***LIZABETH'S POV***
I had been disturbed the entire day. It was already 6 p.m. the next day after my rejection but I still couldn't steel my mind away from what had happened the previous night.
"Do you love this shade, Mrs. Carter?" the makeup artist asked, brushing color across my cheeks. Only then was I startled from my thoughts.
I smiled and nodded without even glancing at the mirror.
Tonight was going to be the wedding after party. Adrian's father had postponed it from last night.
Although I wasn't happy with the arrangement—most of my friends had gone back to their states—I could do nothing to dispute it. Neither could my father.
We were at the mercy of Adrian's father. And this marriage had been agreed to by mine because they needed the merger he had proposed for our companies.
Thinking back to how enthusiastic I had felt when my father told me the news of the arranged marriage, I couldn't help but wonder if it had been worth it, if maybe I should have refused.
Even being called Mrs. Carter by the professional makeup artist didn't help matters.
The name didn't seem to belong to me. Should I have worried about the rumors on the internet about Adrian? Or had I been mistaken to dismiss them?
"Mrs. Carter!" Another voice called, and again I snapped out of my thoughts.
Finally, I forced myself to stare at my reflection in the mirror. It had only been a day with him—I told myself I couldn't judge him yet.
But gosh, I hadn't even seen him the next morning, nor had he returned to our room the previous night after he left with only a towel around his waist.
It was an arranged marriage, I reminded myself. I needed to give him time to gather his feelings as well.
***
Standing by Adrian's side later that evening, holding on to his arm, I could feel how disoriented he was. The tension radiating off him was impossible to ignore.
This was the first time we were meeting since the previous day, after he had walked out on me in our room. He had spent the night in one of the guest rooms. And from what I overheard, his secretary had sent him a suit the next morning so he could leave for work.
We stood at the entrance of the hall, welcoming guests into the party as our fathers had instructed as the "couples of the moment."
Then, as I scanned the crowd, I saw a familiar figure walking toward us.
"Landon!" I called happily, instantly letting go of Adrian's arm and throwing myself into my brother's embrace.
The hug was warm, filled with the kind of closeness only siblings could share. Being the only children of the Hayes family of the Obsidian Howl Pack had bound us tightly together.
Adrian's posture shifted at my side. He said nothing, but I could sense his unease, his discomfort at the way I clung to my brother.
"My brother, Adrian," I said brightly, turning to introduce them. "He just came back to Ravenshore a few days ago. He won't be going back abroad anytime soon—he's going to begin his lessons as my Pack's new Alpha in training."
"Pleasure to meet you," Adrian muttered, raising his hand in a wave.
It struck me as a little awkward, but not unusual. Adrian was known everywhere for being cold and distant, and I had already noticed he seldom shook hands. A wave was his habit, and so I thought nothing of it.
But what I didn't realize was that his wave wasn't just out of habit. He was avoiding my brother—as if afraid that even the slightest contact between them might spark something.
Then Landon spoke, and my heart dropped.
"I'm sorry our pack disappointed yours. I know your father might have been planning for both packs to be merged with the marriage, since Liza was the former Alpha in waiting. I'm so sorry she had a brother existing somewhere to cause a disruption to those plans, brother-in-law…"
I froze. His words were reckless, inappropriate and heavy with meaning I didn't want anyone to dissect.
Before Adrian could respond, I jumped in, forcing a nervous laugh. "Don't mind him. My brother talks gibberish and out of turn whenever he's drunk."
I grabbed Landon's arm and started to pull him away, desperate to smooth over the damage.
But inside, my stomach churned. Landon wasn't drunk. He had spoken with clear senses. And Adrian knew it too—I could feel the anger vibrating from him even as he stayed silent.
Packs with female Alpha heirs often merged with the husband's once they married or mated. I realized, with a sick twist, that Adrian hadn't even known I was the Alpha in waiting of my pack. My father must have kept that from him.
And perhaps that was why the sole reason my father allowed Landon return from abroad—to take over my position, to ensure our pack remained independent instead of merging with another.
The explanation made sense, but it didn't ease the storm clouding the air around us.
I glanced at Adrian. His silence was sharp, his expression unreadable. I couldn't tell what conclusion he had reached, only that my brother's words had left him unsettled.
And though I tried to push the unease aside, I couldn't stop myself from worrying. Landon's words had been ambiguous. And his behavior id seen toward Adrian since returning was strange and charged.
I forced myself to smile at the guests walking in, but inside, one thought kept creeping into my mind again and again:
What exactly was going on between my brother and my husband?
I couldn't tell what it was but I knew that something was off. Or perhaps Landon was still not over his harassment that happened years ago. Maybe he's resentful of father allowing me to marry into the Carter's family. Whatever it was, I can't understand what it is. But it unsettles me more than I let on.