Unmatched Wife: Not His To Claim Anymore novel Chapter 85

Chapter 85

Chapter 85

RIVERA

“We have a betting pool going,” Mikael added. “Klaus thinks you’ll propose within six months. I’m betting a year. Elijah thinks you’re too emotionally constipated to ever actually commit, and Roy is withholding judgment until he completes his research on your relationship patterns.”

“My relationship patterns?” I took a long drink of whiskey.

“You have a type,” Roy said seriously. “Intelligent, independent women with healing abilities who don’t take your shit. Your wife fit the profile, and from what I’ve observed about Dr. Morrison, she does too.”

Klaus laughed at my expression. “Relax, Lucian. We’re happy for you. Genuinely happy. You’ve been alone too long, and Louis needs a mother figure.”

“Bianca’s more than a mother figure,” I said, then paused, realizing how defensive I sounded. “She’s–she’s become essential. To both of us. And I don’t know what I’d do if she left.”

“Have you told her who you are yet?” Elijah asked, his tone carefully neutral.

And there it was. The question I’d been avoiding for weeks.

“No.”

“Lucian-”

“I know,” I interrupted. “I know I should tell her. But every time I try to bring it up, every time I think about explaining that I’m not just Lucian Rivera, wealthy investor, but actually the Alpha King of BloodMoon City…” I trailed off, running my hand through my hair. “What if she runs? What if knowing I’ve been lying to her this whole time destroys the trust we’ve built?”

“What if she finds out from someone else?” Klaus countered. “That would be worse.”

“Everyone in the city knows to keep the secret,” I said. “The staff at the hospital, the neighbors, everyone–they all know there’s a reason I’m keeping my identity private. They won’t say anything.”

“And if she wants to meet the Alpha King?” Mikael asked. “What then?”

“Then you show up, Klaus,” I said, gesturing to my best friend. “You’ve been acting as Alpha King for five years anyway. One more public appearance won’t kill you.”

Klaus shook his head. “This is getting complicated, Lucian. The longer you wait, the harder it’s going to be to explain.”

“I know.” I drained my whiskey and reached for the bottle to pour another. “But I need more time. She’s just starting to trust me, just starting to believe this is real. If I drop the Alpha King revelation on her now, along with everything else she’s processing…”

“She might forgive the deception if you explain it properly,” Roy observed. “Frame it as protecting Louis, maintaining privacy after your wife’s death, legitimate security concerns-”

“Or she might see it as another man lying to her about who he is,” I countered. “Her ex–husband spent four years making her feel inadequate while secretly prioritizing another woman. Now I’m keeping a massive secret about my identity. How is that different?”

The room fell quiet.

“It’s different because your reasons are protective, not manipulative,” Elijah finally said. “But I see your point. The options aren’t great.”

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Chapter 85

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“Have you made any progress on Thome?” I asked, desperate to change the subject.

Klaus and Elijah exchanged a look.

“Nothing,” Klaus admitted. “He’s been completely clean for the past month. No suspicious meetings, no unusual financial activity, no contact with known curse–workers or dark magic practitioners.”

“Too clean,” Elijah added. “Like he knows he’s being watched and is being careful not to give us anything we can use.”

“Which means he’s aware I’m investigating him,” I said grimly.

“Or someone tipped him off.” Mikael leaned forward. “Do we have a leak?”

“No leak,” Elijah said with certainty. “My people are vetted thoroughly. But Thorne’s not stupid. He’s been in government long enough to recognize the signs of an investigation, and he’s clearly decided to lay low until the heat passes.”

“What about his connection to the curse on Louis?” I asked. “Anything there?”

“Still circumstantial,” Roy said, consulting notes he’d pulled from his briefcase. “We have the curse signature matching his known work from fifteen years ago. We have his motive–revenge for you investigating the purge he led. We have opportunity- he has access to you and Louis through his position. But we don’t have direct evidence linking him to the actual casting.”

“And without that, we can’t move against him,” Klaus finished. “Not without risking everything falling apart legally.”

I slumped in my chair, frustration eating at me. “So we just wait? Let him walk around free while my son still has fragments of his curse work in his system?”

“Bianca’s treatments are holding,” Elijah said gently. “Louis is stable. We can afford to be patient and build an airtight case.”

“What we need,” Mikael said thoughtfully, “is to figure out who Thorne is working for. He’s not doing this alone–the curse work is too sophisticated, the planning too elaborate. Someone’s pulling his strings.”

“The Council of Elders?” I suggested.

“Possible,” Roy said. “But they were disbanded five years ago after the corruption scandal. Most of the members are either dead

or in exile.”

“Doesn’t mean they don’t still have influence,” Klaus pointed out. “Power structures like that don’t disappear just because they’re officially dissolved.”

We spent the next hour strategizing, going over intelligence reports, discussing possible connections. But we kept hitting the same wall–not enough concrete evidence to act on.

Finally, Elijah cleared his throat. “There’s something else you should know. About someone currently in BloodMoon City.”

Something in his tone made my stomach clench. “Who?”

“Matthew Morrison. He arrived three weeks ago with his son for medical treatment. Dr. Sloane Fisher is treating the boy for trauma–related selective mutism.”

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