41. The Weight Of Their Demand.

Lucy POV

I couldn’t sleep.

Not even for a second.

My father’s words replayed in my mind on a loop.

The witch’s voice, cold and steady, echoed under it.

And the danger of the ritual....the danger of everything....kept pressing down on my chest like someone had placed a hand over my heart and refused to release it.

“The Luna mark will have to be tattooed on you… but only with the ashes of a vampire general and the blood of any werewolf.”

I could still hear her saying it.

It sounded insane.

Unnatural.

Deadly.

And yet my father looked at her as if she had just said the most reasonable solution in the world.

I kept pacing around my room, my feet moving restlessly, my mind chasing answers that didn’t exist.

A vampire general?

Did she know how powerful they were?

Did she know what it meant to even get close to one?

Of course she did.

She was a lunar witch.

But knowing didn’t make it easier.

My father’s face when he knelt to her…

It broke something inside me. I had never seen him kneel to anyone. I never thought I would. Rowan Storm wasn’t just any Alpha....he was feared, respected, and terrifying when he wanted to be.

Yet he knelt for me.

For me.

For his daughter who, in his eyes, kept disappointing him.

But even with that image burned into my mind, the truth didn’t change....

I didn’t want the ritual.

I didn’t want to risk my life.

Not for Adrian.

Not for a title.

Not for a destiny I didn’t ask for.

As far as I knew, Adrian already hated my existence.

Or at least, everything I represented.

And the witch’s words only made it worse.

“His heart is with another girl.”

Those words felt like a slap.

A punch.

A truth I didn’t want to hear but needed to.

And the worst part?

She said she couldn’t see who the girl was.

That meant it was real.

He loved someone.

Someone not me.

And the witch....the one who usually saw everything ...couldn’t even identify the girl because his heart was protecting it.

It was almost poetic. Stupid. Painful. Annoying.

My chest squeezed every time the memory flashed.

My father kept dragging me toward the exit of the shrine, repeating....

“You will do what must be done. You are the Luna. Act like one.”

What if being a Luna wasn’t what I wanted?

What if this destiny was a trap?

But my father didn’t care what I wanted.

He never had.

I sat at the edge of my bed, clutching my robe around my arms, trying to still my shaking breath.

I didn’t want to think about the ritual.

I didn’t want to think about Adrian and whoever his heart belonged to.

I didn’t want to think about the witch’s cold eyes watching me as if she could already see my future ending in blood.

But I didn’t have a choice.

Not anymore.

---

The sun had barely risen before a knock came at my door.

Not gentle.

Not patient.

Sharp.

Demanding.

I groaned and ran a hand through my messy hair. “Who is it?”

A voice I disliked instantly answered....

“Lucy. The Council summons you. Immediately.”

Of course they did.

Because the day wasn’t bad enough already.

I opened the door and found two council enforcers standing there, staring at me like I had already committed a crime.

“What does the Council want now?” I muttered under my breath.

“You have been summoned,” one repeated.

Which basically meant....

I didn’t have a choice.

I grabbed something to wear quickly, ignoring the exhaustion in my bones and the frustration boiling beneath my skin.

As we walked toward the Council Hall, I could already feel the tension building.

Everyone knew the council rarely summoned someone without a reason.

And they never summoned me unless they had something insulting to say.

The doors opened.

All the elders sat there.

Old. Arrogant. Judgmental.

Their faces turned to me like I was an inconvenience they couldn't wait to get rid of.

I bowed stiffly.....only because showing disrespect would drag this out longer.

“Lucy ,” the Head Council Elder said in a voice that was somehow both bored and annoyed. “We expected you sooner.”

Sorry for not teleporting.

I kept my reply locked behind my teeth and stayed silent.

The elder continued, “We have heard… troubling reports about your recent actions.”

Oh, great.

Here we go.

Another episode of Everything Lucy Does Is Wrong.

One of the elders leaned forward, his eyes cold and sharp. “Your behavior has been erratic. Dishonorable. And unbecoming of a future Luna.”

My jaw clenched. “With all due respect.....”

“There is no respect in this matter,” another elder cut in, raising a wrinkled hand. “Only facts.”

I swallowed hard, forcing myself not to flare up.

Because I knew how this game worked.

If I spoke out of turn, they’d twist it.

If I argued, they’d use it against me.

If I defended myself, they’d call it disrespect.

Another elder.....one who always looked at me as if I was a spilled drink.....leaned forward.

“You were sent to deal with the Alpha. Yet you have done nothing.”

My stomach twisted.

Not because of Adrian…

But because of the pressure they kept crushing me under.

"I am handling....."

“You have two weeks,” the Head Elder interrupted sharply.

I froze.

Two weeks?

“To accomplish what?” I managed to ask, my voice tight.

“To secure the Alpha,” another answered, as if it were obvious. “To bind him through agreement and strengthen the Luna bond.”

Agreement.

As in.....

He had to choose me.

He had to want me.

He had to accept me.

The witch’s words rang again in my head.

“His heart is with another girl.”

Yeah.

Sure.

Let me just skip over that tiny detail.

“And what if…” My voice felt strange, shaking. “What if the Alpha doesn’t want the bond?”

All the elders stared at me, and the silence felt like iron chains wrapping around my throat.

One cleared his throat slowly. “Then the ritual will fail.”

“And?” I pushed.

“And,” the Head Elder said with a voice colder than winter, “you will be stripped of your title.”

There it was.

The threat.

The punishment.

The shame.

Stripped of my title.....not because I wasn’t worthy.....but because the Alpha’s heart belonged to someone else.

And they would still make it my fault.

I inhaled deeply, trying not to scream.

Trying not to punch the table.

Trying not to show weakness.

Then the oldest elder, the one with the long scar across his cheek, said something that made my fingers curl into fists.

“You should have made him feel something by now. Even an ounce of affection. A glance. A touch. A connection.”

My spine stiffened.

Affection?

Have they met Adrian?

Have they seen how he looks at me?

How he avoids me?

How my presence irritates him?

They expected me to magically make him fall in love?

They must be insane.

The elder continued, “You were chosen as Luna for a reason. And a Luna does not fail. You will secure the Alpha within two weeks, or we will find someone else who can.”

The words sliced through me.

Someone else.

To replace me.

To erase me.

I didn’t realize my father had stepped inside until he spoke.....

“She will do it.”

His voice was firm. Strong. Confident.

Too confident.

Like he had already decided my life for me.

I turned sharply to face him. “Father.....”

But his eyes cut into mine with a warning.

Not here.

Not in front of them.

Not now.

He didn’t have to say it. I understood it.

Do not argue.

“Lucy knows her duty,” he continued, still staring at me. “She will do what must be done.”

There it was again.

That phrase.

Do what must be done.

As if my fear didn’t matter.

As if my life didn’t matter.

As if my heart, my dreams, my own future meant nothing.

The elders nodded, satisfied.

“Then this matter is settled,” the Head Elder said. “Two weeks. No excuses. No failures.”

The meeting was dismissed.

Everyone stood.

Everyone except me.

I stayed sitting there, feeling the weight of their expectations drop on my shoulders like chains.

---

The walk back from the Council Hall felt heavy.

The air was thick.

My mind was spinning.

My steps felt uneven.

Two weeks.

Two weeks to convince an Alpha who didn’t even like me to accept me.

Two weeks before they stripped me of everything.

Two weeks before they replaced me.

I felt trapped.

Cornered.

Like everyone had decided my life for me and I was just supposed to smile and nod and obey.

I hated it.

I hated all of it.

When I reached the quiet area near the training grounds, I finally let myself sit down on a bench and breathe.

My father’s words.

The witch’s warning.

The elders’ threats.

Adrian’s heart belonging to someone else.

It was too much.

My destiny....something I never asked for.....was crushing me.

I pressed my palms to my face, trying to calm the storm inside my chest.

Two weeks.

Just two.

How was I supposed to get through this?

How was I supposed to do something the witch herself hinted might be impossible?

How was I supposed to fight for someone who didn’t want me?

I exhaled shakily.

I didn’t know.

And for the first time in a long time…

I was scared.

Terrified.

Not of the ritual.

Not of the witch.

Not even of the vampire general.

I was scared of failing.

Failing my father.

Failing the title.

Failing myself.

But most of all.....

Failing because Adrian’s heart was never mine to begin with.

And yet… I was expected to force fate to obey.

How?

How was I supposed to do the impossible?

As I sat there, hands trembling, I came to one painful realization....

Everything was falling apart.

And the countdown had already started.