Chapter 43
Alaric’s POV
The doctors call Cara back into Mia’s room for an update, and I’m left in the waiting room alone with my thoughts.
My butler called me. “Sir, Eamon Arbun and his brothers have arrived at the hospital.”
I asked, “No other men? Has anyone else applied to enter DarkWood?”
He replied, “No… just the Arbuns.”
A fresh wave of anger rushes up through me.
What is Cara's new husband up to?!
I would never act like he is acting right now.
I would be there with Cara and Mia through anything.
I would never leave them.
...STOP!
No more!
All this guilt I feel for Cara… for how Lilia treated her… For the accident that resulted in Cara’s miscarriage six years ago…
It’s simply my guilt.
My guilt won’t let me think straight. After all this time, after six years, the guilt is still there.
It’s messing with my head, making me think in these crazy ways. I don’t love Cara. I don’t want to be her husband.
"…Have the best doctors come to the hospital immediately. As soon as possible. We must cure BloodyMoon’s Princess, Mia," I commanded before hanging up the phone.
I just want to see my former packmate, my former Beta, treated as well as she deserves. I want to see her treated like a princess should be treated.
That’s all.
I don’t want to be Mia’s stepfather. And as an alpha king, I can't do this either.
She's another pack' princess...I can't do this.
I stand from the table in the waiting room and move to leave. It’s probably time for me to get back to work. I make a mental note to check on
Cara and Mia later on.
I check my phone for emails and see I’m already falling behind on work. I push my lips together in a hard line and prepare myself another day of tough negotiations.
I’m almost to the waiting room door when I look up to see the red-headed Auburn brothers heading towards me.
Speaking of tough negotiations…
Eamon has a harsh look on his face, like he’s in a bad mood. And he’s looking right at me.
Here we go.
Eamon’s POV
As if this situation couldn’t get any worse, I hear word that Alaric is still at the hospital with Cara. That he never left after bringing Mia to the hospital.
Why can’t he just keep his word and stay away from her?!
He must stay away from both of them.
I’m thankful that he saved Cara from her attack, but he must not get too close to her. He must not sink his claws back into her.
And if he finds out about Mia… Who knows what he’ll do then….
I simply don’t trust him. He has already proved that he can’t be trusted to keep a promise, at least not when it comes to my sister.
My brothers and I catch him alone in the hospital waiting room. Aidan and Ryan circle around his left, Colin on his right. And me right in front.
We’ve got him surrounded.
“What do you think you’re doing?” I ask him tensely. “Why are you still here?” There’s an edge to my voice, letting Alaric know that I’m deadly serious.
“No one else is here. I wouldn’t have to be here if she hadn’t been left alone!” Alaric’s tone is sour and full of bitterness.
“Well, we’re here now.” I reply, matching his bitterness with my own.
“I’m not talking about you,” he retorts back.
This comment surprises me.
“Then who are you talking about, Alaric?” I ask.
“That terrible husband of hers! He should be here, and you care about what I’m doing?! Why aren’t you all tracking HIM down, dragging his ass here?!” Alaric’s eyes hold anger and frustration.
Husband?
He thinks Cara has a husband?
Did she say something like that to him…?
“You’ll be lucky to be gone by the time he’s here,” I hear my brother Colin say quickly.
Colin?!
Colin is usually so calm and mature. He’s the quiet one! What’s he playing at, lying to Alaric like this?
I shoot Colin a confused look, and Colin looks at me meaningfully. He’s silently nudging me, pleading to me to play along.
…Yes, if Alaric believes Cara has a husband, then he and Cara can never be together again.
And, he will never know the children, the truth.
My trickster brother Aidan picks up on Colin’s play immediately. “Oh yeah, Cara’s husband is really tough!” Aidan adds, smiling at Alaric menacingly.
“He’s so tough that he abandons his wife and child when they need him most?!” Alaric growls.
“You wouldn’t understand,” Colin says, “He’s off on top secret Pack BloodyMoon family business.”
Colin puts extra emphasis on the word “family,” painting Alaric as an outsider. Alaric will never be an Auburn, that much is clear. And it’d do him some good to be reminded that he is not part of our family.
And he’s certainly not a part of Cara’s family. And he never will be.
“That is none of your concern, Alaric,” I say to Alaric confidently, backing up Colin’s lie. “What happens to Cara and Mia is not your business.”
“The hell it isn’t!” Alaric shouts.
“Enough!” I shout back, growling at him. Alaric is visibly surprised by my volume and tone.
I take a breath, steadying myself before this escalates any further.
When I speak, my voice is calm and steady, “You already broke one promise to us. It’s time to make another.”
Alaric looks at me pointedly and I continue, “Make no mistake, if you don’t make good on this promise, there will be severe consequences.”
Alaric raises a dark eyebrow at me. “Consequences? What kind of consequences?”
“You need us, remember? You and your pack need BloodyMoon resources. Keep this promise, and our alliance will keep moving forward.” I say to him firmly.
“But if you go back on your word this time, you WILL regret it. I’ll be glad to make damn sure of that,” Aidan chimes in, the threat in his voice clear.
“All of us will make sure you regret it!” Ryan adds with a gleeful violence.
“What do you think you want now?” Alaric asks, looking back and forth between each of us surrounding him. “I can’t stay away from Cara now, not when she will be coming to my pack’s territory every week.”
He makes a good point.
“And as Alpha King, do you really want me to leave your pack’s princess unattended? Consider the attack that just happened to her!” Alaric says, referencing Cara’s terrible blind date and almost-rape.
“Fine.” I say simply, acknowledging his logic. “You can see her,” I start, and his shoulders relax the slightest bit.
“But…” I continue slowly, savoring the look of tension and hesitation that comes to his face.
“But?” Alaric asks.
“But you are absolutely forbidden from being with her. You shall not be alone together, nor shall you be involved in any kind of relationship, not even a friendship can form between you two.” I say, watching him carefully.
“You should know how much harm you’ve caused Cara in the past… we can’t let you hurt her a second time.”
Alaric stares back at me, as if he’s fully considering the promise I’m demanding from him. He‘s making up his mind.
Finally, when he heard me say “hurt her a second time,” he closed his eyes in pain.
“...Done,” Alaric says. “I will not be with Cara. I will not be in love with her.”
“ You have my word now.”
“This, is my ultimate promise.”
