Page 6

Lucien

My meeting with Laurence Stone ended up taking more time than I anticipated. The old man knew of my intentions to break into the construction industry and decided to use the opportunity to make outrageous demands. Desperate as I may be, I am not one to be pushed around, and Laurence is currently on a fast track to find out why.

"I understand your interest in the upcoming campaign for my oil and gas business. It goes to show how much we have in common and how we'll make great business partners."

Laurence nods, lifting a glass of whisky to his lips. "I can promise to feature your company in the campaign, but I cannot offer you a part of my company."

His hands pause, and he returns his glass to the table. "I would think about this more if I were you, Mr. Ravenclaw. You won't get a deal like mine anywhere, and I think a seat in your company is a fair price."

I lean into my chair, toying with the ring on my finger. In my line of business, I've come across different types of businessmen. The good, the righteous, and the dirty. Laurence is a dirty bag from the depths of a public dumpster, and if he continues to play with me, I'll be more than happy to show him where his kind belongs.

"Mr. Stone, I think we might have encountered some form of miscommunication along the line. I am not asking to be a part of your organization. I'm merely seeking the passage that your current project will afford me."

"And I hear you, Ravenclaw, but passages don't come at a cheap rate," he replies, smirking. "Scratch my back, and I'll scratch yours." "If you insist." I smile in return, pulling out all the files I gathered on him and his dirty dealings. Smuggling, tax evasion, and everything in the book. "Guess I'll have to fling this one through the window and see what the reporters do with it, eh?"

His eyes narrow before he snatches the files from me, his eyes doubling in size as he takes in the words on the paper. "I didn't mean for it to come to this, Laurence, but you see, I hate being put in a tight corner. It brings out the worst in me."

"You will regret this, Ravenclaw," he threatens, his eyes blazing, but I don't miss the tremble in his voice or his shaking hands. He knows he has nothing on me, and this will be all I need to take him down.

Following my father's death and the temporary loss of my wolf, I put everything into building my business empire and expanding the strength of the headquarters, penetrating into multiple sectors and increasing the influence of shifters. It was all to distract myself from my current situation, but along the line, I've come to acquire a certain degree of ruthlessness. It's the only way to survive in this world, and I make sure my counterparts know I am not to be played with.

"Let me worry about the consequences of my actions, Laurence," I say, getting on my feet. "I expect an invitation on my table before the day runs out. We wouldn't want the proverbial wind blowing on the chicken, now would we?" I threw him a wink before downing my drink and heading out of the private area of the restaurant, a triumphant smile playing on my lips.

Phoenix is roughly two hours from Sedona, but the two couldn't be more different. While the city is big, hot, and populous, Sedona is a valley with beautiful views and nature. It's a great place for shifters but not so good for business. That's why most of our organizations are either in Phoenix or New York.

Construction is the last on my list, and after this meeting, I am certain I am on a one-track road to success. I revel in my post-success bliss, reaching for the phone in my pocket to place a call to Liam and instruct him on how to proceed when familiar laughter reaches my ears, stopping me dead in my tracks.

It took a moment for me to recognize her. Her hair is blonde and straight, giving her face a lifted look. If not for the way her hazel eyes widened at me, I might've missed her.

"Aurora." The sound barely left my lips, and I'm certain she didn't hear me, but I had to say her name to make sure it was her in the flesh. Her name tastes like the first bite of your comfort food after having the worst week or like a bird I've been housing in my mouth and refusing to set free.

"Aurora," I repeated, this time louder and taking a step towards her. She doesn't answer, and when I reach for her hands, she flinches, taking them off the table and tucking them on her lap.

The action stung, but I understand. I wouldn't be so thrilled to see me either.

"Who are you?" A gruff voice asks, and only then do I notice the polished man with dark eyes, jet black hair, and nice bone structure on the other side of the table. You can tell he spent a lot of time and money on his appearance despite the laid-back air around him. I'm not one to check out my fellow men. Frankly, I've never met a man I felt the need to size up, but he is on a date with Aurora, and I can't resist. He is a shifter, too, and that triggers a possessive instinct in me.

The urge to mark my territory overrides common sense, and before I can stop myself, I blurt out, "I'm Lucien, her fated mate. Who are you?"

I felt Rora stiffen at my words. Her eyes snap to mine, a mix of anger and disbelief shining through them.

Mr. Polished appears taken back, his eyes bouncing from Rora to me.

"Is he telling the truth?" He directs his question to Aurora, who takes a sip of water before answering.

"I am fated to no one." I don't miss the slight tremble in her hand as she places the glass on the table, completely ignoring me.

Polished turns to me, "The lady does not recognize you, and I suggest you leave before I make you."

The son of a bitch. Who does he think he is?

"I believe the lady can speak for herself, and if she wants me out, she would have said that a long time ago."

He turns to Aurora with a raised brow, waiting for her to give a go-ahead, and I decide I am done with this charade.

"Five minutes, Rora. You owe me that much." Something in my voice must've surprised her because her head snapped to me like she wanted to confirm the words came from me.

"I owe you that much?" she echoes my words, her brows raised in disbelief.I hold her eyes. "You don't expect me to just walk away like I didn't see you after all these years." I don't care that we're in public, and I'm risking causing a scene. All I can focus on is how she's here in the flesh. Five years spent looking for a person strips you of certain characteristics, and vulnerability is not a thing of shame to you anymore.

She takes her time before turning to polished—I refuse to acknowledge him as her date. "I'll be back. Let me see what he wants." Her tone is flat and cold, but it's also the first time I've heard her voice in years. If I wasn't scared she might disappear, I would've shut my eyes to let the sound flow through me. I didn't realize how much I missed it.

"You have four minutes and twenty-five seconds left. If I were you, I'd quit gaping like a fish and start speaking. What do you want?" Aurora bites out the moment we step out of the restaurant. I physically recoil as though I've been slapped in the face. I thought she was cold when she spoke the first time, but this is next-level. I never knew she had a voice like that in her.

"You look well," I finally manage to say, and she gives me a look.

"Would you have preferred me starving and homeless? Too bad humans don't care about labels like a half-blood and pure-blood."

Shame tears my eyes from her and glues them to the floor. I can't bring myself to see the look in her eyes, knowing I am responsible for it. "I'm deeply sorry, Rora. There's not a day that passes that I don't regret how I treated you. I've spent the last five years looking everywhere for you. I have trackers and private investigators on the lookout. You've not left my mind since the day you left, and If I'm given the chance, I'd take it back."

She pauses, her brows lifting by a fraction. "You did what?"

I seize the moment to take a step closer. She does not recoil. "When you left, I felt like a part of me was ripped away. I waited for you to come home, but days passed, and you didn't. I was scared you might be harmed. I freaked out and sent a search party for you. They came back with no news, and my fear heightened I had—"

"Slow down," she puts up a finger, her brows furrowed in confusion. "Why did you have a search party looking for me? It's not like I snuck off in the middle of the night. You were there. You watched me leave. You didn't stop me. I even waited," she paused, drawing in a deep breath. "It doesn't matter what you did or why you did it. It's all in the past."

"But we've met again, and we can start off on a fresh start. Just give me a chance. Let me make up for the damage I've caused."

"This is not some fated second chance meeting Lucien. This is purely coincidence. Phoenix is not very far from Sedona. We were bound to run into each other one day. Whatever happened to your calculative and all-knowing logical brain?"

Her words cut deep, not only because they're sharp and ruthless but because of the truth in them. I wish I had prepared better for this. For someone I've spent a great deal of the past five years searching for, I didn't have the words to answer her questions.

A part of me still feels this is all a dream, and I'll wake up to find she's still missing. I can't believe she's in front of me, speaking to me—no matter how cold the words might be—and looking very well. I want to reach out and touch her, make sure she's not a figment of my imagination. Instead, I tuck my hands into my pockets to prevent them from reaching out. This is hardly the time to initiate body contact, and if my instinct is right, I have no doubt she'll scream for help should I lay a finger on her.

"I'm deeply sorry, Rora. I was young and foolish. I wasn't thinking right."

Her eyes immediately flare in anger. "No, Lucien, you don't get to play the young and foolish card with me. Young and foolish would be going along with your father's every whim without a fight. What you did has nothing to do with age and maturity. Even a child cannot be that cruel. That was intentional. It was premeditated. You thought it through and decided that humiliating me was the best line of action, and you acted it out. So don't give me that crap and youthful exuberance. You were never like the regular youth to begin with."

Her outburst renders me speechless. I search my head for words to explain myself. I open my mouth a couple of times, but no sound escapes. I've never experienced this side of her, and I have no idea what to do with it. The Aurora I know is sweet, soft, kind, and understanding. The woman standing in front of me doesn't seem anything like that, and it scares me a bit. She glances at her wrist, her voice devoid of any emotion. "You have a minute left."

For some reason, the words have the same effect as being told you have just a minute left to breathe. "I was a fool. I was stupid, and I regret everything, every bit of it. I'm a different person now. Just give me another chance."

My eyes are wild. I'm breathless, and my chest is heaving. But she stands the perfect picture of cool and collected. "Time's up. Goodbye, Lucien."

My body springs into action as she turns, clasping my hand around her wrist to stop her. We both freeze, our eyes meeting at the point our skin touches. Charged sparks of electricity erupt from the spot, coursing through my body and sending a hum through me.

Aurora stills for a moment before blinking and tearing herself away from me, rubbing her wrist like she was burned by fire. She cast me one last look of accusation before fleeing into the restaurant.

I stand there, still dazed by the after-effects of our brief encounter. She lingers in the air like a perfume, and my body is still humming with excitement. A part of me is screaming at me to go after her and not leave till she gives an encouraging response lest she vanishes again. But the level-headed part of me that knows better hold still.

Whatever I expect will have to wait. The depth of my betrayal still weighs heavily in the air between us, and it'll take a while to undo the damage. But I'll be patient. It is enough to know where she is. I'll give her some time.

*******

"She has a four-year-old boy? Any records of a husband, past or present?" I query, balancing my phone between my ear and my shoulder while scrolling through the document my PI sent. I doubt the man at the restaurant is her husband. He showed very little possessiveness to be one.

"There's none. There's also no record of any past relationships. Just her, her son, and her job. She did have a couple of difficult years before her ascent into the corporate world," the PI replies, causing me to scroll back to the top of the file where records of her juggling between a food processing factory by day, a bar at night, and a private tutor during the weekends stare back at me. Guilt clogs my chest, tightening my windpipe and leaving a bitter taste on my tongue.

"Thank you, Jared. That'll be all for now." I turn off my phone and focus on the file in front of me. Veronica St. Claire, COO of the Pinnacle Group. Who would've thought she was hiding behind a fake name all this while?

In less than 24 hours, Jared managed to assemble a detailed report on her, including her workplace. Her success with clients and multiple awards in the finance sector is plastered on every page.

My chest swells with pride as I skim through her achievements. I hate that I was not there for any of them, but I'm glad she is living the life she always wanted and doing what she loves. I swipe to the next page to find details about her son. Jared said he was unable to get a picture or anything tangible, but he did get the basics like age, skin and eye color, and the general gist.

Are you married? Did you find someone after me? Did my actions drive you into the arms of some idiot who knocked you up and abandoned you with a child? A long string of questions filtered through my head, each pointing an accusatory finger at me as the sole cause of whatever encounter she had.

The thought of her being married burned like acid, but I wouldn't put it past her. If she managed to stay hidden for years and keep her son away from prying eyes, she'd certainly have no problem hiding a man. Perhaps she got divorced, or the husband died.

I calculate the time she had to meet a new man, wed him, and have his kid. Unless she met him immediately after she left Blackwood and had his child first, the timeline wasn't tallying. At the same time, Aurora is not reckless by any measure and hates to rush into things. Something is not adding up. Another thought pushes into my mind, one suggestive of a paternity I lacked the balls to explore, causing me to slam the laptop shut.

My heart is throbbing from processing too much information and coming up with more questions than answers. If I continue, I might just find myself in an Aurora-sized hole with no way out. Not that I would complain. It's far better than being apart from her, but I need answers.

I flip the laptop back on, her beautiful face staring back at me. I meant it when I told her she looked good. Every inch of her looked incredibly improved—like she underwent some sort of upgrading program.

From the picture you can tell how well she is. Her skin is lush and supple to the touch. Light tingles erupt in my palms, a reminder of when our skin touched.I know it's a picture, and it lacks emotions, but I can't bring myself to hold eye contact with it. The guilt and shame from my actions won't let me be bold about my intention. There's a very slim chance that she'll be interested in forgiving me, much less giving me a second chance. I mean, she acted like I burned her skin when I held her. She might flip me the bird and get a restraining order, but I intend to take whatever chances I get.

The doorknob twists and Selene steps into the room, wearing a lace, flowy night dress and a soft smile. "I thought we agreed on no work in the bedroom," she purred, slowly approaching me.

I return her smile, closing the file on Aurora and shutting down the system before she gets close. "This one is time-sensitive and requires a little more attention. But I'm done now."

She takes the laptop from me and sets it on the nightstand. "Good, because I have some use for you."

She wastes no time getting in bed and straddling me, but I am quick to stop her before she slides off the thin straps of her night dress."I had a long day," I say through a tight smile. Selene is a beautiful woman, and the sight of her in this position should elicit a string of desires in any full-blood male, but I feel nothing, not even a spark. She dismisses my subtle rejection and proceeds to rock her hips back and forth on me. She gets no reaction. She releases a frustrated huff before sliding off me.

"It's been five Luc, five years of marriage and except the kiss at our mating ceremony and the few scattered around for public view, you've not touched me. I figured you might be dealing with the loss of your father and the situation with your wolf during the first year and didn't read much into your actions. I even extended the grace. But right now, if you can't stand me, why did you go ahead with this marriage?"

"Selene, I need more time. This thing with my wolf. I think it might've affected every part of me."

"Don't give that bullshit, Lucien, don't," she cuts me, her face the picture of frustration. "This is not about your wolf. it's about how you can't even get it up for me. There's no life down there, not even a twitch."

I hate when she gets like this, and we have these fights. Every part of our marriage is easy, and we've settled into some form of companionship. She takes care of some pack situations while I handle the business side of things and attend to the issues she can't.

After her display of bravery and leading the warriors to avenge my father's death, the pack members have come to develop solid faith in her and trust her to handle situations, giving me time to focus on other things.

Our relationship is comfortable, too. We have mutual respect for each other, have a few conversations, and share a few laughs. This is the only problematic side of things, and it's all my fault. I can't seem to find it in me to muster any form of desire for any woman since Aurora left. Even touching another woman feels like cheating. I just can't bring myself to do it.

Selene takes my hand, forcing my eyes on her. "We need an heir, Lucien." Her voice is softer. "The people are beginning to talk. They're asking if you're impotent or I am unable to carry a child. They're talking about the risks of having a leader without a way of sustaining his bloodline and how that exposes them to a power struggle after your demise. We both know what happens in times like that."

I understand what she is talking about. I have been met by a few people of influence to discuss my childlessness. Some offered to take me to a healer if there is need, and others highlighted the dangers of waiting. How important it is for me to have a child at an age where I can pass down my wisdom and experience to him like my father did and his father before him.

When it comes to raising a new heir, the training is a great exercise, but some things can only be passed from one alpha to another, and those are the important details.

I understand the risks, but it's not like I can tell her the situation. How am I to tell my mate that I can't touch her because I'm so committed to another woman that even in her absence, touching another would feel like cheating? How do I explain the state of my heart and how every inch of me calls out for another? I won't even be able to get it up if I try. It sucks to admit that, and it even sucks more that I had to find out too late. Aurora owns every inch of me. Even the breaths that I've drawn since the moment I realized she'd left me have been a silent plea for her return.

Running into her today worsened things by a great deal. Even the thought of a kiss with anyone left an unpleasant taste in my mouth.

"I understand, Selene, and I'm trying. I'll see if I can pay the healers another visit to ascertain the situation and what to do about it. I just need more time. Also, none of this is your fault. You haven't done anything wrong." The lie slips out of my mouth smooth as butter, and I feel Selene relax.

I feel instant relief knowing the matter has been squashed for the time being, but with the relief comes the guilt. Selene deserves better. She was roped into this situation just like I was, but somehow, she has managed to handle it with grace and very few complaints.I don't know how long I can stretch my lie, but I hope it can hold till I figure out what to do with Aurora and the way forward. The Goddess just gave me a second chance, and I have no intention of letting it slip out of my hands again.