14. LUCAS

“I don’t have time for this now Arabella,” I muttered without looking up. She hesitated in the doorway for a few seconds. Arabella stayed close to the door when she entered the room. She made sure to leave it slightly ajar for a quick escape if needed. “We need to talk Lucas.” “There’s nothing to talk about,” I muttered. I scanned the paper in my hand before placing it aside and reaching for other papers. When Arabella stepped closer and reached for the papers, I did nothing to stop her. Her sharp intake of breath made my lips twitch. “You’re getting a slave?” “A submissive. There’s a difference.” “Who is she?” I slowly looked up at her. “It is none of your business, Arabella. As far as I’m concerned, our relationship is over.” “Then release me!” she yelled. I calmly lowered the papers and then leaned back in my chair. My eyes darted over her. She looked like the same woman I had married, but she wasn’t. Underneath all the perfume she had sprayed on, I could still smell that man. Her lover. “Is that his child?” I asked her. “I have had enough lies. You want to talk so let’s talk! How long have you been fucking him?” She stayed silent which made me angrier. My wife, my Queen was the one who took a lover. A lover that knocked her up. Not me. It wasn’t my baby. The fury slowly faded only to be replaced by sadness. “Don’t act like you’re innocent!” Arabella spat the words at me. A sharp laugh fell from my lips. Keeping my eyes locked with hers, I slowly stood. “I have been nothing but faithful to you the moment I accepted the marriage proposal. I haven’t looked at, touched, or fucked anyone else, but you.” I growled. “Unlike you.” “I want out Lucas,” she said softly. “For years I’ve been doing what everyone has been expecting of me. I can’t do that anymore. I never wanted to be yours. I was forced into this. In the beginning, it was okay, but I can’t handle it now. I can’t handle you touching me. It disgusts me!” “You agreed to the marriage! You agreed to try for a baby. You agree to all of this so don’t fucking try to turn this on me. I will not let you walk away, Arabella. You have a duty as Queen towards your people. You stepped on that podium and made a promise to them when you became my Queen. You have duties and responsibilities. Whether you want them or not, you will follow through.” “You’re a bastard Lucas!” Arabella screamed. “This is your fault! You’re a cold man. If you had given me even an ounce of the attention you give to your people, none of this would’ve happened.” I growled, but before I could reply, she stormed out of the room. Slamming a fist down on the table, I stormed over to the door and slammed it shut. It took a few minutes for me to calm down enough to focus on what I was doing. Once I took a seat behind my desk again, I sucked in a breath and blew it out as I reached for the papers. “She signed it,” I muttered, staring down at the papers. I could see why Arabella thought I was taking a submissive because my name was on the top of the papers. Based on what she just told me, I wasn’t even going to correct her. A wave of sadness filled me, but I instantly pushed it away. I couldn’t dwell on her affair at the moment or the fact that the baby she was carrying wasn’t mine. I wasn’t going to have an heir. Running a hand through my hair, I placed the files on the correct pile and then reached for the other papers. Xavier should be back soon with a list of things Angel needed. I was going to make sure that she got what she wanted and a few extra things. It probably didn’t matter because Mason and Nate were going to spoil her rotten. I wished it could be me though. *** I shook my head as I hurried towards the entrance of the castle. My eyes trailed around the crowded kitchen as I walked. Everyone working outside had been called into the castle or sent home when the storm when we caught sight of the storm approaching. Not only was the temperature going to drop drastically, but we were also going to be hit with heavy rain that might last for days, maybe even weeks. I searched for a familiar head of blond hair. I frowned. “Here you go, Sire.” My eyes snapped to the girl holding out a towel towards me. I took it from her absentmindedly as my eyes scanned over the crowd again. Xavier informed me that Angel had reported for duty this morning. “Where is Angel?” I asked her before she could slip away. She frowned. “I haven’t seen her all morning, Sire. Let me ask Margret.” I gave her a stiff nod. My eyes stayed locked on her as she moved through the crowd. I should have talked to her before I left but was called away when another portal was discovered a few meters into town. After everything was handled with the portal, I went for a walk to the creek, hoping to run into Angel there, but with no luck. Margret’s eyes darted to him and then lowered to the ground as she explained something while making wild gestures with her hands. Whatever was being said made his stomach fill with dread. The girl hurried back over to me. “They locked her in the shed as punishment, Sire,” she breathed. “They forgot to about her.” Fuck! I hurried back outside. There were four sheds on royal ground. Guards usually used them in case unexpected storms broke out without enough warning for them to get to safety. If Angel was stuck inside one of them in this weather… I hated to think what might happen to her. “Where are you going?” A hand gripped my arm and spun me around. I blinked at Mason and then growled at him. “You should have informed Angel not to report for duty!” I yelled. “I was busy taking care of the things you assigned me!” “Did you not see her last night?” “What the hell is your problem?” Mason growled. Gripping the front of his shirt, I jerked him closer and growled in his throat. “Angel is in one of the sheds. They locked her in it as punishment because she fucked something up, and then forgot about her!” The color drained from his face. “I’ll call Nate.” I pushed him away and hurried off. The first shed was empty. “Angel!” I called when I neared the second shed. There was no reply. I pushed the hair out of my face and blinked the water droplets away. The wind was starting to pick up, making the trees sway dangerously. A loud crack filled the air, and I watched in horror as one of the trees was uprooted. It fell right onto the shed. “Lucas?” I span around and narrowed my eyes at the approaching figure. “Did you find her?” Xavier questioned. “No.” I ran a hand through my wet hair. “Any word from my brothers?” Xavier shook his head. “They searched the other sheds, she’s not in them.” I growled. “Margret said that they locked her in the shed.” “I know, I asked around.” Xavier pointed. “Remember that old shack we fixed up when we were kids?” “It’s too far into the forest,” I told him. “Not if it’s used as punishment.” I stared at him silently for a few seconds before I took off in the direction he pointed in. “I told the others to meet us there.” Please don’t let anything happen to her, I begged. We only just found her; we couldn’t lose her. My heart dropped to my stomach and my footsteps slowed. I came to a complete stop and stared at what was left of the shack. A tree had fallen on top of the roof, causing half of the shack to collapse. “Angel!” Mason called as he approached from the other side with Nate right behind him. I stopped him before he could enter the building. If she was in there, we needed to work carefully to get her out, so the rest of the building didn’t collapse on top of her. We couldn’t risk removing the tree first. “The storm is getting worse, we need to move,” Xavier muttered. “Be careful,” I ordered as I moved forward.