14. Chains Of The Council.

Lucy’s POV

The marble floor of the Werewolf Council Hall stretched endlessly before me, gleaming like frozen moonlight. Every step I took echoed across the high vaulted ceiling, bouncing between the ancient stone pillars carved with wolves, moons, and oaths. I could hear my heart pounding louder than my footsteps. I had faced vampire armies. I had fought rogue wolves under the blood moon. But this...walking into the Council Hall...always made me feel small.

The guards at the massive iron doors pulled them open without a word. Inside, the circular chamber was filled with power. Twelve council members sat in crescent formation, their robes dark, their eyes sharper than blades. At the center of them sat him...my father, General Rowan. His expression was unreadable, cold as the mountains of Fenvale.

“General Lucy,” one of the elders said, his voice low but commanding. “You’ve been summoned because of reports concerning your mission.”

I bowed my head slightly, hands... in front of me. “I came to give my report myself, Elder Loorke. The Alpha has… refused to cooperate.”

That got their attention.

A ripple of murmurs moved through the room. Elder Loorke leaned forward, his eyes gleaming like molten gold. “Refused? Explain yourself.”

I inhaled slowly. I needed to be careful. “Alpha Adrian has been… distant. Cold. He doesn’t acknowledge the council’s intentions, nor my presence. I’ve done my best to fulfill my duty, but he...”

“Enough,” my father’s voice cut in, sharp and dismissive. I froze. That tone. The one that always made me feel ten years old again. “You are to try harder. You know the importance of this, Lucy.”

My chest tightened. “Try harder?” I echoed softly. “Father, with all due respect, I have tried. He barely speaks to me. He doesn’t want me near him.”

Another elder, Lady Mireya, tilted her head, her silver hair glinting under the chandelier light. “Then make him want you near him,” she said smoothly. “You are a woman, are you not?”

I blinked. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me,” she continued, her smile sharp. “Use your charm. The Alpha must bond with his Luna before the lunar eclipse or we risk losing the protection of the Moon’s blessing. If you have to… entice him, then so be it.”

My stomach turned. “You’re asking me to seduce him?” I said, disbelief and disgust twisting in my throat.

The hall fell silent. Elder Loorke gaze hardened. “We are ordering you.”

My father’s face didn’t move. Not even a twitch.

I wanted to scream. I wanted to ask him if he was really going to sit there and let them speak about his daughter like she was some toy, some desperate bait to trap a powerful Alpha.

“Do you understand your duty, General Lucy?” Loorke asked, his tone colder now.

I clenched my fists. “Yes, Elder.”

“Then do whatever it takes,” he said, his eyes narrowing. “The council expects results.”

I took a step forward. “And what if he’s not my mate? What if the Moon never intended for me to be his Luna?”

“Then make it so,” Lady Mireya replied, her voice silky and cruel.

I turned my gaze to my father. He was still silent, staring at the papers in front of him. “Father?” My voice cracked. “You’re not going to say anything?”

Finally, he looked up. His eyes were like ice. “Lucy,” he said, his tone low, “you have a responsibility to your bloodline. To me. Do not fail.”

That was it.

No warmth.

No compassion.

Just duty.

Something inside me broke.

I straightened my back and saluted.

“Understood.”

As I turned to leave, Elder Loorke voice echoed behind me.

“If you fail, the council will have no choice but to relieve you of your position as General. You will be stripped of your title and your command.”

I stopped in my tracks. “Relieved of my position?” I repeated.

“It is not a threat,” he said. “It is a fact.”

I didn’t respond. I just kept walking.

The moment the doors slammed shut behind me, the weight of it all hit me. The silence outside the chamber felt heavier than the noise within. My chest was burning, my eyes stung, and my hands trembled. I could still hear their voices in my head...“use your charm,”

“do whatever it takes,”

“make it so.”

I made it to the balcony at the end of the hall, gripping the railing hard enough that my knuckles turned white. Below, the capital city stretched endlessly...its towers glowing under the moonlight, its people unaware of the politics and manipulation that ruled them.

I closed my eyes, trying to swallow the anger clawing up my throat.

So this is what I am to them, I thought bitterly. A pawn.

A pretty soldier to toss into the arms of an Alpha they want to control.

My chest heaved.

The night wind tangled through my hair.

I could still feel the sting of my father’s silence. He didn’t even defend me. He sat there, watching me be humiliated, and said nothing.

“I hate this,” I whispered, voice breaking. “I hate all of this.”

I wanted to throw something, to tear those marble walls apart with my bare hands. But instead, I just stood there and let the tears roll down my cheeks.

For the first time since I was a child, I wished my mother were still alive. She would have understood. She would have reminded me that being strong didn’t mean being silent. That being loyal didn’t mean losing myself.

I wiped my tears away and took a deep breath.

If they wanted me to be their puppet, fine. I’d play their game...for now. But not for them. For me.

I’d find my own path, even if it meant breaking every rule in that cursed hall.

As I walked away from the balcony, my thoughts drifted to Adrian. His cold eyes. His dismissive tone. The way he looked through me like I didn’t exist.

“Just you wait, Alpha Wolfe,” I muttered under my breath. “If the council wants me to get close to you… then I’ll do it. But it won’t be the way they expect.”

When I reached the grand stairs leading out of the Hall, I paused for one last look back. Through the tall windows, I could see my father still inside, talking quietly with the elders, his back turned to me.

I whispered softly, so no one could hear,

“You may have chosen your duty, Father. But I’ll choose myself.”

And then I walked out into the night, My father's voice kept echoing in my head .

Behold What a "Loving" father he is , I thought sarcastically.