Chapter 182

“I want to apologize to you for how I acted before,” Annabelle says. With her head down, she also droops her shoulders, seeming for all the world like she might drop to her knees at any moment.

He really doesn’t need that kind of dramatics, so he’s relieved when she continues to stand.

“I let my wedding jitters get the best of me, and I overstepped in the worst possible way. I assure you, though I understand you have no reason to truly believe me, that this is not a reflection of my character. I know my place and my duties as Luna, and would never move to act against you in such a way in the future.”

Caleb wants to dismiss her flatly. This apology is not enough. No apology would be. She has proven herself as someone who is not to be trusted. His refusal to disband the harem drove out her outrage this time, but who could know what might trigger it next?

She’s not stable enough to handle the pressures this position would require from her. He recognizes the irony in this. He hasn’t been the most stable in years, yet here he is, passing judgement on someone else.

But in his moments of weakness, he will need someone else to help stand with him. If Annabelle is having her own drama at the same time as his… episodes, then the entire realm could be thrown into chaos.

Yet he needs a wife, and Annabelle, because of her birthright, is the most suited. The wedding is already planned. The decorations set. For him to back out now would be more trouble than it’s worth.

She peeks up at him. “Do you accept my apology, my King?”

“Yes,” Caleb says, though really doesn’t. He just doesn’t see the point in dragging this out.

Annabelle lifts her head, revealing a smile that might be dazzling if Caleb felt any attraction to her at all.

“So you will join me on the inspection, my King?”

Caleb glances down at the papers he’d been reading through. Perhaps a change of scenery might help him clear his head. Gods know he’s no closer to finding a solution just sitting here in his office.

“Very well,” he says. At the very least, he can stretch his legs.

As he nears Annabelle, she looks at his arm expectantly, as if waiting for him to hold it out for her.

All these rules and decorum are annoying, but Caleb acquiesces for now, offering her his arm. Immediately, she wraps both of her hands around it and smiles up at him.

“Where should we look?” Caleb asks.

“In the Hall,” Annabelle says. “That’s where the majority of the decorations are.”

Biting back a sigh, Caleb starts forward, Annabelle keeping pace beside him.

When they enter the Hall, Caleb frowns at the overabundance and sheer decadence of the decorations. He’s not shocked to see it prepared this way, knowing he left his mother and Annabelle in charge. They would spare no expense.

But given the crisis of the rebellion, which in part, gains so many members based on the poor living conditions of the common people, this overabundance seems like a purposefully insult to all commoners. Or, it’s a reflection of just how out of touch the court truly is.

Caleb feels relief that he’s had the wool pulled away from his eyes enough to know the commoners need his help. He just needs to find a way for the nobles to see this too.

The wedding decorations are already bought and paid for. If he orders them to change them now, the decorations will simply go into storage, wasted and forgotten.

“Do you like it?” Annabelle asks, her eyes trained on Caleb’s face.

“It seems… excessive,” Caleb replies.

Her face falls slightly, but she rallies quickly. “Truly, I held myself back,” she says.

“Ah! There you two are!” Kira calls from the front of the Hall. She hurries over to us. “Quickly, we are arranging the stage for the exchanging of vows. If you two could take your places so we could rehearse, that would be a big help.”

Caleb glowers slightly. He never agreed to a rehearsal.

Still with Annabelle and Kira both looking at him with wide, pleading eyes, he sighs and finds himself agreeing.

“Only for a few minutes,” he insists.

“Of course,” Kira says and leads them to the front. Annabelle and Caleb step up onto the stage. “Face each other,” Kira directs.

Caleb and Annabelle turn toward each other.

“No,” Kira says. “Pretend to exchange vows. Repeat after me. I, Alpha King Caleb, take you, Annabelle…”

This entire thing is ridiculous, but I take a breath and comply. “I, Alpha King Caleb, take you, Harper…”

Annabelle’s eyes go wide, her face paling in a flash.

It takes Caleb a moment to realize what he said wrong. When he does, he curses himself.

“Annabelle,” he tries to correct but it’s too late. Tears are welling up in Annabelle’s eyes.

“Caleb,” Kira scolds softly.

Then, in a rush, Annabelle turns away, jumps off the stage, and dashes away.

Caleb doesn’t understand her embarrassment. Only Kira and a handful of servants and slaves overheard him. She has no true reason to be upset. This was only rehearsal, not the real thing.

Perhaps her upset stemmed from the fact that he said Harper’s name at all, which is something he’s not quite ready to face himself.

It was a slip of the tongue. That’s all.

He knows he could never actually marry Harper.

Even so, Kira gives him a disapproving look. After sending the servants to do busy work out of earshot, she comes closer to me.

Caleb hops down from the stage, anticipating a scolding. He could tolerate it for a time. After all, he deserves it somewhat, for that particular screw up. Saying something like that during the actual ceremony would cause a terrible scandal.

Caleb mostly wants to be left alone. Already dealing with the rebellion, he can’t add more scandals onto his plate or he might choke on them all.

“You said Harper,” Kira says, accusation heavy, beside the disappointment, in her voice.

“I did.” No use denying it.

“Why?” Kira asks. “Do you love that consort?”

Love is such a vulgar word. What does love matter to a King?

“Do I need to remind you why you need Annabelle? She is the key to bringing the common people back to your side and making you seem like a more sympathetic character. Do you have any idea how people would react if you chose a consort over a respectable werewolf like Annabelle?”

“I’m not choosing Harper.”

“Harper is a woman of no standing. She is a stain on your reputation.”

“She is a member of my harem,” Caleb says, voice low with warning. He can accept that he messed up here today but he will not tolerate anyone badmouthing his favored consort, not even his mother.

She straightens slightly, smart enough to hear the warning in his voice. “Even so, she is not a respectable woman, and you will not be taken seriously if you choose her.”

“I’m not choosing Harper,” Caleb says.

“Then tell me you don’t love her,” Kira demands.

Caleb opens his mouth to say the words. Oddly, they are harder to force out than he imagined them to be.

“I don’t love Harper,” he says, confused why it feels like a lie.