Chapter 49

Violet

The ride back to Midnight was uncomfortably quiet. Theodore’s presence beside me only amplified my irritation as I scrolled through the latest headlines about the court case. He was silent and oddly brooding. To be fair, I wasn’t that happy either.

The images were everywhere: Lucas’ smug face, Nora standing too close to him, and, of course, a photo of me walking out of the court with Theodore at my side. The article was full of speculation as to why Owen was holding off on the decision. A lot of people wondered if there was some truth to all the claims about my mental state. I rolled my eyes. It was exactly the kind of narrative Lucas wanted. I could see Owen helping make all of this happen. I was being painted as the jilted Luna clinging to the powerful Alpha of Midnight.

The next collection of photos and articles were all about the upcoming Luna ceremony being held at Midnight Park, where all of this began.

I shook my head. “Why Midnight Park?”

“The gardens,” he said automatically.

I frowned at that, surprised that he had a real reason. I kept scrolling.

“... and I didn’t think you’d agree to the temple.”

I blinked and looked at him. He didn’t look at me, still looking out the window, clearly preoccupied with whatever her was thinking about.

I kept scrolling, noting all the coverage of the wedding.

“Are you behind all the announcements?”

“Of course.” He sounded pleased. “Did you expect me to be quiet about it?”

I shook my head. “I suppose that would be silly of me to think that you could be less flashy.”

Theodore glanced at me, his hands loose on the wheel of the SUV. “Flashy? I’d call it effective.”

I turned to him, raising an eyebrow. “Effective for what? Stirring up drama?”

“Reassuring our allies,” he said simply, his tone calm but firm. “Midnight needs to project strength, especially now. If Lucas and Owen think they can undermine you, they’ll try. I won’t let that happen.”

I didn’t have anything to say to that, but I noted the weight of his words.

Our allies.

It might be my reaction to the Lucas situation, but I couldn’t guess what he meant by that exactly. We might have mutual business partners, but we didn’t have mutual allies, I was pretty sure. Though, who knew, maybe we did after that display in the courtroom. I shook my head and put it from my mind, returning my focus to my phone.

“What did the priest say to you?” Theodore asked after a pause, his voice measured but curious.

I tensed, my thumb hovering over the screen. “Nothing worth discussing right now.”

“Violet—”

“I don’t want to talk about it, Theodore.”

My tone was sharper than I intended, but I didn’t want to talk about it. Not when I was still processing it. I wasn’t sure if I should be hopeful or just start plotting how best to drag Lucas to the temple and demand that he do it. I didn’t think I had the strength to compel him, but I also didn’t want to do that.

I hated the idea of forcing my will on someone like that.

I could feel Theodore’s frustration simmering, but he didn’t press further. The silence crackled with tension. We rode to the border of the capital territory and traded the car for a carriage, heading to Midnight. We got settled inside and it took off on the long winding road.

Just as Theodore opened his mouth to speak again, my phone buzzed in my hand, cutting him off.

The screen lit up with Lily’s name, and I answered immediately, grateful for the distraction. “Lily?”

“I hear someone kicked ass in court today!” Lily cheered. I could hear a noisemaker in the background. “Congratulations!”

“It’s not that simple, unfortunately.” I sighed. “Owen forestalled the enactment of the decree by two weeks.”

“What did you do to the alpha king to make him hate you?”

“Turn him down.”

She scoffed. “Of couse. Men.”

“Don’t lump me in with that fucker,” Kincaid growled from the background.

“You are in a different class all together,” Lily said. “I just wanted to clue you in about what’s going on with the backup land plots—two of them are gone. They were bought out yesterday. Quietly.”

My grip on the phone tightened. “By who?”

“We’re still trying to confirm, but…” Her hesitation was damning.

“But it’s probably Lucas,” I finished for her.

“Yes, probably. Though where he’s getting the funds, I don’t know. Maybe he’s blowing the alpha king.”

I snorted. “I don’t think he’d be that adventurous given that he likes women and wasn’t that adventurous.”

“... I hear the Uncrowned King is all kind of adventurous,” she teased.

My face heated. Theodore glanced at me, he smirked. His eyes gleamed and I scowled at him.

“Not funny,” I said. She laughed in my ear and I sighed. “Keep looking. And find out who facilitated the purchases. I want names. There’s a chance I can organize a buyoff through someone else.”

“I’m on it. Anything else?”

“Yes. Don’t head back to Darkmoon until all of Twining River and the traitors are all gone. That’s at least two weeks from now, but keep your ears open.”

“Will do. Talk again soon!”

She hung up and I rested my head against the window. A dull thudding started between my eyebrows. I rubbed at the tension.

“Headache?”

I nodded. “Migraine. Stress probably.”

“What’s going on?”

I hesitated, not wanting to share the latest complication. But the look in his eyes told me he wouldn’t drop it, and who knew, maybe some of his allies could pull a few strings and figure out who bought the land I wanted.

“Lucas might have snatched up the land I wanted,” I said. “And the backups.”

Theodore bobbed his head. “You think so?”

“Not sure. I’m having Lily and Kincaid look into it. It’s possible, but not plausible financially speaking.”

“Loans?”

“Possible.”

He smirked. “Lily may be on to something regarding Owen and Lucas… I’m glad he put that little inkling in the minds of the public.”

I frowned, trying to figure out what he meant, and I thought back to my lead lawyer’s words. I snorted.

“You think that’s enough.”

“It’s enough to start a rumor. I’ll add a little fuel to the fire and it’ll at least urge Owen not to be so blatantly on his side for no good reason.”

I chuckled. “You’re going to start a rumor about your brother’s scandalous relationship with my ex-husband? Is that legal?”

He shrugged. “It’s not illegal. A rumor isn’t slander or libel with you put “alleged” on it.”

I shook my head. It sounded simple. The idea was definitely amusing in a vicious way, but my thoughts turned back to what could happen next.

“You don’t look happy,” Theodore said.

“Two more weeks,” I said. “He’s trying to stall the ceremony and complicate things.” I frowned and glanced at Theodore. “He could be just trying o buy more time to figure out how to get out of actually approving it, but it’s starting to feel more personal than that.”

He shrugged. “Owen’s issues run too deep and too broad for me to think too much about them…” He looked out the window. “I have my own battles to fight.”

He clenched his jaw for a moment. The words felt heavier than they should have. I wanted to ask, but I refrained. It wa shis private life, and I had no right to pry.

He turned back to me. “The order is forestalled for Lucas, but not the traitors. What forces are clearing out his sympathizers?”

“The Haywards of Dark Forest, for one. A few other packs have volunteered to assist.”

Theodore raised an eyebrow. “You didn’t think to ask me for help?”

“I didn’t need to. You helped in the way we agreed on. I never expected anything more.”

He worked his jaw and looked down. He rolled his shoulders. His hands rippled and gripped the bench beneath him. I narrowed my eyes at him, feeling the heat in the carriage go up noticeably.

“You should make it more of a habit to ask for help. You know, considering we’ll be married soon.”

I laughed at that. “In name, sure, Theodore. It’s a business arrangement, unless you’re trying to angle for a more formal alliance.” I shook my head. “Darkmoon may need some mercenary like help given how many of my warriors are about to be rogues themselves…”

His lips curved into a small, unreadable smile. “What would you do if I wanted more than that?”

“More than a business arrangement?”

“Yes.”

I cocked an eyebrow even as my stomach flipped. “Do you?”

Instead of answering, he countered smoothly. “Do you?”

The deflection irritated me.

“I want peace,” I said. “I want my pack restored to me. I want to live out the rest of my life without looking over my shoulder and waiting for the other shoe to drop.” He met my gaze. “I want to be happy. That’s all I’ve ever wanted.”

Something flickered in his eyes, a storm of emotions I couldn’t quite place. He leaned slightly closer, his voice low and charged. His gaze dropped to my mouth and he licked his lips as if imagining the taste of my lipstick.

“You’re infuriating, you know that?”