His Regret, The Crown's Claim

~ Risa's POV ~

I have been suffocating.

Marriage was supposed to bring me happiness but all I felt was loneliness in this cold mansion. I have loved my husband Alpha Cade Grayson since he saved me from rogue wolves and I wanted nothing but to be with him. 

When I found out we were fated mates and when he finally asked me to be his Luna, I thought my happiness would know no bounds, but for five years of marriage, we have been like strangers. 

He treats me with respect but that passion…that longing, I have never once felt it from him no matter how much I've tried to get his love. 

For a month now, his side of the bed had been cold as he hadn't returned home since. His excuses were always the same, saying the pack was demanding and there was too much work to do.

So I decided to go see him but I needed an excuse. I meticulously prepared lunch and I hummed joyfully as I packed it up. Maybe when he sees my efforts, he'd soften a bit.

I headed for his office when I was done and the guards welcomed me with respect as Luna and I flashed happy smiles but I could tell by their glances that something was amiss, but I shrugged it off.  Maybe I was being too sensitive again. 

They might have noticed Cade growing apart from me. But that would probably change today.

As I approached the doors leading to his main office, Cade’s secretary stepped quickly in my path.

“Luna Risa, please, I must inform the Alpha first that you're here before you can enter,” she said, her voice strained and unnecessarily loud. 

I frowned at her words. Cade had always given me unrestricted access and I had no reason to wait for permission as his mate and luna. This formality felt wrong, and shouldn't even exist between us.

“Is there a problem?” I asked softly.

She looked away, unable to meet my eyes. “Luna it's just…”

“Don't worry, he wouldn't mind

I forced a smile as I pushed past her while she tried to stop me.

I opened the door and the sight that greeted me made the air rush out of my lungs in an instant.

I received the shock of my life as I saw Cade, my husband ...my mate, holding someone in his arms like a precious jewel that he was afraid would break. Her face was buried in the hollow of his neck as her dark hair flowed effortlessly down her back and her slender arms wrapped tightly around his waist. They were locked in an embrace so intimate, so comfortable, it felt like a silent conversation I had just violently interrupted.

I dropped the lunch box with a loud thud and the woman pulled away sharply at the sound and turned to me.

My stomach dropped as I saw it was Zara.

I blinked once, then again, my heart hammering against my ribs so loud I could feel the painful throb in my eardrums. I couldn't believe this. “My eyes must be playing tricks on me,” I thought loudly. This couldn't possibly be real. 

“What the hell is this?” My voice was a ragged whisper, a sound that barely belonged to me as I stared at them in unbelief.

Zara’s face crumpled instantly as she burst into a storm of ugly, disgustingly pitiful sobs. “Risa, please, don’t blame Cade…Don’t blame him, it’s all my fault, I never should have…”

Cade turned to me, his eyes finally meeting mine. There was no apology in them, only irritated frustration in their depths. He ignored me, leaning down to run a gentle, soothing hand over Zara’s back.

“Please don't cry,” he murmured, his voice a sweet sound I hadn’t heard directed at me in our years of marriage. “Stop crying. You’ll give yourself a headache again. Didn't you just complain of a splitting headache? So stop crying and blaming yourself for every little thing.”

The concern in his tone was a fresh knife turning in my chest and stabbing me over and over again. He didn't care about me. How dare he show his care for her in front of me?

“How long?” I asked, forcing the words through my throat as I swallowed the bitter lump forming there. I really shouldn't cry…I shouldn't, but this…how could I bear this?

“How long has this been going on?” I didn't look at Cade, my gaze was locked onto Zara, who was still performing her tearful act.

Cade tried to deflect, stepping slightly between us, “Risa stop. She's unwell..”

But Zara stopped him, her voice a miserable whine.

“Just… a month. Almost exactly a month I swear.” she said pitifully. 

The world seemed to lose its colours that instant. The pieces finally snapped into place. So all those times he told me he was too busy and he couldn't come home. All those times I spent alone in that empty house, he was with her? 

“So you weren’t busy with pack work, huh Cade?” I stated, as I struggled desperately to fight the tears from falling. “You were busy with her weren't you?” I pushed. “Why can't you answer me now?” My heart was aching so much just thinking about it. 

“Risa, stop reading so much meaning into things,” Cade snapped, his patience clearly exhausted. To him I was the problem, the complication and I was the one being overly dramatic. “Go home and we can discuss this when you’re more rational.”

“Rational?” I repeated as a bitter laugh escaped in my throat. I cannot believe I was so happy about bringing him lunch while he was here in the embrace of another woman. 

“You promised me Cade. When you marked me, you promised me I would be your only one, that you would take care of me!” My hands were trembling, as I faced the man I had loved, the Alpha who now looked at me like a nuisance.

I had always known. Even after Zara had left five years ago, even when Cade had pledged himself to me, I knew I held his body, but Zara held his heart. I had lived a comfortable lie, clinging to his wedding vows like a life raft in the storm. Now, seeing the soft adoration in his eyes when he looked at Zara, I knew the raft was sinking and there was no one to pull me out.

I took a deep breath, forcing a sudden calm because I cannot be shattered in front of them.

“Zara,” I said, my voice low and dangerously steady. “Excuse us. I need to speak to my husband. Alone.”

Zara flinched as she heard the words ‘husband’ from my mouth, “I’m so sorry, Risa, I truly didn’t mean to come between you,” she clinged to Cade’s sleeves as she spoke. 

“I asked you to leave,” I repeated firmly, my gaze never wavering as I clenched my fingers tightly. “Leave my husband’s office.”

The shift in Zara’s face was immediate. But no matter what, I was still the Luna and maybe , just maybe I'll be able to talk Cade into seeing reason. 

Cade intervened smoothly, his voice returning to that infuriating, gentle sound just for Zara. “Go wait outside. I’ll be out in a minute.” he smiled as he held her cheeks softly. 

She gave a soft nod and shuffled toward the door. When she reached the door handle and was about to pull it open, she suddenly held her head and waved as if she was about to collapse. 

“Zara!” Cade said in panic as he rushed to her side immediately.