LORCAN
What was wrong? I thought today he only had to deal with some delegations and attend some meetings. What happened?
"You're scaring me," I murmured as Luca regarded me with a look that wasn't quite the usual loving adoration I was used to.
He ran fingers through his hair, which, looking at it now, seemed to have blood stains. That had me scanning his entire frame and I did a double take as I took in his dishevelled form and the dried blood stains on his shirt. "Are you hurt? Did someone attack you? What happened?" Questions flew out of my mouth as panic settled in my gut.
"This has to be done," Luca said, breaking his silence. He moved out of reach again as I reached for him.
"What? What had to be done? Did you kill someone?" I wouldn't be surprised if he did, especially if he was attacked. I wasn't a fan of unnecessary killings and Luca was aware of that.
"I did what was best for the pack, for our people. There was no other choice. You have to understand."
"Understand what? I don't know what you're saying, Luca. Who did you kill? I am not going to hate you if you did it out of self-defence. You did what you had to do."
"I didn't kill anyone," he sighed.
"Then what happened? What did you do?" He doesn't say a word for a few minutes, and I get perhaps it's not something he wants to talk about yet. "We don't have to talk about it now if you're not feeling up to it. Why don't you come with me? I prepared your bath and I made some of your favourite food…." I stopped talking as two deltas and Luca's beta walked into the room.
"Alpha, where do we start?" The guards asked.
"Have you told him?" Luca's beta asked without so much as regarding my presence.
"Start what? Tell me what?" I asked, shifting my attention back to Luca.
"His things are in the wardrobe on the right. Careful with it."
"What things? What is going on?" The Deltas moved on autopilot at Luca's instruction while I tried to get an answer from my mate as they opened my wardrobe.
"You haven't told him? I told you to discuss this with him before I brought the deltas over.
"Tell me what?"
"It's not as easy as you made it sound."
"Just say the damn words; not saying it won't change anything for fuck's sake. We've been over this. You had the entire week to prepare him for this and you didn't say a word to him."
"It's not that fucking easy, alright. I thought we would find a way out of this."
"Tell me what?" I asked, moving in between the two friends who were now raising their voices at each other. What the hell was so bad that Luca was keeping from me?
If Luca's beta was involved, then it had to be something bad. The beta never liked me. He had always said I was a burden to Luca and a waste of space.
Neither of them answered my question as they argued, and my gaze flitted back and forth between them, trying to make sense of what they were saying. A grunt pulled my attention from the duo to the Deltas, who were currently dismantling every piece of clothing in my wardrobe.
"What is going on? Why are they stuffing my clothes in a box? Luca?" I was met with raised voices and no answer to my question.
"Luca, what the hell is going on?" I yelled, shoving between the duo.
"You're getting married." Luca's beta yelled back at me, snarling as he stepped away from me.
"I'm getting married?" I turned to Luca, shocked and unsure of what to make of the news. Did the council finally agree to let us mate? A smile spread out on my face as I turned to Luca. I expected him to be as excited at the news; this is what we've wanted for so long. For the council to officially recognise us as mates, for them to see me as the Luna of this province. "We're getting married; how did you get the council to finally agree?"
Luca shook his head. "Not us. Not us," he repeated with a conflicted expression.
"Not us? What do you…" My gaze travelled the room. The deltas were almost done emptying everything I owned from the wardrobe. Luca's beta met my gaze with a hard stare, then shook his head as he averted his gaze. Luca looked—he looked constipated.
"Casper, what is he saying?" I turned to Luca's beta as realisation finally began to dawn on me. But that can't be. It couldn't be what I was thinking.
Casper sighed. "You're getting married, not to Luca, but your marriage has been arranged and you'll be getting married in a week or so."
"Why?" I asked. "I don't understand. Why would I be getting married to someone who isn't my mate? How is that even possible? Luca is my mate. I can only be with him. Why am I being arranged to marry someone else?"
"We need to facilitate peace with the North," Luca said, avoiding eye contact with me.
"And what does that have to do with me? I have never been in support of all the fights for lands or whatever."
"This is more than just that. Lorcan, a marriage alliance is the only way out of this or we are going to war. We are not prepared for war. Your mate won't win a war with the North without proper preparation." Casper explained, but that still didn't answer my question.
"So what? The marriage is a ruse."
"Not really. It has to happen and it will be recorded as an official marriage."
"And you signed off on this? You agreed to this, Luca. For your mate to be handed off to some Alpha?" I fought back against the tears welling in my eyes.
There had to be some sort of explanation for this because I know my mate wouldn't just hand me over like that.
"I had no choice. We need time to plan, and your marriage to the North will buy us ample time. Besides, the council believes this is a good idea and it would be rewarding for you eventually. You've always wanted to be acknowledged as my Luna; the council wants you to prove your worth to the pack and the province. You cannot give me a son, Lorcan. No matter how much we pretend to be a happy couple, no matter how much you pretend to be content with your current position, you know that without you giving me an heir, the council will never see you as my mate and Luna. They need you to prove your worth; they want you to prove that you're willing to do whatever it takes for your people."
I was stunned to silence by his words. He thought we were pretending to be a happy couple. A pang of pain swelled in my chest as I dissected every word he just uttered. The council wanted me to prove my worth? I always knew they regarded me as unworthy of their Alpha Lord, but never would I have thought to go to such extreme ends just for me to prove that I was worthy of their respect and the simple courtesy I deserved as Luca's mate.
"And the only way for me to do that is to marry this Alpha from the North?" I asked, swallowing around the lump forming in my throat.
Luca nodded, regarding me with wary eyes. I turned to Casper to find him staring at Luca with a disapproving look. Had Luca said something he shouldn't have or was he lying?
"Who is he, the Alpha I am to marry? Who is he?"
Luca glanced at Casper and the beta nodded. "Birsha," Luca replied.
I frowned, the name not ringing any bell. "Birsha? Who is…" I paused mid-sentence, eyes going wide.
"BirshaNali", Casper muttered, loud enough for me to hear.
I turned to my mate with quickened breaths, my heart pounding as fear took hold of being at the sound of his full name, as reality dawned on me who they really meant. "Bir…" I couldn't even formulate the words anymore. "You can't be serious." My gaze darted between Casper and my mate. "You know who he is, right? That is not... he is not just any Alpha. He is not—" I wheezed, my chest heaved, my throat closed and my eyes watered as it suddenly became hard to breathe.
Luca rushed forward. I tried to swat at his hand as he grabbed me but my limbs had suddenly gone numb. I couldn't move them. I wanted to run out of here, to race down the stairs and disappear forever but my legs wouldn't budge. It felt as though my nose wasn't working either. I had somehow forgotten how to breathe because no matter how hard I tried, air refused to flow into my lungs. The urge to scream climbed up my throat but my mouth wouldn't budge. I could've sworn I felt my lips parting but no sound came out. I was paralysed with fear, even as Luca told me to breathe and to follow his lead. I couldn't; my brain was locked in somewhere else. Somewhere that wasn't my body and fear had taken space in my mind and soul.
My mate was handing me to the undead king of the north. The thought alone was enough to make my heart stop.