Chapter 37

Lucian’s POV

To avoid Sheila at home, I’d taken to spending long hours at the Alpha headquarters building. At first, much of the staff had seemed unnerved by my presence, as if they always needed to be formal, but now, they were coming to be more comfortable with me. No more saluting in the hallways, now they simply nodded and moved on.

A welcome change.

The staff, even with this breech in formality, I could tell still respected me. The rest of the pack, however, I was starting to have doubts about.

“Aria’s not home,” Cathy said through the phone.

“She never seems to be home when I call,” I replied. “And I call at all hours.”

“I know you do,” Cathy said with annoyance.

“Have you given her my messages?” I asked.

“I have.”

“Does she ever say anything, to tell me in return?”

“No.”

My doubts were spiking. I knew Aria was dodging me. What I didn’t know was if Cathy was either not delivering my messages, or lying in telling me Aria had no reaction.

“Cathy,” I said pleadingly. Well, as much as I could plead as Alpha King without sounding desperate. “I am trying to repair my marriage. A little cooperation from you would go a long way.”

“Don’t blame me, Alpha,” Cathy replied. “Aria would talk to you if she wanted to. Maybe it’s past time for you to take a hint and sign those divorce papers.”

Annoyance rankled through me. “Tell her I called.”

“I will,” Cathy said and hung up.

The more I tried to save my marriage, the more I felt like Aria was pulling farther and farther away from me. Was she even still in pack lands? I hadn’t seen any signs of her lately. She hadn’t reached out to me or my parents, nor had she gone to any of the hangouts she used to.

I knew because I had some loyal pack members keeping an eye out for her.

It was as if she’d entirely vanished into thin air.

A knock on the door roused me from my thoughts. Looking up, I saw Ben, my Beta, standing sheepishly in the doorway. He was holding something and avoiding looking at me.

“What’s the problem?” I asked.

“I have a photo of Aria, taken within the hour at a local café,” Ben said. He still wasn’t looking at me.

It was unnerving.

“Well?” I raised my hand out for the photo.

Ben swallowed hard, then stepped into my office. A few more steps brought him to the edge of my desk, where he placed the photo into my hand.

It was another square-shaped photo from an instant camera. Seeing the contents of the photo, I froze.

Aria was sitting at a two person table, her hands raised and blurry, as if she was animatedly talking, as she sometimes did when she was passionate or excited about something.

There was a man sitting across from her. Leaning forward, he seemed very interested in what she had to say.

I recognized this man as Caleb’s youngest son Matt – someone who had attempted to date Aria at the same time I pursued her. They broke things off when Aria and I became more serious.

Was he back in the picture now?

If this was an hour ago, perhaps Aria returned home by now. Glancing at my phone, I thought of calling the house once more. But I was sure I’d only hear from Cathy again, who would not give me a straight answer.

If I wanted to speak with Aria, I needed to show up in person. Then she wouldn’t be able to avoid me.

Glaring at Matt in the photo, I told Ben, “Get the car. I’m going out.”

“Yes, Alpha,” Ben said, and hurried to obey.

I tucked the photo into my inside jacket pocket and stood up from my desk, freshly determined.

As my car pulled up in front of Cathy’s house, I hopped out of the backseat and onto the sidewalk before the wheels even fully stopped. After storming toward the front door, I rang the doorbell. When no one answered right away, I knocked several times in quick succession.

I wasn’t going to leave this spot without being acknowledged.

“Alright already! Hold on! I’m coming.” That was Cathy’s voice, from inside. The lock rattled, and then the door pulled open. When Cathy saw me, she frowned. “Really?”

“I need to speak with Aria.”

“She’s not here.”

“I don’t believe you.”

Rolling her eyes, Cathy pushed open the door, allowing me entry. “Look for yourself.”

If Cathy was so easily giving me entry, then Aria really mustn’t have been inside. Still, for the sake of my sanity, I stepped into the house and gave it a quick one-over. I didn’t linger overly long in Aria’s room, not wanting to invade her privacy. Simply making certain she wasn’t here was enough.

“She probably went to work,” Cathy said when I returned to the living room. Her arms were crossed with annoyance.

“Work? Where does she work?” Aria had been a homemaker without an actual job. She could have gotten a job since leaving me, but in the moment, it felt more likely that Cathy was lying. Aria was probably on a date with Matt.

Cathy kept her mouth shut. I was annoyed but I respected it. Her loyalty was more to her friend than her Alpha. If that friend had been anyone but Aria, I might have had a problem with it. As it was…

“Fine,” I said, and walked out of the house.

Cathy closed the door as soon as I was over the threshold, locking me out once more.

Back in the car, I said to the driver, “Take me to the hospital.” Going to see Aria might have been a bust, but I could still save this trip from being wasted by checking on Dr. A.

I really wanted to clear up whatever misunderstanding was between us that had made her so short with me when I spoke with her last.

If I couldn’t find Aria, I couldn’t work to save our marriage. But I could at least save my working relationship with Dr. A.

I needed to feel like I was in control of something around here. It felt like everything lately had been slipping through my fingers.

“Right away, Sir,” the driver said and pulled the car back out onto the road.

Looking out the window, I watched the passing cars and the pedestrians walking down the sidewalk. The nearer we came to the hospital, the more people were walking along.

Then, I spotted a pair I recognized.

“Stop!” I commanded.

The driver slammed on the brakes, stopping the car in the middle of the road.

“Alpha?” he asked.

I didn’t reply. Instead, I popped open the door and stepped out onto the street.

The screech of the car tires had caused many of the passersby to stop and see what was going on. I was making a hell of a scene.

I didn’t care.

Because right there, in front of me, on the sidewalk, was Aria and Matt.

They’d been walking along, side by side, close but not touching.

Just like a pair would do on their first date.