Soren's POV
I sat on the couch, watching my mother pace back and forth while Marie huddled in a corner, quietly sobbing. I didn't care how either of them felt. All I could think about was Catherine, how she was doing, what she was feeling. Evander had taken her back to their hotel after the scene I'd caused, and neither of them had shown up to the reception. I hadn't bothered going either.
My mother had spent the last hour doing damage control, weaving lies into half-truths, trying to soften the rumors that were already spreading like wildfire.
"I expect an explanation from you, Soren," my mother finally said, her voice slicing through the thick silence. "What exactly happened back there?"
"Stick to the scolding part. You've got five minutes." I didn't look up from my wristwatch.
Her lips trembled. Marie gasped softly.
"How could you speak to your mother that way, Soren?"
"If I wasn't talking to you," I said flatly, "then you have no part in this conversation."
"I do, Soren." Marie's voice shook. "You humiliated me out there, hugging that human girl right in front of everyone. In the one place where we were supposed to be building our future together."
"Suit yourself," I shrugged. I never wanted this marriage. It was a sudden announcement, a political move. Marie and I had been acquaintances in high school. Nothing more. Her father was an Alpha from one of the most powerful werewolf packs—an alliance my mother believed would secure my position as King. The perfect Luna for the perfect Alpha.
I never grew up dreaming about marrying for love. Maybe I would've accepted this arrangement if things were different. But then I met her. Over the past five years, I'd visited Evander occasionally, mostly for political reasons, sometimes to mend our strained relationship.
When news broke that he'd married a human, reactions were mixed. Some found it hilarious.
Others saw it as a step toward unity between lycanthropes and humans. Half the population viewed it as a power play: a test of human weakness, a strategy for domination if humans ever turned against us.
I found it disgusting at first that he kept collecting wives especially when she was rumoured to be at least thirty years younger.
Year after year, I'd see her on that balcony. Reading, watching the sunset, dozing off on a couch. Without even realizing it, I'd begun looking for her every time I came. She is beautiful...the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen. And that night we finally spoke… I knew I couldn't let her go. It's insane, falling for your father's wife. But I had to get to her. Call off this sham of a marriage. Take her away from all this.
Now I stared at Marie, the woman I was bound to by a ring I'd already tossed onto the marble floor. I just wished she'd be quiet.
"So you're choosing her? Is that it, Soren? You're married to me."
"Stop acting like I made you promises, Marie. My mother wanted this marriage. You got what you wanted. Don't ask for my love, too. I'm not that generous."
Marie covered her mouth as another sob escaped.
"A human, Soren!" my mother seethed. "It could've been anyone, but it had to be her? Evander's leftovers!"
"Just like you," I shot back.
Her lips parted. Tears traced paths down her cheeks as I added, "You're talking like you weren't his ex-wife."
'She's taking too long', Skye, my lycan, growled through our mind link.
'I know. I'll wrap this up.' I checked my watch again and stood. "Time's up."
"Soren!" My mother moved to block my path. "Do you have any idea what you're doing? The council will—"
"If being King means I can't love who I want, then I don't want the title. The council can do what it wants. My father made me King. The people confirmed it. I've done everything you asked, Mother. I reconciled with Evander. I took a throne I never wanted. But Catherine?" My voice hardened. "I'm not letting her go."
"Do you understand how dangerous this is? A lycan and a human can't mate,it's a curse, Soren. A horrid curse. I'd rather die than watch you make that mistake."
"The slaughterhouse is just a few minutes away," I said coldly, pushing past her.
"Don't you dare go to her! You have no idea what I'm capable of!" she screamed.
Just then, a searing pain tore through my chest, burning across my neck—right where I had marked Catherine.
'Catherine,' Skye rasped, his panic flooding my mind. 'She's in danger.'