Chapter 5

 

Lucien's POV

After the celebration ended, I slumped into my seat, my whole body sinking into the cushions as the noise from the hall faded into the distance. The flicker of candles caught my eyes, but my mind was elsewhere. I sat there, letting the taste of wine fade from my mouth, feeling the weight of the night settle over my shoulders. My thoughts slipped, uninvited, back to Ravena.

The way she used to smile when she thought I wasn’t looking. The way she carried herself in front of the pack, steady and proud, even when the weight was too much for one person. I remembered the mornings when she would wait for me at the table, with warm bread in her hands, pretending she had been there all along. I remembered the night she laughed for the first time after we got engaged.

And then I remembered everything I had done since. The sharp words. The cold silences. The way I brought Astrid into her home like it was mine to do with as I pleased.

For a brief moment, guilt bit at me. Her parents, brothers, her entire bloodline… gone. All she had was a title and a husband who had made her feel like she was nothing. I felt a sting I didn’t want to name. Maybe I had been cruel. Maybe I could… fix it.

I promised myself I would try. That I would treat her better. That I would make up for what I had taken.

The thought was still settling in when a hard knock came at the door.

“Come in,” I replied, straightening my back.

A guard stepped in, his head lowered, a sealed letter in his hand. “From the king, Alpha. The messenger said it was urgent.”

I took it without a word. My fingers broke the wax seal, and the moment my eyes skimmed the first lines, my chest tightened.

The king told me that I had failed, not as a general, but as a husband. That my position meant nothing if I could not hold my house in order. That my honour was not measured only on the battlefield.

My jaw locked. There was only one way the king would write something like this. Only one person who could put those thoughts in his head and that person was Ravena.

She had gone to the king. Behind my back.

The paper crumpled in my fist. Heat immediately rose in my veins, my wolf pacing inside me, restless and snarling.

The guard was still standing there, waiting for some signal.

“Leave,” I ordered, my voice low but sharp enough to make him stiffen before he bowed and slipped out.

I stayed in the seat for a moment longer, letting the anger settle into something cold. My mind played through every step she must have taken, every word she must have spoken to turn the king’s hand against me. She wanted to fight me in front of the throne. She wanted to make me look like a man who could not control his own home.

As I stood up, the chair scraped across the floor. My steps were steady, not rushed. I was not going to storm into this like a fool. I would walk in like an Alpha. But inside, the fire was already burning high.

I passed servants who lowered their eyes, sensing the tension that followed me like a shadow. My hands flexed at my sides, not from nerves, but from the need to keep control.

When I reached the east wing, two guards stood near the stairwell. One straightened quickly as I approached.

“Where is she?” I asked calmly, though the air between us was tight.

The younger one hesitated. “Alpha, she just came back a few…”

“Where did she go?”

“She went to the Solstice Crown Pack.”

I didn’t need to hear the rest. The letter in my hand, the king’s words, it all lined up.

I stepped closer, my shadow falling over the guard until he shifted uneasily under my gaze. His eyes flickered to the side, but I didn’t move.

“You saw her leave?”

“Yes, Alpha.”

“Then tell me,” I said slowly, each word deliberate, “where is she now?”

“In her quarters.”

That was all I needed to hear. I didn’t waste another breath. My boots struck the stone floor hard, the sound echoing through the hallway as I made my way to her.

I didn’t bother to knock. I pushed the door open and found her there, sitting near the window with her head held high, as if she had been waiting for me. Her eyes met mine, calm, guarded, but there was something in the way she didn’t flinch that only made me angrier.

“Tell me,” I said, stepping into the room, “did you go to the king?”

Her brows furrowed. “Go to the king for what?”

“Don’t play games with me, Ravena. Did you go to him to make him take back his order for me to marry Astrid?”

Her lips parted in surprise, then curved in something that almost looked like disgust. “I would never do that.”

I laughed once, a humorless sound. “You expect me to believe you?”

“I don’t care what you believe. I don’t beg kings for scraps, Lucien.”

The corner of my mouth curled, but it wasn’t amusement. Inside, my thoughts were colder than ice. Just now, I had been foolish enough to think she deserved better from me. That maybe I had been too hard on her. But standing here, hearing her speak, I knew the truth. A woman like her was not worth my kindness at all. She was not even worth a single hair of Astrid.

“Lies,” I said flatly. “Every word from your mouth is a lie.”

“You think what you want. I will not lower myself to convince you.”

The sound of my growl filled the room before I could stop it. “From now on, you will be confined to the back courtyard. You will not leave it unless I allow it. I will never step into your room again. And you can forget about ever carrying my children.”

Her eyes widened, but not with hurt. With fire. “Good. I wouldn’t want a child who grows up learning from a man like you.”

That hit, sharp and deep, but I didn’t show it. I took a step closer, letting the air between us tighten like a snare. “Careful, Ravena.”

“No,” she snapped, rising from her seat so we were chest to chest. “You be careful. You walk into my room, spitting orders like I am one of your soldiers, when you lost the right to command me the moment you brought her into this house.”

I stared down at her, the muscle in my jaw pulling tight. “I am your Alpha.”

“You are my husband, and you failed at that long before I stopped trying.”

Before I could think, my hand grasped her arm tightly, pulling her towards me with such force that she stumbled and nearly fell across the room.

Her breath caught, but she didn’t cry out. She looked at me like I was nothing but another enemy she had to outlast.

“Get out,” she spat, her tone shaking with fury. “Get out of my room, Lucien.”

I tightened my grip instead. “You think you can tell me what to do?”

She shoved at my chest with her free hand. “I think you should leave before I make you regret staying.”

That pulled a darker laugh from me. “You regret plenty already.”

 “Not as much as you will.”

I leaned down, my face close enough to feel the heat of her breath. “You test me, Ravena.”

“I am not afraid of you.”

I could see the truth in her eyes. She wasn’t lying. And somehow, that only made me angrier. My hand flexed against her arm, my voice dropping low enough that it felt like a growl.

“How dare you?”