Chapter 8 Chapter 8
BROKEN PROMISES
TIANA’S POV
“Answer me,” I repeated, louder this time.
However, Lucas didn’t flinch. He just stood there, calm as ever, while I stood in our living room shaking like a live wire. That was his favorite game, silence. He’d use it like a weapon until I started doubting myself.
“Don’t do this,” he said finally, his tone maddeningly soft.
“Not now.”
“Oh, right, because timing is so important when you’re trying to manipulate your wife,” I snapped.
“Tell me, Lucas. Was the sudden act of affection part of the negotiation strategy? Kiss the Luna so the elders don’t think you two hate each other?”
“That’s not what this is.” He said between gritted teeth.
“Then what is it?” I demanded. “Because I spent months being invisible, and the moment someone mentions an alliance, suddenly you're Mr. Devoted husband again?”
I eyed him with a stern face, and he exhaled sharply, then dragged a hand down his face. “You think I like this? That I want them here, dictating how we run our pack?”
“Oh, spare me the noble Alpha speech,” I cut in. “You love this attention. The power plays, the part where you get to play savior while I stand behind you smiling like some brain-dead ornament.”
“Tiana...”
“No!” I interrupted with a cracky voice.
“You don’t get to call me that. Not when you can’t even tell me the truth.”
Something flickered across his face instantly. Either guilt, fear or maybe both, I can't tell. I took a step forward and said slowly.
“What aren’t you telling me?”
Lucas opened his mouth to speak, but hesitated and darted his eyes toward the window as if expecting someone to burst in. After a while of silence, he finally spoke up with a saddened face.
“It’s complicated.”
“Try me.” I insisted, and he heaved a deep sigh and replied. “Brandfort CEO isn’t just offering an alliance. He’s demanding one.”
I squinted my eyes and pondered on it for a moment, but I couldn't get a grasp of anything. Curiously, I asked. “Meaning?”
“Meaning,” he said in a low tone. "He wants something in return. Something only you can give.”
A chill slid down my spine instantly. “What the hell does that mean?”
Lucas bit his lips and turned his gaze towards me, then slid his hands into his pockets and responded. “He wants a Luna’s vow.”
“A what?”
“It’s an old rite,” he explained. “A promise sealed in blood and spirit. It binds Luna to the treaty permanently. Once you make it, breaking it means death.”
My heart sank instantly when he finished speaking, and I couldn't help but blink my eyes in disbelief.
“And you agreed to this?” I asked.
He didn't say a word, but that silence was an answer enough, and it made me speechless for a few seconds. "You’re unbelievable. You want me to risk my life for a pack that treats me like trash?”
“This pack needs you, Tiana,” he said quietly.
“No,” I said with a trembling voice, stepping closer to him. “You need me, you just can’t admit it.”
Luca twitched his jaw and responded with a hoarse voice, glaring hard at me. “This isn’t about us.”
“Everything is about us!” I shouted. “You made it that way the moment you put that ring on my finger.”
Lucas flinched immediately, and for a moment I saw the man underneath. The one who once held me like I was the only thing keeping him alive. The man who used to whisper promises into my ears before the world turned cold. He heaved a deep sigh and turned away.
“We’ll do the ceremony tomorrow.”
“Over my dead body.” I blurted in anger, and he eyed me for a moment, then took a step closer and said in a whisper. “Don’t test me, Tiana.”
“Oh, so now you’re threatening me?”
“I’m trying to protect you,” he said coldly. “You don’t understand what we’re up against.”
“Then make me understand!”
He didn’t answer. Instead, he turned away with a clenched fist as if he's holding himself back from breaking something or someone.
"You know what the worst part is?” I asked, even though I knew that he's already seething.
“I actually believed you once. I thought maybe, just maybe, you meant it when you said you couldn’t live without me. I guess what you really meant was you can’t live without what I can give you.”
Still, Lucas didn't say a word and it's becoming annoying every passing minute. Without a second thought, I grabbed my jacket and began to head toward the door.
"You can have your alliance. But you’ll have to find another Luna to sign it.”
“Tiana...”
“Don’t.” I warned and pushed the door open, then stepped outside, slamming the door behind me.
I was halfway down the path when I saw a tall woman dressed in a black gown, standing by the tree line. Her eyes gleamed red under the moonlight, too red for an ordinary wolf.
“Leaving already, Miss?” she said smoothly, stepping fully into view. Every instinct in me screamed danger, but I forced myself to remain calm.
“Who are you?”
"Let's just say a friend from the Brandfort company." She replied with a smile, and my heart lurched instantly.
“You’re early.”
“Let’s call it curiosity,” she said, stepping closer. “My Boss likes to know who he’s dealing with. And after tonight, I think I know exactly what kind of pers
on you are.”
“And what kind is that?” I asked with a trembling voice, staring at her in curiosity.
