Chapter 71: A Proper Marriage

Lucian’s POV

​The study fell silent after my father’s declaration. For several seconds, neither of us moved. I held his gaze while he stared right back at me, waiting for my answer.

​"No," I finally said flatly.

​My father’s eyes narrowed. This was probably the first time in my life that we had disagreed so openly about something this important. I respected him. I always had. He had been Alpha King long before I became an Alpha myself, and there were very few people whose judgment I trusted as much as his. But I wasn’t a boy taking orders from his father anymore, and this wasn’t his decision to make.

​"Lucian," my father said, his tone carrying a clear warning.

​I calmly crossed one leg over the other and leaned back against the couch. "I am not divorcing my wife," I told him. "Not now. Not ever."

​"Lucian," my mother called softly, clearly trying to calm the growing tension between us.

​I turned toward her. "Mom, I’m not a child," I replied. "I’m thirty years old. I’m an Alpha, and I’m more than capable of deciding whether I want to remain married. If I ever decide that I don’t want this marriage anymore, I’ll end it myself. Until then, I don’t want either of you bringing this up again. Annabel remains my wife."

​A scoff came from across the room.

​My head turned toward the sound, and for a moment, I had almost forgotten Lucas was still sitting there. He had remained unusually quiet throughout the entire conversation, which, now that I thought about it, should probably have worried me.

​"Your wife?" Lucas repeated with a small smirk. "Come on, brother. She isn’t really your wife."

​My expression hardened. "What did you just say?" I asked.

​"You heard me," Lucas replied calmly. "There was no wedding. No ceremony. No exchange of vows. You didn’t stand before the Moon Goddess and make an oath to each other. You and Kenneth signed a treaty. That’s it."

​He leaned back in his chair, holding my gaze. "So tell me, what exactly makes Annabel your wife? A signature on a piece of paper that you and her father signed?"

​My jaw tightened.

​As much as I hated to admit it, the bastard had a point.

​When Annabel arrived two months ago, I had refused to give her a proper wedding. At the time, I hadn’t cared. I had been too consumed by my hatred for Kenneth to stand beside his daughter and exchange vows I didn’t mean. I hadn’t wanted a ceremony, a celebration, or anything else that could make the marriage feel real. The treaty had been enough for me.

​Now, for the first time, I regretted that decision.

​Apparently, one mistake from two months ago had decided to come back and annoy me tonight.

​If I had married Annabel properly when she arrived, Lucas wouldn’t be sitting across from me questioning whether she was my wife.

​"A treaty marriage is still a marriage," I replied coldly. "And I suggest you stay out of this, Lucas."

​Lucas’s eyes narrowed slightly. "Why?" he asked.

​"Because it has nothing to do with you," I answered.

​Something about his expression irritated me. Maybe it was the way he had questioned my marriage so easily. Maybe it was the ridiculous amount of cologne he was wearing. Or maybe it was that faint trace of Annabel’s scent I had convinced myself I was imagining earlier.

​Whatever it was, I didn’t like it.

​I leaned forward slightly, keeping my eyes on him. "Unless there’s a reason you’re suddenly so interested in whether Annabel is really my wife," I said.

​Something flickered across Lucas’s face, but it disappeared too quickly for me to understand what it was.

​My eyes narrowed. "I’d be careful, Lucas," I warned quietly. "You’re beginning to give me the impression that you want my wife."

​"Enough!" my father snapped, his voice filling the study.

​The single word ended the argument.

​I looked at him for a moment before rising from the couch. I slowly buttoned my jacket, already done with this entire conversation. They could give me a hundred reasons why ending the marriage was supposedly better for me, but none of them seemed to understand one very simple thing.

​Annabel was my wife.

​And apparently, the idea of anyone taking that away from me irritated the hell out of me.

​"I’ll pretend this meeting never happened," I said, looking between my parents before my eyes finally settled on Lucas. "I’m not annulling my marriage to Annabel. Even if the Moon Goddess herself comes down here and tells me to let her go, my answer will still be no."

​"Lucian," my mother started.

​I didn’t give her the chance to finish.

​The air shifted around me, and I teleported out of the study.

​When I teleported directly into my bedroom, the room was dark and quiet, but I didn’t bother turning on the lights. I walked toward the large window and stopped in front of it, staring out at the pack grounds below. Most of the mansion had already gone quiet for the night, and only a few lights remained on in the distance.

​For several minutes, I simply stood there. My wolf was silent. So was I. There was a strange feeling sitting heavily inside my chest, one I couldn’t quite explain. Lucas’s words kept replaying in my head no matter how many times I tried to push them away.

​She isn’t really your wife. His words echoed in my head.

​My jaw tightened. She was my wife.

​She is, my wolf finally said quietly. But not completely.

​I frowned. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

​The treaty recognizes the marriage between the packs, he replied. But you never completed the marriage rites. You never exchanged vows before the Moon Goddess.

​I already knew that. I simply hadn’t cared until tonight. Annabel and I were married through the treaty. Our packs recognized the agreement, and everyone around us called her my wife. But there had been no ceremony. No vows. No oath before the Moon Goddess. I had deliberately refused all of it because two months ago, I couldn’t stand the thought of giving Kenneth’s daughter anything that resembled a real marriage.

​Now the thought of our marriage not being complete irritated me more than it should have.

​I let out a slow breath and ran a hand through my hair. But there was something else stopping me from making my marriage to Annabel permanent. Something I hadn’t allowed myself to think about until now.

​Her.

​The woman I had spent years searching for.

​I had promised myself that I wouldn’t stop until I found her. Somewhere out there was a woman I had spent years trying to find, and I still didn’t know what I would do if she suddenly appeared in my life tomorrow. If I completed the marriage rites with Annabel, what would happen when I found her?

​She couldn’t become my mistress. I would never insult her like that. After searching for her for this long, she deserved more than being hidden somewhere while I remained married to another woman. She deserved to be my wife.

​Then if you find her, you can divorce Annabel, my wolf said calmly.

​I went still.

​We don’t even know if we’ll ever find her, he continued. You have searched for years. Annabel is here now.

​My brows pulled together. Apparently, my wolf had decided to make tonight even more complicated. But the longer I stood there, the more one thought settled clearly in my mind.

​Lucas was right about one thing. I should have married Annabel properly from the beginning. And there was no reason I couldn’t correct that mistake now.

​I nodded slowly as the decision settled inside me. I knew exactly what I was going to do.

​A second later, I teleported. The darkness of my bedroom disappeared, and I found myself standing inside Annabel’s room. Only a small bedside lamp was on, leaving most of the room covered in shadows.

​Annabel was asleep beneath the covers. I stood there for a moment, watching her. Her chocolate-brown hair was spread across the pillow, and her face looked peaceful in a way it rarely did when she was awake around me.

​Then her eyes suddenly opened.

​She jerked upright the moment she noticed the figure standing inside her room and quickly reached for the brighter lamp beside her bed. Sharp light filled the room, and the flash of panic and fear across her face made something uncomfortable twist inside me.

​She was frightened of me, and I didn’t like that.

​"Alpha Lucian?" she breathed, pulling the blanket closer around herself. "What are you doing in my room?"

​I pushed aside whatever I had felt when I saw the fear on her face and kept my expression blank. "Get ready tomorrow morning," I told her. "We’re getting married."