Chapter 104 WHAT HUSBAND?

Chapter 104 WHAT HUSBAND?
Diego's POV 

The silence after her words was deafening. In fact, I was so close to thinking that I'd lost my sense of hearing, because I just didn't want to believe I'd heard right. 

Husband.

Husband? What husband?

My day hadn't started out well, and even in million years,this was not the ending I predicted. It was one thing that the council had somehow beat me at my own game, but this was just plain diabolical at this point. 

Right now, I was torn between blaming the council or this bimbo who had somehow warmed her way here and at the most awfully wrong time too. 

I pressed my eyes shut, not because I wanted to, but because I couldn't think of anything else to do right now. Maybe if I ignored it for so long , then the problem would disappear. 

It was a nice thought, but this time, I just knew it was going to be impossible, all thanks to the tension that strung around us. 

The title dropped like a weight, shattering the fragile air that had been strung tight with something else, something dangerous, that had only made its way here when Kali had stood in that doorway.

I should have spoken. Should have denied it. Should have ripped this woman's hand from my arm the moment she touched me, but I didn’t. Instead, my pride coiled around my throat like a vice, choking back the truth. 

“What?” Kali beat me to speaking, and I had no idea how I felt about that. She didn't sound like herself, not one bit, and it affected me more than I liked to admit. 

“You didn't tell her?” The other woman giggled, brhigr turning to me. A small part of me couldn't help but feel like she wanted to do something cringe, just so she could further push her narrative and irk Kali, but one subtle glance at her was all it took for her to get rid of whatever nasty thoughts she had up her skull. “Oh, you poor thing.”

Kali’s eyes went wide for a heartbeat, and even though I could see the heartbreak in them, I pushed it aside for a slight second. I'd always known she had beautiful eyes, but when when she was hurt, they seemed to sparkle all that more. 

It didn't last though. One minute that shine I was used to was there, and the next, it was gone. Whatever warmth had flickered in them when she first walked in, dressed not as the soldier I’d always seen but as… herself, softer, bolder, and devastatingly beautiful had vanished. All because of me. 

“Kali…” I began, but the word was hoarse, strangled, too late. Like that wasn't enough, I just had to trail off too, and I didn't miss the way her hands fisted by her sides. 

“You didn’t tell me you had company, love.” the woman's smile curved sharper. She slid her fingers further along my arm, deliberately, possessively, and I just knew this was all a part of her plan.  Her voice was honey over steel, her gaze flicking to Kali with a faint glimmer of disdain. “How careless of you.”

The muscles in my jaw clenched so tight they ached. I wanted to tear her hand off me, to roar that she had no right, that she was nothing to me. But if I did,  if I did, I’d be showing too much. And in front of Kali, the last thing I could bear was vulnerability.

So I stood still. I let it happen. And I watched Kali break, which was something I never thought I could approve. 

“Oh.” Kali let out again as her shoulders stiffened. She tilted her chin in defiance, but the tremor in her hands betrayed her. She masked it quickly, too quickly, her voice steady when she finally spoke.“I didn’t realize you were… busy.”

Her words were polite, composed, but I heard the crack beneath them, faint but sharp as glass underfoot.

I stared at her, all whilst trying to keep my expression neutral, but deep down, I knew there was something else. I could almost sense her wolf thrashing inside her, urging her to fight, to scream, to claw at me until I explained. But Kali, was stubborn, and proud and I just knew she wouldn’t give either of us that satisfaction.

“I’ll leave you to it.” She let out finally, and I didn't miss the hurt that chipped at my chest ass she avoided my gaze. “Have a good night's rest, Alpha Diego.”

“Kali, wait.” The words tore from me before I could stop them. My tone was low and rough, but it didn't matter because she was already turning. 

Her back was straight, her steps steady, but I knew her well enough to see the truth, the storm hidden beneath her skin, the way her hands curled like she was holding herself together by threads.

My chest burned. Every instinct screamed to follow, to grab a hold of  her wrist and force her to look at me, to tell her she was wrong, that she had no idea what this meant, that she mattered in ways this intruder never could.

Hell, I didn't even know what was happening. One minute I'd gone to take a shower, and the next, one of the girls the council had paraded in front of me from the gardens today was answering my visits. 

“She’s nothing,” Someone's sultry tone pulled me out of my little monologue. I wasn't sure what I was expecting, but best believe I didn't expect to be looking into the eyes of the same woman who'd just made Kali storm out of here. “Don’t waste your breath.”

She said that last part with so much audacity and pride I didn't know if I was to be mad, or feel disgusted. From the corner of my eyes, I caught her hand gripping my shoulder. I half expected her little charade to be over by now, but apparently not. Her grip tightened on my arm, sharp nails biting through my sleeve.

“Get your hands off me.” Rage coiled through me, hot and violent. My voice was a low growl, and I watched her suppress a shudder. “Now.”

“But…” she stuttered, but one more glance at her and it had her dropping her limbs like my skin burned. 

“What are you doing here?” The moment to act was gone, and now it was time for the important questions. The one that would determine if a member of the council would be losing their position by morning. “Who the fuck gave you the permission to come in here?”

“The council.” Her voice was nothing short of a squeak as I backed her into the nearest wall. Unlike before, the seduction in her eyes was nowhere to be found, and now, the ugly emotion that shone through, was fear. Good. “Each one of them told to make sure we were picked….”

“And that translated into coming into my room?” I didn't let her finish. “Is that it?”

“Alpha, we can….”

“Get out.” I growled. “get out of here right now!”

She didn't wait, not even for one second. In the blink of an eye, I watched her slip past my door and down the same hallway she'd forces Kali to walk down. The more distance she put in between us, the more my urge to go see Kali grew. I knew that was the right thing to do, and my wolf was fully in support, but I couldn't. 

Going to Kali would automatically mean one thing, that I was ready to agree to the terms of her proposal, that I was ready to make her my breeder. Deep down I knew she was worth more than that, and I wasn't going to let my selfishness get her in trouble. 

The more I stood out there, the more infuriating the situation appeared. It was one thing that the council was trying to shove their wants down my throat, but they'd crossed a line here, and I wasn't going to stand for it. 

At all.