15. Outside The Council.

Lucy’s POV

The air in the Council Hall still felt heavy, like it was choking me long after the elders dismissed me. I could still hear their voices echoing in my head ...

“Seduce him.”

“Do whatever it takes.” ... their words slicing through my pride like knives.

I walked down the dim corridor, my boots tapping against the marble, my chest tight with anger. The torches along the walls flickered as if they sensed the storm inside me. I just wanted to get out. Out of this suffocating hall. Out of their reach.

“Lucy.”

The sound of that voice stopped me dead in my tracks.

I turned, and there he was ...my father, General Rowan. Tall. Stern. His silver hair gleaming under the light, his eyes sharp as ever. The same eyes that once held warmth when I was little… now cold as steel.

“Walk with me,” he said flatly, already stepping ahead.

I followed, my heart beating unevenly. The hallways were quiet except for our footsteps. Every time I glanced at him, I saw nothing but a commander ...not a father.

We reached the balcony overlooking the moonlit courtyard before he spoke again.

“Lucy,” he said slowly, his tone the kind that made subordinates tremble. “You understand what’s at stake, don’t you?”

I didn’t answer immediately. “You mean me being ordered to throw myself at the Alpha?” I said, bitterness seeping through my words.

He stopped walking and turned toward me. “Watch your tone.”

I met his gaze. “Then maybe stop talking to me like I’m a weapon.”

He exhaled, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “You are not a weapon,” he said, but the lie sat between us like smoke.

“You are my daughter. And because of that, I expect more from you. You were born for greatness. For leadership.”

“Leadership?” I laughed quietly, shaking my head. “No, Father. What you want is control. You want me to be your way into the Alpha’s throne.”

His jaw tightened. “And if that ensures stability in the pack, then so be it.”

I stared at him, disbelief burning through me.

“You want me to use him.”

He took a step closer, his eyes sharp.

“Listen to me carefully, Lucy. Adrian Wolfe may be Alpha now, but power changes hands quickly. He’s young. He’s reckless. If we don’t guide him, we lose control over what this pack becomes. You becoming Luna..."

“...would make you the real ruler,” I finished bitterly.

He didn’t deny it.

Something inside me snapped. “You’re disgusting,” I hissed.

“You don’t care about me. You care about your influence. About the council bowing to you.”

His expression hardened further, his voice lowering to that commanding growl that had once made me straighten up as a child.

“Enough. You will not speak to me in that tone, soldier.”

I felt my throat close up. “So that’s all I am to you now? A soldier?”

He crossed his arms. “You’ve been acting like an incompetent one lately,” he said, the word sharp and cutting. “Do you realize what failure means for us? For me?”

“For you, you mean,” I spat back. “It’s always about you.”

His aura suddenly flared, the supernatural pressure making the torches flicker and my skin prickle.

“Do not mistake my patience for weakness, Lucy,” he warned.

“You will fulfill your duty. You will become the Luna. You will make the Alpha submit to us. Is that clear?”

I clenched my fists so tightly my nails dug into my palms.

“And what if I don’t?”

He took another step forward, towering over me, his voice a low growl.

“Then you are no daughter of mine.”

My heart stopped. For a second, I forgot to breathe.

I swallowed hard, blinking away the tears that stung my eyes.

“You really mean that?”

He didn’t answer. His silence was worse than any slap.

Something inside me broke again ...the part that still wanted his approval, his warmth, his love.

“Fine,” I said quietly. “If that’s what you want, then you’ll get it. But not for you, Father. For me.”

I turned to leave, my boots echoing sharply across the marble, but then his voice followed, cold and final.

“Don’t disappoint me again, Lucy.”

I stopped, turned halfway, ready to snap at him ... but he was gone.

Just like that.

Vanished.

The corridor was empty, the torches flickering violently, the air colder than before. Supernatural disappearance. A coward’s exit.

“Typical,” I muttered bitterly. “You never stay long enough to face the mess you make.”

I stormed out of the Council building, fury burning in my veins. By the time I reached Adrian’s mansion, the moon was high. The guards outside nodded at me, but I didn’t respond. I needed to move. To breathe. To fight.

Inside the courtyard, everything was quiet. Adrian wasn’t home yet, probably attending another meeting. The training ground behind the mansion was empty ... perfect.

I tossed my jacket aside and flexed my fists. The moment my claws slid out, relief rushed through me.

If anger had a language, this was mine.

I lunged at the practice dummies, tearing through them with sharp precision. The wooden frames splintered under my strikes. I spun, kicked, slashed ...every movement releasing the frustration I had been forced to swallow back in that cursed hall.

One dummy flew into the air, then I used my super jump to piece is in air. I grabbed another and threw it across the ground. My breathing was ragged, my heart hammering.

Every punch was a question I didn’t get to ask.

Every kick was an answer no one cared to give.

My father’s voice echoed in my mind again:

“You’re incompetent.”

I hit harder.

“Do whatever it takes.”

Harder.

“You will become Luna.”

I screamed .... a raw, guttural sound that ripped through the night. My claws sliced through another dummy, sending it crashing to the floor.

When it was over, I stood there, surrounded by destruction. My hands trembled, my chest rose and fell heavily. The moonlight spilled across the wreckage, making it look like a battlefield.

My battlefield.

I sank to my knees, pressing my forehead to my arm, breathing hard. My throat burned with unshed tears.

“What am I even doing?” I whispered. “Trying to be good enough for a man who doesn’t want me? For a father who doesn’t love me? For a council that sees me as a tool?”

The silence didn’t answer.

I closed my eyes, letting the night breeze cool the sweat on my skin. Somewhere in the distance, a wolf howled. The sound was mournful, beautiful ....free.

I envied it.

“I don’t know who I am anymore,” I murmured.

“The soldier or the daughter. The tool or the

fighter.”

For a long moment, I just sat there, the broken training field around me, the scent of dust and wood thick in the air.

Then slowly, I stood up again.

The anger was still there, but beneath it… something else. A spark. A quiet resolve.

If my father wanted control, he would never get it through me. If the council wanted a pawn, they picked the wrong wolf.

I wiped the sweat off my face and stared up at the moon.

“I’ll find my own strength,” I said softly. “My own way. And when the time comes… they’ll all regret underestimating me.”

I turned toward the mansion, my eyes catching my reflection in the glass window. For a moment, I didn’t see the soldier they made me. I saw me.

Lucy.

The fighter.

The survivor.

The storm they couldn’t tame.