21. The Weight Of The Alpha.

Adrian’s POV

The night air outside the Council Hall was thick ...

cold, quiet, yet humming with power. I stepped out of the grand stone doors, the echo of my boots swallowed by the endless corridor of moonlight. My pulse was still pounding from the meeting. The council’s words rang in my head like a curse.

“Do the needful before the eclipse… perform the ritual with your Luna…”

They spoke as if I was some puppet waiting for their strings.

I ran a hand through my hair, exhaling sharply. My control was slipping ... and I hated that. I could feel the wolf in me stirring, restless, angry. The Lunar mark on my wrist burned faintly, as if warning me that losing control wasn’t an option. Not here. Not now.

Behind me, footsteps. Steady, confident.

I didn’t need to turn. Only one person walked like that.

“Adrian,” Matthew’s deep voice called out, echoing through the courtyard.

I stopped but didn’t face him immediately. I needed a second to breathe ...to shove back the frustration threatening to spill out of me.

He came closer, until his shadow stretched beside mine in the moonlight. “You care to tell me what that was all about?”

I smirked bitterly. “You were there, Matthew. You heard them. They treat me like I’m some cub who doesn’t know his own strength.”

He crossed his arms. “You could’ve handled it better.”

I turned to face him then, meeting his calm brown eyes. The man was always composed ... always the rational one. It annoyed me and grounded me at the same time.

“I did handle it,” I said flatly. “I reminded them who I am.”

He sighed, shaking his head. “You reminded them you’re angry.”

“I reminded them,” I growled, stepping closer, “that I’m not their pawn. That I’m the Alpha of Alphas ... chosen by the Lunar God Himself, I wasn't just chosen by democracy. They forget that too easily.”

Matthew’s gaze didn’t waver. “And maybe that’s the problem. You keep reminding everyone who you are instead of showing them why.”

His words hit deeper than I wanted to admit.

I turned away, staring out at the glowing crescent moon hanging above the mountain peaks. “You think I haven’t earned it? Everything I have ... the power, the loyalty, the blood spilled ... I built this, Matthew. And still, they act like I need their approval.”

“I’m not saying you haven’t earned it,” he replied quietly. “But leadership isn’t about proving power every time someone doubts you.”

Something in his tone made me pause. There was no mockery in it ... just truth.

But my pride didn’t want to hear truth tonight.

“They monitor my every move,” I said, clenching my fists. “Who I see, what I decide, even who I should mate with. Do you know what it feels like to carry power this heavy and still be treated like a child?”

“Yes,” he said simply. “I do.”

I turned sharply. “No, you don’t. You’re not in my position.”

“I may not be the Alpha of Alphas,” he said, voice steady, “but I’ve watched you carry this crown, Adrian. And I’ve watched it start to crush you.”

My jaw tightened. The anger I’d been trying to suppress flickered again. “I don’t need your pity.”

He smiled faintly. “It’s not pity. It’s concern.”

Silence fell between us ... thick, heavy, the kind that said more than words could.

The wind picked up, rustling the banners of the council crest ... the silver wolf insignia glinting under the moonlight.

Then Matthew broke the quiet. “You know why the council’s scared?”

I glanced at him warily. “Because they’re old and fragile?”

He chuckled. “Because they know you’re unpredictable. You keep your emotions locked so tight that when they escape, they burn everything around you. Including yourself.”

He wasn’t wrong. But I wasn’t about to admit that.

“They push because they fear,” he continued, “and you react because you’re tired. That’s not leadership, Adrian. That’s a cycle ... one that will destroy you if you let it.”

I didn’t reply.

Matthew stepped closer, lowering his voice. “Tell me something. What will you do if you can’t bond with your Luna before the Lunar Eclipse?”

I froze.

“That’s not going to happen,” I said quickly.

“But if it does,” he pressed. “If the Lunar mark doesn’t bind ... if the spell fails and the eclipse comes ... what then? What happens to the realm when the protection breaks?”

My throat tightened.

The Lunar protection spell was what kept the vampire clans at bay ... the ancient barrier powered by the Alpha’s bond with his Luna. If the ritual failed, that barrier would collapse.

Matthew’s eyes searched mine. “If that happens… what will you do?”

“I’ll bear the consequences,” I said finally. My voice came out lower, rougher than I intended.

Matthew frowned. “And what about everyone else? What about the packs? The people who trust you to protect them?”

I looked away. The guilt hit, sharp and cold.

He stepped around me, forcing me to meet his gaze again. “You can bear your own punishment, Adrian, but they will suffer with you. Are you willing to carry that?”

I wanted to say yes. I wanted to say that I’d carry everything if I had to. But the truth was heavier than pride.

He sighed softly when I didn’t answer. “That’s what I thought.”

He turned, taking a few steps away before pausing again. The moonlight caught the edge of his profile ... calm, thoughtful, the way only Matthew could look even after a storm.

“Adrian,” he said quietly, “you’re not wrong to be angry. You’re not wrong to want freedom. But don’t mistake isolation for strength. Even an Alpha needs balance. Even you.”

I swallowed hard, the words cutting deeper than I wanted them to.

He faced me again. “Take your time. Five months from now, I’ll come back for your decision. Choose wisely.”

Then he began walking toward the stone path leading down the hill ... away from the hall, away from me.

“Matthew,” I called after him.

He stopped, turning halfway.

“What if I make the wrong choice?” I asked, my voice quieter this time. Honest.

He smiled faintly. “Then make sure it’s for the right reason.”

And with that, he disappeared into the mist that rose from the valley below.

The courtyard fell silent again, leaving only me ....the Alpha of Alphas ... standing alone under a pale, merciless moon.

For the first time that night, the title didn’t feel like power.

It felt like a chain.