As my mentor, he’d been almost like a father to me.

As I lost myself to this whimsy, I didn’t notice right away as someone came through the door.

Looking up, I saw a man who could have been near Lucian’s age, or could have been older. It was difficult to discern, given how unkempt the man was. His beard was shaggy, his eyes slightly sunken in as if in permanent pain. Yet his shoulders were wide and his posture straight with a kind of pride that could never be taken away from him.

I knew at first glance that this was a rogue, a werewolf pledge to no pack. Perhaps he’d been exiled. Perhaps he’d left to set out on his own. I didn’t know, but his scent was distinctive.

It put Luna on edge. She whispered a warning in my mind, “He’s a lone wolf, Aria. Unpredictable. Unbound. Be careful…”

“I help all who come through my door,” I reminded her. “Regardless of their pack affiliation.”

“Are you Dr. A?” he asked.

“Yes.” I stood. “Can I help you with something?”

“That depends.” He stepped closer.

The nearer he came to me, the more realization struck.

I knew this man. I had to. He seemed very familiar. But I couldn’t quite place him.

I would have remembered being an acquaintance with a rogue, which meant that I had to know him before he defected or was exiled.

“Have we met before?” I asked.

“Maybe,” he replied. “I used to be a part of this pack, before the rumors and the lies cast me out.”

Another step brought him right up to the edge of the reception desk. In the better lighting, I knew right away.

He hadn’t aged very well, going gray early, and those eyes – he looked so pained.

Yet I knew with absolute certainty now who this was.

Sheila’s ex-husband.

Lucian’s ex-friend.

The man Lucian exiled from the pack for the way he treated Sheila.

Travis.