Lucian never called me the way a mate should. He never used the mind link. He never asked for me by name. Whenever he wanted something, he sent someone else to drag me to him.

This time it was his Beta.

I was scrubbing the council hall floors when he appeared, tall and silent, staring at me as though I was a problem he did not feel like dealing with. He did not greet me or soften his tone. He simply said, “He wants you.”

My stomach tightened.

I wiped my hands on my skirt and started walking toward Lucian’s office. The corridor felt too quiet and too long, and every step made the silence worse. I could hear my heartbeat in my ears.

His door was half open.

Lucian stood with his back toward me, shoulders stiff, hands pressed into the table in a way that made his knuckles pale. He heard me enter. He always heard everything. But he did not turn.

“Close the door,” he said.

His voice carried a coldness that felt sharper than winter.

I obeyed. Then I waited. I did not sit. I did not speak. Lucian did not acknowledge me. He made me stand there like an unwanted shadow that refused to disappear.

After a long moment, he finally spoke.

“Do you enjoy embarrassing me.”

The question hit like a blow to the chest.

“I do not understand,” I said quietly. “I never meant to—”

“Stop talking.”

He turned around at last.

His eyes were empty. No warmth, no softness, nothing that suggested I had ever meant something to him. He looked at me as if my existence insulted him.

“Do not pretend you do not know what you are,” he said. “Every time you walk into a room, I feel ashamed.”

My breath shook. “What did I do wrong.”

“Everything. Everything about you is wrong.”

He stepped forward. I instinctively stepped back until the wall behind me stopped me. Lucian reached out and gripped my chin with his fingers. His hold was rough enough to warn me not to resist.

“Look at me,” he said.

I had no choice. I met his gaze even though it hurt.

“You never learn,” he said. “You walk around trying so hard to appear useful. You fail in front of the elders. You fail in front of the warriors. You fail even when you try to stay invisible.”

He released my chin with a small flick of his fingers, as if touching me left something unpleasant on his skin.

“I did not mean to embarrass you,” I whispered.

“I do not care what you meant. I care about the consequences. You make me look weak.”

Pain tightened my chest. “Lucian, I try.”

“I do not want you to try,” he said sharply. “I want you far away from me.”

He walked back to his desk and picked up a document. His jaw tightened. He brought it down so hard that the ink bottle beside it shook and spilled across the page. Then he looked at me again, calm in a way that felt crueler than anger.

“Do you think I want to stand beside you during the ceremony,” he asked. “Do you think I want to touch you in front of the elders. Every time you come near me, I wonder what sin I committed to deserve this.”

I felt something in me crack.

He saw it. His eyes darkened with satisfaction.

“You are pathetic,” he said. “You are weak. You fold under pressure. You speak like you are afraid of your own voice.”

He walked toward me again, slower, almost relaxed.

“You are nothing to me,” he said quietly. “You are not my equal. You are not my partner. You never will be.”

A tear slid down my cheek.

Lucian’s gaze followed it, cold and sharp.

“If you want to cry, do it somewhere else. I am tired of watching you fall apart.”

“I am trying,” I whispered.

“And I am tired of hearing it,” he replied.

He pointed at the back door. “Leave through there. I do not want anyone seeing you walk out of my office. It is humiliating enough that you walked in.”

I stood still for a moment, trying to breathe.

“Aria.”

I stopped.

His voice was softer now, almost gentle. It hurt more than everything he had said before.

“If you embarrass me again, even by accident, you will not like what happens next.”

I opened the door before my legs failed me.

Lucian did not wait for it to close.