005: An unexpected proposal

Diana's POV

I climbed the courthouse steps, my chin held high though my stomach churned with every step. Cameras flashed the moment I appeared, and reporters shouted questions I refused to answer.

"She actually did it," a woman muttered as I passed. "Divorcing the future Alpha. Who does she think she is? Even though she's an alpha wolf, she can't rule without a mate."

I kept walking, refusing to let my face show anything.

Sussy leaned close. "Ignore them. You know the truth."

Inside the courtroom, Ian sat beside his lawyers, looking far too calm for a man on trial for his own betrayal. Brielle sat behind him, her lips curved into a smile she didn't bother hiding.

I took my seat beside Mr. Kent, forcing myself to breathe steadily. "How bad is this going to get?" I whispered.

"As bad as they want to make it," Mr. Kent said quietly. "Stay calm. Let the evidence speak."

The judge called the hearing to order, and Mr. Kent rose first, laying out the evidence clearly; the affair, the stolen funds, the transfers to Brielle's accounts without my knowledge. I watched Ian's face as the details were read aloud. He didn't flinch. He didn't even look ashamed.

When it was their turn, Ian's lawyer stood with too much confidence. "Your Honor, while we do not dispute the personal matters between our clients, there is a legal issue that must be addressed before this divorce can proceed."

"And what issue is that?" the judge asked.

"There exists an ancient binding law between marriages of alpha bloodlines," the lawyer said. "Should this divorce finalize without another legal alliance, the Fletcher family holds legal grounds to claim a significant portion of the Ruffo marital estate, including items such as the Moon Crown."

The room seemed to tilt around me. I heard the word crown and my mind went straight to my father, kneeling in front of me years ago with the weight of our bloodline in his voice. This crown is yours alone to protect, Diana. Never let anyone take it from you. I had promised him I never would. Now a stranger in a courtroom had just said it could slip out of my hands because of a stupid law.

"Is this possible?" I whispered, my voice barely holding together.

Mr. Kent's jaw tightened. "I was hoping it wouldn't come to this."

The council reviewed the documents and confirmed the law was still binding. I sat frozen as the weight of it settled over me. This was never only about Ian's betrayal. Somewhere along the way, it had become something far larger, aimed directly at everything my family had protected for generations.

"This hearing will reconvene once both parties have had time to review their legal options," the judge announced, banging the gavel.

I barely registered the sound of people rising around me. I walked out in a daze, Sussy at my side, whispering something I couldn't quite focus on.

Outside, the crowd had grown larger. Reporters shouted my name, and I felt the ground tilt beneath my feet. My legs felt unsteady. I reached for the railing on the courthouse steps, my vision blurring at the edges.

My foot caught on the step, and I stumbled forward, my composure slipping right along with my balance. For one terrible second, I felt every eye on the street land on me, and I knew I was about to become the woman who fell apart on the courthouse steps in front of every camera in the territory.

But a hand caught my arm before I fell.

"Careful," a familiar voice said.

I looked up, and my breath caught.

Travis Fletcher, Ian's uncle, stood in front of me, his hand steady around my arm, his eyes calm despite the chaos surrounding us.

"Travis?" I said, my voice barely above a whisper. He had always looked out for me when we were kids and in high school, even though I didn't need much of that.

"You didn't deserve what happened to you," Travis said. "None of it."

Something in me wanted to lean into those words. Something else wanted to shove him away for sharing Ian's name.

"Do you really think that? After all, you're a Fletcher too." I snapped, pulling my arm back.

"C'mon, Diana. You know me better than that." He shook his head slightly, an apology written across his face, one that made it harder to stay angry than I wanted it to be.

I hated that he was right. I hated more that some part of me believed him.

"Thank you," I managed, clearing my throat.

Travis released my arm. "Do you have a moment? Somewhere quieter than this?"

I glanced at Sussy, who nodded, and followed Travis toward a bench at the edge of the grounds, away from the crowd.

"I heard about the hearing," Travis said once we sat. "About the law."

"Then you know everything," I said, staring at my hands. "My family's legacy could end up in the hands of people who never deserved it."

"It doesn't have to," Travis said.

I looked up. "What do you mean?"

Travis met my eyes steadily. "Marry me."

The words hit me like ice water. I sat there staring at him, waiting for him to laugh, to say anything that would make sense of it. He didn't. He just watched me, waiting.

"What?" I finally managed.

"Marry me," Travis repeated. "Not because I want anything from you. Not for your fortune, and not for the crown. If you marry within your own terms before the divorce finalizes, the law no longer applies. Ian and his parents lose any claim to your inheritance."

I stared at him, searching for some sign this was a joke, but found none. "You're serious."

"I am," Travis said. "I know this isn't what you expected today. I know it sounds sudden, and probably the last thing you want to hear right now."

"Then why offer it? Your family is already trying to take away my inheritance. My bloodline rules this pack. Ian should be grateful he was mated to me, but instead plotted with your low life family to take my crown. Now you want to finish what they started?"

Travis paused, choosing his words carefully. "I don't support my nephew in what he's plotting. I condemn it. You shouldn't lose what your family built because of what Ian did. I have no interest in taking anything from you. This marriage would be yours to control."

I sat in silence, the noise of the crowd fading into the background. Everything inside me told me this was too fast, too strange to consider seriously. And yet something about the steadiness in his voice made me want to believe him.

"I need time to think," I said finally.

"That's fair," Travis said. "It's a lot to take in today."

"Why would you do this?" I asked, studying him. "You could have stayed away. Nobody would have blamed you."

"Maybe," Travis said. "But I've watched my own family do enough damage. I don't want to be another Fletcher who stood by and let something wrong happen because it was easier."

I continued to stare at him in disbelief.

"Besides, Diana, you know I'm the black wolf of the family. It would really piss them off to see me on your side." He smiled wickedly, rising from the bench. "Take all the time you need. I'm not asking for an answer today."

He turned to leave, then paused and looked back. "Just think about it carefully, Diana. Whatever you decide."

I sat there long after he disappeared down the path. This plan could either save everything my family had built, or hand me over to another Fletcher who might want the same thing Ian had wanted all along.