The King's Mind

Ryan

I paced my office, back and forth, my boots scraping softly against the floor. No matter how many times I crossed the room, my thoughts refused to settle.

That was the last face I expected to see today. It made no sense. I had buried Sapphire myself. I remembered every single detail that cold night. I knew for a fact that she was gone. She had to be. And yet this girl… she looked too much like her to ignore.

Still, after listening to her father and her half-sister, there was no denying the truth. She wasn’t Sapphire. Just someone who resembled her closely enough to cause damage.

And that was what bothered me most.

She had no idea how dangerous it was to look like that.

If her family hadn’t kept her hidden away all her life, someone else would have found her. Someone crueler than her hopelessly wicked family. Someone smart enough to use her face as a weapon against me. The thought alone made my blood boil. A woman like that could start wars. She could break me, if placed in the wrong hands.

And then there was the subject of her weakness. I could sense that she had a wolf, but her aura was so weak. She had to be an Omega at best, and it annoyed me more than I wanted to admit.

She had stood there quietly while her father spoke of her like she was nothing. She had accepted the way she’d been treated, lowered her eyes, stayed silent. How could anyone allow themselves to be reduced like that?

“Have you thought of anything?” Malcom asked, pulling me out of my thoughts.

He leaned against the wall, looking far too entertained.

“This isn’t funny,” I muttered.

“I don’t think it is,” he said calmly. “It’s just astonishing that something this insane could actually happen.”

I stopped pacing and shot him a glare.

“Alright,” he admitted with a shrug. “It is a little funny seeing you like this. You haven’t cared about anything in months.”

I sat on the edge of my desk, clasping my hands together.

“She looks exactly like her,” I said quietly, my chest tightening as I remembered the moment I first saw her. The way my heart had slammed against my ribs before my mind could catch up.

“Well,” Malcom said, “except for the glasses. And she’s much paler than Sapphire. She could use some sun.”

Despite myself, a short laugh escaped me.

“I’d give anything to see Laura’s face again,” Malcom added more softly. “Even if it wasn’t really her.”

I looked at him then. He knew loss too. His mate had been taken from him, just like Sapphire had been taken from me.

Unlike wolves, Lycans weren’t bound to a single mate for life. Some of us never even found one. We loved when we could, and when it was gone, we were expected to endure it.

Maybe Malcom was right. Maybe seeing that face again wasn’t a curse.

“If it were me,” he continued, “I’d be grateful. I don’t understand how you got so angry just because she isn’t truly Sapphire.”

There was a reason. One I couldn’t explain. Not to him. Not to anyone.

“I should marry her,” I said suddenly.

“What?” Malcom nearly shouted. “That’s not what I meant. You can’t make a decision like that so fast.”

“I should,” I said firmly. “I need her where I can see her.”

“You almost had me kill this girl earlier,” he said slowly. “Do you realize how unstable you’ll look if you marry her tonight?”

“People from far and wide saw her face,” I snapped. “If I let her go, she’ll be hunted. Captured. Used. I won’t allow that. Marrying her is the only way to keep her close.”

“I understand keeping her close,” Malcom said, frowning. “But why marriage?”

“You’ll understand soon enough,” I replied. If I told him now, he’d try to stop me.

I pulled out my phone and messaged the beautician, Lydia, telling her to prepare the girl for a brief public announcement. Then I said to Malcom as I walked out of the office, “Prepare the Golden Hall, and make sure you Invite everyone.”

“What? Why?” Malcom asked.

“Just do it,” I said, already walking toward my bedroom to get dressed for the announcement.

When I returned, Malcom had prepared everything. The hall was filled to capacity, just how I wanted.

But just because he was my beta didn’t mean he would mindlessly obey me. It’s why I chose him in the first place. I could already see the caution in his eyes before he said, “I hope you know what you’re doing,”

A soft knock came at the door. It was barely audible, and so faint that I knew it was her. Only she would knock that timidly. It irritated me more than it should have.

But when she stepped inside and I turned to face her, the breath left my lungs.

She looked even more like Sapphire now. The dress, the jewelry, the careful work of the hands that had prepared her. For a moment, it felt like the past had reached out and struck me.

Then reality settled back in, because she wasn’t Sapphire, and that ruined everything.

I held out my hand. I made my announcement. Gasps filled the hall.

“The ceremony will begin in an hour,” I said. “Enjoy the food and drinks.”

Then I left, with Malcom close behind me.

The doors shut, muting the chaos.

“Well,” Malcom said, “that happened.”

I ignored him.

“Where is she?”

“Probably still standing there, trying to figure out if you were serious,” he said. “I’ll go get her.”

“Take her to prepare for the ceremony,” I said. “But before the ceremony starts, bring her to my room.”

Malcom stopped walking. “Isn’t that a bit fast?”

I smiled.

“No,” I said. “It’s perfect timing.”