My Dearly Beloved Luna

Chapter 9

He only cared that our mate was finally here.

Close enough to touch.

And I was keeping us away from her.

Keeping her away from us.

The freezing water continued to pour over my skin, but the fire inside me refused to die.

It wasn’t enough. Nothing was. With a frustrated groan, I shut off the shower. Silence settled over the bathroom, broken only by the steady drip of water hitting the floor.

My clothes hung heavily against my body.

I peeled them off one piece at a time, letting the soaked fabric fall into a heap beside my feet.

When I looked up, my reflection stared back from the mirror.

Bright gold flashed across my eyes before fading.

Too close. My wolf was far too close to the surface.

“Pull yourself together,” I muttered.

He answered with a growl.

Years of restraint. Years of denying what fate had chosen for us had made him feral.

But now that Sylvia was back…he wanted her. Every instinct kept screaming the same thing. Go. Find her. Claim her.

I met my own gaze in the mirror.

“No.”The word came out firm.“She’s our sister.”

My wolf howled. To him, the title meant nothing. Pack laws.Family ties.Human morality.

None of it existed in his world.

Because to him there was only one word he knew.“Mate.”

I grabbed a towel and wrapped it around my waist before stepping into the bedroom.

The cool air should have helped. Instead, the room felt unbearably warm. I crossed to the closet and pulled out the spare clothes I always kept there.

A pair of suit pants and a T-shirt. That were comfortable enough for a long-distance run which my wolf currently needed.

Father’s announcement could wait. I’d leave tonight. Sleeping under the same roof as her wasn’t an option anymore.

I had just pulled the shirt over my head when another knock echoed through the room.

“Mr Elias?”

It was Edmund. Again.

Had he never left?

I crossed the room and pulled the door open.

He instinctively took a step backwards. His eyes flickered over my face, lingering for a second too long.

“What?” I snapped

The word came out sharper than I’d intended.

Edmund cleared his throat.

“The Alpha is requesting your presence in his office.”A brief pause. Then he added, “Immediately.”

Of course he did.

I dragged a hand through my still damp hair.

“Tell him I’m leaving.”

Edmund didn’t move.

“With respect, sir… I wouldn’t recommend that.”

His tone stayed polite, but the look he gave me said enough.

“The Alpha was very clear.”

I let out a slow breath through my nose.

Of course Father would refuse to let this go.“Has everyone finished dinner?”

“Yes, sir.”He glanced toward the staircase. “About twenty minutes ago.”

Twenty minutes ago.

I’d spent ten minutes standing beneath freezing water, and somehow the pang inside me had only spread.

Before I could stop myself, the question escaped.

“…Where’s Sylvia?”

Edmund’s face remained as composed as ever, but I caught the brief hesitation.“Miss Sylvia went to her room shortly after dinner.”

He paused.“She seemed… unsettled.”

The word settled heavily in my chest.

Was she frightened?

Confused?

Had she told her mother what she’d felt?

Or had she kept it to herself because she couldn’t explain it?

“Fine.”I stepped past him into the hallway“Let’s get this over with.”

The hallways felt unusually quiet. The thick carpet swallowed my footsteps as I made my way toward Father’s office, passing portraits of former pack heads whose painted eyes seemed to follow me down the corridor.

Normally I never noticed them.

But Tonight I couldn't seem to get myself to focus and before I knew it I was standing outside his office.

I knocked once before opening the door.

Father sat behind his desk, sleeves rolled to his forearms, reading through a stack of documents. A cup of something rested beside an open file, long forgotten.

He didn’t look up immediately.

He finished reading the document in front of him before setting his sights on me.

“Sit.” he beckoned.

“I’d rather stand,” I replied.

His eyes finally met mine.“I wasn’t asking.”

I dropped into the chair opposite him, leaning back with far more confidence than I actually felt.

Inside, every nerve remained stretched to breaking.

He studied me for several long seconds.“What happened downstairs?”

“Nothing.”

His expression hardened.“Elias.”

“I walked out,” I told him.

“I noticed.”His voice carried the quiet authority that usually ended arguments before they started.

“You walked into the dining room, looked at Sylvia, and disappeared before anyone understood what was happening.”

“I’ve been working too much.”The lie came easily. and “My wolf needed air.”

Father didn’t answer.

He simply watched me.

Waiting.

Measuring.

Finally, he leaned back in his chair and rubbed a hand across his jaw.“You’ve been spending too much time behind a desk.”

“I know.”

“When was the last time you shifted?”

I didn’t answer immediately.“…A while.”

“Too long.”His tone softened just enough to sound concerned instead of commanding.

“Go for a run tonight. Clear your head. Wolves weren’t meant to stay trapped in human skin week after week.”

“I will.”

He gave a single nod before gathering the documents into a neat stack.

For a moment, I thought the conversation was over.

Then he spoke again.

“Sylvia isn’t going back to abroad.”

Every muscle in my body locked.“What?”

“She’s staying.”He folded his hands on the desk.“Permanently.”

The room suddenly felt much smaller.

“Why?”The single word scraped out of me.

“I was under the impression Stepmother wanted her gone.”

“Helena still has her reservations.”Father sighed.“But appearances matter. People have started asking why my stepdaughter has lived overseas for years while the rest of my family remains here.”

He shook his head.“I won’t have the pack believing she’s been hidden away.”

The pressure inside my chest became almost unbearable.

“Maybe hiding her was the better decision.”The words left my mouth before I could stop them.

My wolf exploded with rage.

Father’s eyes narrowed.“Choose your next sentence carefully.”

I leaned forward, gripping the arms of the chair.“If she can’t shift, the pack will see weakness.”

Even saying it tasted like poison.“They’ll question you.”

“They can question whatever they like.” he snapped.

His voice remained calm.“She’s still part of this family.”

He held my gaze without blinking.“And she’s staying.”

There was nothing left to argue about. Nothing I could safely tell him.

I couldn’t admit that every instinct inside me demanded I walk straight back to Sylvia’s room.

That simply breathing the same air as her was becoming unbearable.

“Fine.”The word came out flat.“She can stay.”

I stood, already reaching for the door.“Just keep her away from me.”

Father was silent for a moment.

Then he said quietly,

“I’m afraid that may not be possible.”