I was a coward. How had that become of me? I hid from my husband and locked myself away. I waited for him to leave during the day before I made my way out of my bedroom.
On the seventh day Sean came to MacAllistar house and slammed down documents on the breakfast table.
"It's been seven days, child of mine, it only took the Lord six to make the world." He blustered as he threw my passport and I.D. at me.
"Am I going on a voyage on Noah's ark?" I asked looking at my identifications.
"Get your name changed before you leave on holiday."
"Changed to what? I like Lilly."
He rolled his green eyes. "Your last name, pet."
I grimaced. "Never did I think getting rid of the Black Bear name would make me feel this way."
"I know," he said simply.
"McTavish-MacAllistar sounds McMuch," I laughed at my joke. "Like I run a fast food restaurant."
"Lilly," Sean snapped. "You need to take this match seriously.
"What do you mean? I married him didn't I?"
Sean sighed. "You need to follow through. The advisors and the council of alphas are only giving Arthur two more weeks to consummate this marriage."
"Didn't we just have an attack in Canada? Leading to the leeches attacking us here? I doubt my sex life is high on the agenda."
"You want to think that but it's not true. He needs an heir to cement in rule. He looks weak now that he hasn't claimed his bride in as many days as you've been married."
I pushed away from the table grabbing my papers.
"Screw what these old men want," I growled. "Before I know it they will demand to be in the room."
Sean grabbed my hand gently. "That's not a joke. You keep putting this off, they may do so."
I rolled my eyes and went to the governmental agency. Behind me in que there was a girl with bright red hair and a goofy face. She smiled the whole time and it was almost off putting.
"Paeton," she smiled and nodded her head.
I laughed. "Lilly."
Her face brightened. "American or Canadian?"
"Canadian?" I almost asked. "I've lived in England so long it's hard to figure."
"Cool! I'm your southern neighbor."
Her aura was warm and sunny. I immediately took to her. A thing I never did.
She was exactly the type to rub me the wrong way, happy. Paeton incessantly chattered as we walked through the park, but I did not mind. It kept me out of my head and gave me a distraction.
"So how do you like the city?" She asked jarring me back to the present.
"Ummm…" what was her question again?
As if she was reading my mind, "the city?" She reminded me.
"Oh," I laughed. "It's different… I grew up in a small town in British Columbia before moving to the countryside of Kent with my grandmother."
She snorted with laughter.
"I can imagine. So what brought you away from the frozen north?"
I sighed trying to figure out what to say.
"Family stuff," I responded. "I needed to get away." I looked at her, gauging her expression but something had caught her eye. "What?"
"Gorgeous," she whispered.
I looked to see what she was talking about when I saw Arthur jogging down the trail.
"Damn it," I murmured.
I caught his eye and he began to slow down, pulling his ear buds out. Because of Paeton's ogling she had stopped walking. I knew Arthur would feel obliged to stop as well.
I might as well get this over with…
"Arthur," I said stoically as he approached us.
Paeton snapped to attention when she realized we knew each other.
"Lilly," he responded similarly.
His shirt was soaked, sticking to his torso outlining his abdominals, and I hoped Paeton did not drool.
It was an awkward encounter, as most interactions with Arthur went. I had nothing to say and even if he did, he refused to put two sentences together for me.
"Lilliana MacAllistair, aren't you going to introduce us?" Paeton elbowed me in the ribs.
"Arthur, this is my new friend, Paeton," I motioned to her. "Paeton, this is Arthur."
They shook hands but it seemed Arthur was preoccupied.
"How do you know each other?" Paeton asked in her chipper manner.
I sighed. "Arthur is… an acquaintance of mine."
He raised an eyebrow. "I am?" he asked pointedly.
"Yea," I scratched my eyebrow nervously. He assessed my left hand and seemed annoyed.
"Well," he began. "I'll let you two continue your walk."
I nodded and pulled Paeton away.
"I need an explanation," Paeton hissed after Arthur had jogged away.
"There is none," I hissed back. "He's kind of… my husband…"
She did not seem affected by my words before she murmured, "It's not fair."
"What isn't?"
"Two beautiful people should be forced to go for plainer looking people," she remarked. "It's more balanced for us normal ones."
I laughed. "I haven't gone for Arthur. Quite the contrary."
"So you admit you're gorgeous?" She exclaimed.
I pushed her off the side walk playfully.
"It's complicated," I explained. "Our… families pushed us towards each other. That's all." It was not all a lie.
Paeton nodded. "So you don't like your husband?"
She was the first one to ask that question without having ulterior motives. She seemed blasé about the whole arranged marriage thing, for which I was thankful.
I mulled over her question and finally answered truly.
"I don't know him."
"Well, you're an idiot," she remarked as we began to walk the trail again.
"How so?"
"If I had a husband that fine, I would lock the doors and introduce myself."
I laughed aloud. It was so nice having someone to talk to that did not have to hide what they truly were feeling.