A Sad Moment.
1042 Words
Lucas stood frozen in the doorway, wide-eyed in shock at what he was looking at: his mate Isabella, naked in bed with another man. He closed his eyes and opened them, imagining this maybe some sort of dream-the more he stared at it, less sense it made. His heart was racing, and for the first time in his life, Alpha Lucas didn't know what to say.
The creaking sound of the door woke Isabella. She sat up slowly, her eyes still heavy from sleep, then froze in terror as the situation dawned on her. She looked from the man beside her to the door, where Lucas stood. The betrayal in his eyes was palpable.
"Lucas." Isabella whispered, her voice trembling as she reached for a sheet to quickly cover herself. Her mind was in turmoil, trying to comprehend how this was happening. How did she find herself in this position? She could not recall anything-nothing about how she got here, no memories of the man lying beside her. "Lucas, this isn't what it looks like. I swear I don't know how—"
But Lucas couldn't find the words to speak. He could not. His mouth opened, but no words came out. His feelings boiled down to a range between anger, hurting, and confusion, all mashed up, but he could not bring himself to express any of that. All he could do was stare at the woman he loved, trying to figure out what he was supposed to do in this situation next.
The silence in this room was unbearable. Isabella's eyes filled with tears, and her heart—oh, the voice was sheer desperation. "Please, Lucas. You have to believe me. I didn't do this. I—I don't even know this man!"
The man lying next to her on the bed groaned again, suddenly waking up and orienting himself, absolutely unaware of the storm that was beginning to brew around him. He looked confused, first at Isabella, then at Lucas, but he stayed quiet. Apparently, he obviously knew how he could appear in this situation.
Lucas unclenched his fists, standing with a tense body as he tried to understand the scene in front of him: his mate, in bed with another man. The thought alone was unbearable, and now, directly in front of his nose, came the reality of it all: a shattered trust with his mate, and the bond they shared seemed like it was crumbling in all aspects.
But even before Lucas could bury his face in his palms, step forward, and confront the situation, the door burst open from behind him, and Viktor came rushing in, his face pale, full of urgency. "Alpha Lucas!" Viktor called, breaking the heavy silence that had occupied the room. Lucas spun around to see Viktor, his narrowed eyes shooting daggers. "What?" he snapped, his tolerance gone after everything he had dealt with. He really did not need another problem on his list.
Viktor paused to catch his breath, delaying things further, and then looked around the room. His gaze took in the full picture: Isabella, the man, the disbelief on Lucas's face. He swallowed hard before speaking. "It's Elara," he said, his voice just above a whisper, but the words he used knocked Lucas to the core of his soul. Lucas's heart missed a beat. "What…what about Elara?" he demanded, his voice harsh. His sister had been on his mind during the long ride back to the palace, and now, hearing Viktor mention her, something inside him tightened.
"She's…she's dead," Viktor stammered, his voice cracking under the strain of giving such devastating news. "We found her body. The last place anyone saw her was…was here, in this room, with Isabella." The words lay between them, heavy and cruel.
Lucas's breath caught in his throat, and his gaze snapped back to Isabella. His sister, Elara, dead? And the last person she had been with was Isabella? It felt like a nightmare, one that he couldn't wake up from.
"No! That's not true! I didn't see Elara. I don't know what's going on!" Her voice was high with panic, her eyes pleading with Lucas to believe her. Lucas felt his head whirl under the weight of everything that was crashing down around him: his mate, naked with another man, his sister dead, and the pieces just not coming together, fitting into any kind of sense. What had happened while he was away? How had everything collapsed so fast?
Viktor took a step closer, his face serious. "Several witnesses could confirm that Elara was seen entering this room," he said carefully, "and then nothing. She went missing, and now… now her body was found. There is no other explanation, Alpha."
Isabella gasped, her hand flying to her mouth; shook with fear and grief, her chest ached. "No… I didn't… I didn't do anything. I don't even know what's happening. Lucas, please, you need to believe me!"
For the life of him, Lucas didn't know what to believe anymore. The woman he had trusted, the woman he had chosen as his mate, now stood before him, accused of things he couldn't even fathom. Betrayal, death—it all felt like too much. His mind was a whirlpool of feelings clashing against each other in the worst possible way, and, for the first time in his life, he didn't know what to do.
"I want to see her," was the only thing Lucas muttered, hollow, as he moved past Viktor, heading for the door. He needed to clear his head, to find some clarity in the midst of the chaos. "Alpha, you're wounded. You should rest first," Viktor said, utter concern lacing his voice.
But Lucas turned a broad back to him and pushed open the door. Stopping only for a moment in the doorway, he threw back a glance now, for one last time, taking in the sight of the crying Isabella, fresh tears, all bundled up in a sheet.
Still, he pushed down the feeling of something tugging at his heart. There are too many questions and too many things to sort out.
With that, he turned to the door, not saying another word, leaving those broken pieces of life he thought he knew.
- Writer
