Midnight Of The Bond

“You should not make a mockery of yourself, Sophia Harvey. We were never a thing,” Lucian said quietly, his golden eyes locked on mine, as my head came to a halt. His voice was calm, but it cut like a blade.

I held his stare. “But you heard Marina,” I answered, surprised at the strength in my own voice. “She said it before the pack. You cannot pretend you did not hear.”

Something flickered in his eyes, quick as lightning. He raised a hand, a warning more than a gesture. The pack shifted and murmured, the sound was like a restless wind through stone halls.

“I will not go against the Raven’s pack,” he said, each word slow and deliberate. “Completing the bond will be done in the Alpha’s chambers, with the…” His gaze dropped to my hands. His jaw tightened as though the next words scraped his throat. “My… chosen mate.”

The way he forced the phrase sent a sharp ache through my chest. My teeth pressed together hard, but I smiled anyway, first at him, then at the watching pack.

The elder lifted his arms, signaling the end of the first rite. The crowd bowed their heads. I barely noticed. My mind was a storm.

When the hall emptied, Lucian and I were left alone. The silence was heavy.

I stepped closer, the echo of my shoes on the marble breaking the stillness. “Are you going to tell me what that was?”

His eyes stayed fixed on some distant point. “You know your role here,” he said flatly. “Do not ask silly questions.”

“Am I so unbearable,” I asked softly, “that you cannot even give me a straight answer?”

He finally looked at me, eyes cold as winter. “It’s done.”

“That’s not an answer.”

His voice sharpened. “You are my wife now. That is all. It's that not what you wanted”

The word wife struck me like a blow. “Wife,” I repeated, searching his face for anything, heat, regret, even anger. There was nothing.

“When we touched,” I said, moving closer, “I felt something. Don’t tell me you didn’t.”

“It was nothing.”

“Nothing?” I let out a short, disbelieving laugh. “I know what I felt. Don’t lie to me, Lucian.”

His eyes narrowed. “I said it was nothing. Do not make it into something it is not.”

“You can deny it, but you felt it too.”

His jaw clenched, a muscle ticking. “That’s all there is. The ceremony is over. You served your purpose.”

The words burned. “Purpose? That’s all I am to you?”

“You should have known from the start,” he said coldly. “There was never going to be more.”

I swallowed hard, fighting the sting behind my eyes. “I’m not imagining things. There was a spark.”

“I can and will deny it,” he snapped. His eyes blazed, but not with the passion I wanted. “You mean nothing to me beyond this title. I did what the pack required. You will do the same.”

The pain twisted tighter. “Why? What did I do to deserve this hate from you?” I almost broke but I can't let him see me like that.

He turned away, as his fists became tight. “You should have known. This was never about love.”

My voice trembled. “How did I end up here, bound to a man who treats me like a pheasant?”

His answer came like a knife. “ What? Stop, Sophia, you don't act like the victim here. You pushed yourself into this and to answer your question, it was because you exist. Your bloodlines still lives”

I froze. The words hollowed the air between us.

“I didn’t ask for this, remember,” I whispered.

“Neither did I,” he said. “You could have rejected the offer, if you feel so mighty as the CEO of Sterling Atelier. You should have rejected the bond.”

Anger sparked through me. “You think I wanted to be dragged into a bond with a man who spits on me in front of his pack?”

He spun back, his eyes blazing. “Then act like it. Stop looking at me like you expect something I will never give.”

I held his gaze, refusing to flinch. “You can hate me all you want, Lucian. But you cannot erase what the moon goddess has already written.”

For a heartbeat his face softened, but it was just a flicker before the mask returned.

A servant stepped quietly into the hall, bowing low. “Alpha, the preparations are complete. Should we escort Lady Sophia to the event hall?”

“Yes,” Lucian said, his tone sharp and final. He turned to me, with a dangerous sneer curling his lips. “Take her to the hall. I will meet you shortly. Make sure she stays at the Alpha’s side.” His eyes pinned me. “I believe it is what you wanted, to be at the Alpha’s side.”

“ I'm sorry Alpha Lucian” . It was Elara, one of the hybrids and she works in my company too. But looking at Lucian he was running out of patience as he gritted his teeth.

“ Why did you disrupted the Alpha's word”

“ Sorry Alpha, we would like to take your mate to the dressing room and change some little things before meeting the whole pack for the second time.” Elara said with her bent face.

Lucian turned immediately as he muttered ” You can take her to the underworld so we wouldn't see in this life, I don't care “

And oh! I heard that.