Chapter 51

Sheila’s POV

“Because of Dr. A’s abilities and her resolve to never give up, Caleb was able to decide for himself whether he wanted the life-extending medicine or not,” Lucian said on the television. “Because of this, she has saved us all from making a grave error…”

Lucian continued speaking, but Sheila started tuning him out, her anger spiking to new heights.

This wasn’t how things were supposed to be.

She’d coordinated with Carl and the other Healers. They had contacted the World Healer Association, who were supposed to step in and stop Dr. A, not give her even more free reign! That Silas had to be some kind of hack. Perhaps Dr. A was giving him sexual favors. Why else would he defend her like he did?

No one would just support her like that.

Now she was praised a hero while Caleb was just going to die? What a joke!

The worst of all of it was now, sitting here in the living room, listening to Lucian praise Dr. A. She didn’t deserve that praise. She deserved contempt! She was supposed to be exiled from the pack, so that Lucian could go back to being Sheila’s!

Aria had fluttered off to nowhere, but Dr. A was still a threat. Sheila wasn’t going to rest until Lucian was well and truly hers.

She would be Luna. She didn’t care what she had to do to make that happen.

“Dr. A is a pride of our pack, and she deserves every praise,” Lucian said, so damn earnest that it made Sheila jump up from the couch.

Lucian had never said those kinds of things about Sheila. Even now, she was locked away while Dr. A was sinking her claws further into Sheila’s man.

Fury burning hot within her. Nearby was a collection of expensive vases, gifts from other packs. Sheila remembered Aria arranging them carefully. Lucian had said he was pleased with her work, and Aria had beamed with pride.

The memory pushed Sheila over the edge.

In a rush, she went to those vases, grabbed two at a time and began throwing them across the room. They smashed one after the other against the wall.

Who did Lucian think he was, praising Dr. A like that?! Sheila was the one he should want. The only one he should praise!

Delirious in her anger, Sheila grabbed whatever she could and threw it at the wall, while roaring with rage.

“What are you looking at?!” she shouted when she saw a pair of maids watching her from the doorway, their eyes wide with shock. In a rush, they quickly scurried away.

Sheila looked back to the television, where Lucian was now attempting to answer some questions from the reporters. Grabbing the remote, she threw it straight into the television set. It shattered the glass screen and shorted the whole thing.

Only with the scent of smoke in the air, and the sight of destruction all around her, did Sheila finally start to calm.

This destruction wasn’t enough. Not nearly enough. But it was a start.

Lucian’s POV

With the press conference over, I entered the back of my car and ordered the driver to take me back to Alpha headquarters. It wasn’t very far, but I requested, “Take the long way.”

I needed some time alone to fully process what had happened today.

Caleb was a brave man. To face death and accept it so willingly. What had he said again? He wanted to see his mate in the afterlife. His devotion to her was admirable, and made my own heart yearn for something I couldn’t name.

Before I could properly decipher my feelings, my car phone rang. Removing it from its holder in the back of the sedan, I brought it to my ear.

“This is Lucian.”

“Alpha,” Ben replied. “Forgive the intrusion, but I just heard urgent news from your home.”

“Oh?”

“Sheila has gone on something of a rampage,” Ben said. “The maids report that she has been throwing and destroying many things throughout the house, including several works of art, a few vases, and a television.”

Sighing, my thoughts returned once more to Caleb and his wife. Then, I thought of my own wife.

Aria.

Closing my eyes, I remembered her smile. Often, she would pick flowers from our gardens and then arrange them into bouquets to set around our home. As she fiddled with them, making certain every flower was in the right place, she would smile to herself, a soft, gentle thing meant only for the flowers.

She hadn’t known that I was watching and admiring her. She was truly beautiful when she smiled like that, so genuine. So kind.

Kindness was a key part of Aria.

How often had she brewed my favorite tea and left it on my desk without saying a word. She’d always seemed to know when I needed it. Like clockwork, I would reach out, and the drink would already be ready and waiting.

She never wanted any credit, never asked for thanks. She truly seemed to just enjoy helping to take care of me.

It hadn’t just been her acts of kindness that lifted my spirits either. At the end of a long day, I looked forward to following the sound of her laughter. Often I found her laughing to herself while reading a book, watching television, or speaking with her friends.

The sound of it filled the house with life and joy.

It had been so empty since she left.

Suddenly my heart ached, squeezing tightly within my ribcage. In a moment of panic, I thought I might have been having a heart attack, but no… The pain wasn’t quite as sharp as a heart attack. Instead it was a duller, persistent ache.

It took a moment for me to realize that the feeling was longing.

I missed Aria and the light and peace she brought not just to our home, but also to my life. Without her, things had been bleaker, darker.

Even accomplishments like today felt hollower without her presence. If she was still with him, he would tell her what happened and she would be pleased. He’d earn a smile, and perhaps even a word of praise.

Now, the only person waiting for him at his home was a vengeful woman set on a path of anger and destruction.

“Sir?” Ben asked. Still on the phone, he’d been waiting for a response. “Are you returning home?”

“No,” I said. “Clear out the staff. Don’t let her hurt anyone. But her temper will win my attention no longer.”

Ben seemed surprised. Shock was in his voice as he said, “Yes, Alpha.”

Lucian hung up, then spoke to the driver, “Change of plans.”

Twenty minutes later, the driver pulled the car up in front of Cathy’s house, where Aria had been staying.

Stepping out of the car, he adjusted his tie on the way to the door. He wanted to look good for Aria. She deserved him at his best.

Lifting his hand, he knocked on the door.

His nerves prickled. He could handle political debates and manage public discourse, but standing outside of this door, waiting to speak to Aria again, made him nervous.

Even so, he was determined. He’d wait here all day if that was what it took to finally speak to her.

To ease this yearning inside of him…