<b>Chapter </b>51
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“Are you crazy?” Lucille shoved Milo through the doorway, mming it shut behind them. The heavy wooden door echoed in the hallway.
Milo stumbled but didn’t fall. He straightened, brushing off his jacket like nothing happened.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Lucille snapped. “You harassed a human? A pregnant woman at that!? Are you out of your mind?”
“Logan’s choosing her over us,” Milo said. “Over the people who have been with him since the beginning.”
Lucille stared at him. “And that concerns you because….? She’s going to be his wife. That’s what happens when people get married. They choose each other.”
“She’s a human,” Milo said. “She’s weak. She’s dying. Her body is killing the pup.”
Lucille barked out a bitter curse. “It’s the other way around, idiot. The pup is killing her. And she hasn’t even flinched. You think that makes her weak?”
Milo’s jaw tightened. “This shouldn’t be happening. If the Council didn’t want Logan to have an heir, they should’ve said so. He could’ve just married Alina.”
Lucille froze. Her expression changed.
“What did you say?”
Milo didn’t back down. “Alina thought Logan would choose her. After all, he saved her. He brought her out of that pit the Eastern King threw her into.”
Lucille crossed her arms. “So that’s it. This is about Alina.”
Milo looked away.
“You like her. And now you can’t stand seeing her want Logan.”
“That’s not it.”
“Don’t lie to me. Everyone sees it. You want Alina, but she wants Logan. And now you think if Emery’s out of the picture, Alina will get what she wants.”
“It’s not like that,” Milo muttered.
“Oh, it’s exactly like that,” Lucille said. “You tried to sabotage Logan’s bride because you think it’ll win you points with a woman who hasn’t even looked at you the same way. That’s noble. And fucking stupid.”
Milo turned away, pacing the room.
“This marriage shouldn’t happen,” he said again. “It’s an abomination. She’s human. And when she dies, her family will ask questions. Do you think her grandmother won’t dig? You think her father won’t call everyb
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in the country to figure out what happened to her?”
Lucille said nothing.
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“What if they find the child has DNA that doesn’t match human patterns? What happens when our world- the one we spent centuries hiding–gets cracked open because Logan wanted a wife?”
Lucille’s mouth was a tight line.
“So your solution is to force her out? Humiliate her? Attack her? Because you’re scared?”
Milo turned to her. “Because I care what happens to all of us.”
“No,” Lucille said. “You care about what happens to Alina. And you can’t ept that Logan doesn’t belong to her. Or to you.”
They stared at each other. The air in the room grew heavier.
“You better pray Logan never hears you say that again,” Lucille said.
Milo didn’t answer.
“Because next time,” she added, “I’m not stepping in.”
“What’s going on?” a man’s voice interrupted them. The door opened and Caius walked in. “I can hear you from my room.”
“He tried to assault Emery,” Lucille said. “Help him pack his things. He needs to leave.”
“I am not leaving,” Milo immediately said.
“He assaulted her how?” Caius asked, frowning.
“I don’t know, but Logan was there and he-” Lucille sighed. “He almost killed Milo. He would’ve killed him if I didn’t stop him.”
Lucille didn’t move when Caius stepped inside. She kept her eyes on Milo, watching every twitch of his jaw, every shift of his weight. He looked like a man cornered, but still stupid enough to bark.
“It doesn’t matter,” Milo said finally. “She’ll die anyway.”
Caius stopped just past the threshold. “Then why would you touch her?”
“I didn’t assault her,<i>” </i>Milo snapped. “You weren’t there. None of you were. She tried to kiss me. I pushed her away.”
Lucille blinked. She looked at Caius. He raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything.
“What did you just say?” Lucille asked.
Milo turned his head slightly. “I said, she tried to kiss me.”
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Lucille startedughing. She crossed her arms and leaned against the wall. “You’re delusional.”
Milo frowned.
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“You think Logan’s going to believe that?” she asked. “We’ve known you for over a decade, Milo. And her? A few weeks. That’s all it took for Logan to put his life on the line for her. And you think he’d believe she came onto you?”
Milo’s hands curled into fists. “She’s weak. He’s doing this because of the child in her stomach!”
Lucille tilted her head. “We’ve established that. Keep going.”
“She can’t even handle three months of being pregnant without dying,” he said. “She looks like she’s about to copse every time she walks. Her skin’s too pale, she’s too tired, she doesn’t eat, and she’s not even one of us.”
“So?” Caius asked.
“So why is Logan marrying her?” Milo snapped. “Why her? He could’ve chosen anyone. He could’ve had Alina. She’s one of us. She understands the world. She wouldn’t need protecting every five minutes.”
Lucille walked toward him slowly. “Alina didn’t want to be chosen. She wanted Logan. There’s a difference.”
“She would’ve done anything for him.”
“And that’s exactly why he didn’t choose her.”
Milo didn’t answer.
“You’re angry because you don’t understand it,” Lucille said. “You think strength means posturing, power, control. Logan doesn’t. He doesn’t need someone who bows to him. He wants someone who challenges him.”
“She doesn’t challenge him,” Milo said. “She looks at him like he’s some kind of monster–and still, she stays. That’s not strength. That’s desperation. And guess what happens when she finds out the truth? When she finally realizes what he really is? What we all are? You think she’ll stay then? You think she won’t run the second she <b>sees </b>our world for what <i>it </i><b>is</b><b>?</b><b>” </b>
Lucille stopped in front of him. “You think that because you’ve never had anyone, a mate. We all know what happens to people once they find their mates, Milo. You should just stop.”
Milo turned away, but Caius stepped forward.
“She’s carrying his heir,” Caius said. “That alone is enough reason.”
“She’s not going to make it to the birth,” Milo muttered. “She’s gonna die so- so i don’t understand why he must marry her in front of the moon! She doesn’t deserve it!”
Lucille narrowed her eyes. “If you say that again, I’ll break your jaw.”
He didn’t respond.
“You think Logan doesn’t see what she’s going through? Do you think he doesn’t know the toll it’s taking on
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her? He watches it every day. And still, he stays. Still, he chose her. That tells me everything I need to know about what she means to him.”
“He’s making a mistake,” Milo said. “A permanent one.”
“Then let him,” Caius said. “It’s not your ce.”
Milo looked at both of them. “When this blows up in his face, don’te to me for help.”
Lucille scoffed. “We never do.”
Milo shook his head and headed for the door. “I’m not leaving.”
Lucille looked at Caius. Caius looked back.
“You are,” Lucille said. “Pack your things.<b>” </b>
“I’m not going anywhere.”
“You tried to lie about her,” Lucille said. “You put your hands on her. You disrespected Logan. And you’re standing here, trying to convince us you’re the victim?”
“You’re taking her side?”
“No,” Lucille said. “I’m taking Logan’s.<b>” </b>
Milo didn’t answer. He just stood there, chest rising and falling, eyes darting between them.
“You have one hour,” Caius said. “Then we drag you out.”
Milo stepped back, then turned and left, mming the door behind him.
Lucille didn’t rx. She stared at the empty doorway for a long time.
“You think he’s going to do something stupid?” Caius asked.
Lucille nodded once. “He already did.”
“She doesn’t look sick. I can sense her heartbeat. It doesn’t sound sick,” Caius suddenly said.
“What do you mean?”
“I know a friend who–who identally impregnated a human. She died in just six weeks after suffering.”
Lucille stared at Caius. “What do you mean by that?”
Caius didn’t sit. He kept his hands in his pockets, eyes narrowed in thought. “Logan mentioned she’s seven weeks along. That doesn’t add up. Emery shouldn’t be this strong.”
Lucille crossed her arms. “Maybe she’s just different.”
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“Royals have the strongest bloodlines,” Caius said. “You know that. Stronger than most alphas. Stronger than the rest of us. What makes you think their blood wouldn’t kill a human in three weeks?”
Lucille didn’t answer. She paced once, then stopped, facing the empty firece.
“This is why it’s forbidden,” Caius added. “It’s not about politics. <b>It’s </b>biology. No human has made it past the first trimester in any recorded case.”
Lucille stayed silent. The weight of that truth lingered in the air. Finally, she turned back to him.
“Go help Milo pack. He’s leaving.”
Caius shrugged. “If he’s still here to pack.”
He turned and walked out.
Lucille didn’t move. She stood still for a long time, hands loose at her sides.
Her mind drifted back to earlier. Emery’s expression right after the fight. There was no panic. No fear. No questions. Just… stillness.
It wasn’t normal.
Lucille had seen people cry over less. She’d watched warriors shake after lesser confrontations. But Emery had stood there like it was nothing. Like Logan hadn’t just mmed his brother into stone.
Lucille turned back to the window, staring out into the dark garden.