Chapter 57 57
Chapter 57 57
Alanah fell silent for a moment, her eyes lowering as she gathered her thoughts.
“When it comes to Alpha Lucian…” she began softly, “fate hasn’t exactly been kind to him.”
She smiled faintly.
“For years, he searched for his mate and found nothing. Eventually, he stopped believing she would ever come. He buried that part of himself and devoted his entire life to being Alpha. Nothing else mattered.”
She looked back at Amelia.
“So when he finally found you…”
A small laugh escaped her.
“…yes, he was disappointed.”
Amelia blinked.
“He hated vampires more than anything, but then he met you.”
Alanah’s expression turned gentle.
“And you weren’t anything like the monsters he’d spent his life believing all vampires were. You were kind. Gentle. Curious. Honest.”
She smiled warmly.
“We all saw it.”
Her voice grew more resolute.
“Becoming the Luna of this pack was never going to be easy. Whether you were his fated mate or not, if we believed you weren’t worthy of standing beside our Alpha… we would have opposed it.”
She shook her head.
“But that’s not what happened. We accepted you because we saw who you truly are. There was never anything dangerous about you.”
She paused before chuckling.
“Well… aside from the small detail that you possess enough strength to seriously injure a werewolf.”
Amelia couldn’t help smiling.
“I don’t even know what I am capable of,” she admitted quietly. “Or why I’m… different.”
Still…
Alanah’s words eased something inside her and the tightness in her chest loosened just a little.
But another question had been lingering in her mind for some time.
She hesitated before asking,
“Alanah…”
“Do you have a mate? Or… do you know much about relationships?”
Alanah’s smile brightened immediately.
“I don’t have a mate but I had someone a long time ago.”
A fond look crossed her face.
“He and I were together for many years, so I’d like to think I’ve learned a thing or two.”
Relief flickered across Amelia’s face.
Maybe…
Maybe Alanah could help her make sense of everything.
She drew in a breath.
“Earlier… Lucian and I had a terrible argument.”
Her shoulders slumped.
“He insisted that I stay away from my friend, Kevin. I tried explaining that Kevin is a good person, but he wouldn’t listen.”
Even saying it aloud brought back the frustration she’d felt in his office.
Alanah’s expression shifted into one of immediate understanding.
“Oh…”
A knowing smile spread across her face.
“That’s what this is about.”
Amelia blinked.
“What do you mean?”
“Ms. Amelia,” Alanah said gently, “the Alpha isn’t upset because Kevin has done something. He’s upset because Kevin is another man.”
She folded her hands neatly in her lap.
“Most men dislike seeing the woman they care about growing close to another man.”
She smiled knowingly.
“But Alphas…”
She laughed softly.
“They’re much worse. They’re fiercely possessive.”
“When an Alpha accepts someone as his, every instinct inside him wants to protect that person, keep them close, and make sure no one else takes their place.”
Amelia frowned thoughtfully.
“I don’t think I understand.”
Alanah nodded patiently.
“What I’m trying to say… is that the Alpha is terrified.”
Amelia looked up in surprise.
“Terrified?”
“Yes.”
Alanah’s smile softened.
“He’s afraid someone else will become important to you. He’s afraid another man will be the one who makes you laugh, the one you think about…”
“…the one you run to when you’re happy or when you’re hurting.”
She held Amelia’s gaze.
“He wants to be that person. Because that’s the role his heart believes belongs to him.”
Alanah couldn’t suppress another quiet laugh.
“So yes…”
She shrugged playfully.
“Our Alpha has been reduced to something he probably never imagined becoming.”
Amelia sat there in stunned silence, replaying every word.
Then she looked back at Alanah, still trying to process it all.
“…You’re saying…”
Her cheeks warmed ever so slightly.
“…Lucian is acting like this because he’s jealous of Kevin?”
Alanah gave a slow, understanding nod.
“Yes.”
Her voice was calm, but carried sincerity.
“He’s uncomfortable seeing you grow close to another man. And because he’s an Alpha, those feelings are far stronger than they would be for most people, so if I may offer you some advice…”
Amelia looked at her.
“I wouldn’t tell you to stop being friends with Kevin.”
Alanah smiled gently.
“But I would suggest setting boundaries. For your own sake… your friend and for the sake of your relationship with Alpha Lucian.”
She sighed softly.
“An Alpha’s possessiveness isn’t something to take lightly. When jealousy takes hold of them, it can cloud their judgment.”
Her eyes became serious.
“The last thing you’d want is for him to reach a point where instinct overtakes reason… and he does something he’ll spend the rest of his life regretting.”
The warning lingered in the room and Amelia couldn’t dismiss it.
The thought of Lucian hurting Kevin…
Or worse…
Made her stomach knot.
She didn’t want that.
Not for Kevin.
Not for Lucian.
A small smile tugged at the corner of her lips despite herself.
So…
He was jealous.
Some irrational part of her actually found it… adorable.
But only a little.
Kevin was nothing more than a friend.
Nothing would ever change that.
The feelings she had for him couldn’t even begin to compare with what she felt for Lucian.
Kevin made her laugh.
He helped pass the lonely hours.
He was easy to talk to.
But Lucian…
Lucian was the one who owned her heart.
The man fate had chosen for her long before she’d ever laid eyes on him.
The man who had somehow appeared in her dreams before they ever met.
If she had her way, she’d spend every waking hour by his side.
Unfortunately…
Being Alpha meant Lucian rarely had that kind of freedom.
His responsibilities always came first.
Kevin had simply filled the empty moments Lucian couldn’t.
He kept her company while Lucian carried the weight of an entire pack on his shoulders.
Nothing more.
Amelia lowered her eyes.
Maybe…
Maybe they had both said things they didn’t mean.
Perhaps it would be better to let tempers cool before trying again.
When the anger faded, they could finally sit down and talk properly.
She only hoped Lucian wasn’t still furious with her.
Alanah rose gracefully to her feet.
“I should leave now.”
She smiled warmly.
“You seem like you’ll be alright.”
Amelia returned the smile.
“I will. Thank you.”
Alanah nodded before quietly leaving the room, gently closing the door behind her.
Silence settled once more.
Several minutes crawled by.
Amelia stared out the window, then at the untouched tea, then back at the door.
Waiting wasn’t helping.
If anything, it was making the knot in her chest tighter.
She sighed.
Running away won’t fix anything.
She and Lucian needed to talk.
Really talk.
If he understood how she truly felt, maybe he’d stop worrying about Kevin altogether.
After all…
If Lucian made more time for her…
She probably wouldn’t need to seek company elsewhere in the first place.
Her decision made, she stood.
She picked up the cup Alanah had brought and drank the tea in one long gulp before grabbing an apple from the plate.
Taking a bite to calm her nerves, she left her room and made her way toward Lucian’s office.
Each step echoed through the quiet hallways.
There was so much they needed to say.
So many misunderstandings to untangle.
When she reached his office, she paused.
Her heart pounded.
Taking one steadying breath, she knocked lightly.
Without waiting for a response, she pushed the door open.
“…Luc…”
The word died in her throat.
She froze.
The half-eaten apple slipped from her fingers.
It hit the floor with a dull thud, rolling across the polished wood.
Time seemed to stop.
Tiara…
…was sitting on Lucian’s lap.
Her arms were wrapped around his neck with unmistakable intimacy, as though she belonged there.
The sight struck Amelia like a physical blow and her heart seemed to stop beating.
Then came Lucian’s voice.
“Amelia!”
Hearing him say her name only made it worse.
Her vision blurred.
Before either of them could say anything, she staggered backward.
Bang!
The office door slammed shut.
Amelia turned and walked away in anger.