42. So Disappointed.

LUCY POV

I heard my father calling my name even before I saw him.

His footsteps were heavy, determined, the kind that carried orders instead of conversation. I was still seated on the bench near the training grounds where I’d been trying to gather my thoughts—if they could even be called thoughts at that point.

When I finally looked up, he was standing in front of me like a shadow carved out of authority and stubbornness.

“Lucy,” he said, his voice firm, no softness, no space to breathe.

I already knew why he came.

And I already hated it.

“What now?” I muttered, not bothering to hide the exhaustion in my voice. “You didn’t say enough at the council?”

His jaw tightened just a little. “Stand up.”

“I’m fine here.”

“Stand. Up.”

I sighed and pushed myself to my feet, mostly because I was too tired to argue. He studied my face for a moment—his eyes sharp, searching, as if he was trying to figure out whether I would fight him again.

But he didn’t wait long.

“You heard what the council said,” he began. “This is serious. This is not a game. You cannot afford to fail.”

I exhaled slowly. “I understand that.”

“You do not,” he snapped before I even finished. “If you understood, you wouldn’t have been doubting. You wouldn’t have been questioning. You wouldn’t be hesitating.”

I clenched my jaw. “I’m not hesitating. I’m trying to breathe.”

“You don’t have time to breathe.”

There it was again.

That tight, suffocating pressure.

My hands curled into fists. “So what, Father? I’m supposed to throw myself into a dangerous ritual? Tattoo a Luna mark on myself with vampire ashes and wolf blood? For someone who does NOT want me? For a destiny that feels like it’s choking me?”

His eyes hardened like stone.

“Yes.”

The air left my chest.

Just… yes.

Like it was that simple.

Like my life, my fear, my pain meant nothing.

I stared at him. “That’s easy for you to say.”

“It is what must be done,” he replied, his voice stiff, unbending. “You are the Luna. You do not have a choice.”

I inhaled slowly, my anger simmering under my skin.

“Stop saying that,” I whispered. “Stop acting like my life is some political chess piece you can just move around. I’m your daughter.”

“And because you are my daughter, you will do what is required,” he shot back. “Our family does not break under pressure. We do not back down. We do not fail.”

I swallowed.

He didn’t stop there.

“I already have the address of a vampire general,” he said, as if announcing something exciting. “An old one. He is isolated. Weak by their standards. He will serve well.”

My stomach turned cold.

“And the werewolf?” I asked, dreading the answer.

His expression didn’t even flicker. “There is a weak wolf in my pack. One who has been… underperforming. I have had my eye on him for years. Young. Passive. Easily controlled. He will be perfect.”

Perfect?

My heart sank.

“You have no shame,” I whispered.

He blinked, confused. “What?”

“You’re planning to use your own pack member like that? Someone who trusts you? Someone who looks at you as a leader? As a protector? And a vampire general? Do you even understand how insane this is?”

His voice dropped low. “If the ritual demands ashes and blood, then ashes and blood will be provided. You will not question this further.”

I stared at him like I was seeing a stranger.

“You disgust me.”

The words slipped out before I could stop them.

But I didn’t regret them.

He stiffened. “Watch your tone.”

“No.” I stepped back from him. “You don’t get to tell me that. Not after what you just said. You’re willing to kill a vampire general—fine, they’re our enemies—whatever. But you’re also willing to sacrifice a weak wolf just to force me into a role I didn’t even ask for? You’re willing to gamble my life and someone else’s because you’re obsessed with making me Luna?”

His voice rose. “You ARE Luna!”

“I don’t WANT to be Luna!”

The silence hit us hard, like both of us had been slapped.

My breathing raced.

His eyes narrowed.

And for a moment, neither of us spoke.

Then I shook my head slowly, stepping farther away from him.

“You keep saying this is my duty,” I whispered. “But all I see is your obsession. Your ambition. Your desperation. Not mine.”

“Lucy—”

“No.” I cut him off. “If you’re planning to force me into this, then say it. If you’re planning to keep pushing me until I break, then say it. But don’t pretend this is about me. Don’t pretend you’re doing this for my sake.”

He opened his mouth.

I didn’t let him speak.

“I’m done listening to you,” I said softly. “I’m done letting you decide everything for me.”

And before he could reply—

I turned around and walked away.

I didn’t care if he shouted.

I didn’t care if he followed.

I didn’t care if the whole pack stared.

I walked away because if I stayed one more second, I was going to scream.

Or cry.

Or both.

And I refused to break in front of him.

Not again.

---

ROWAN — POV

My daughter walked away from me.

Walked away like I was nothing but a tyrant.

Walked away as if she didn’t understand why I was doing all this.

As if she didn’t understand what was at stake.

I stood there in the open field long after she disappeared, my hands clenched so tightly my nails cut into my palms.

She called me disgusting.

My own daughter.

She looked at me with the kind of disappointment that sliced deeper than any blade.

And yet…

She didn’t know.

She didn’t understand.

I wasn’t doing this out of cruelty.

I wasn’t doing this out of ambition.

I wasn’t doing this because I wanted control.

I was doing this because her life depended on it.

Because the pack depended on it.

Because our lineage depended on it.

Because the council would destroy her if she failed.

Because the world was hanging by a thread, and she was the Luna chosen to hold it together.

She didn’t see the pressure.

She didn’t see the politics.

She didn’t see the danger tightening around her neck every single day.

And she didn’t see how terrified I was.

Terrified of losing her.

Terrified of seeing her broken.

Terrified of watching her be cast aside by the council’s cruelty.

But I could not show fear.

Not to her.

Not to anyone.

So I hardened myself.

I spoke like a leader, not a father.

Because leaders weren’t allowed to tremble.

Yet she looked at me like I had betrayed her.

Maybe, in her eyes… I had.

I exhaled slowly, staring at the path she had walked away on.

“You think I don’t care,” I murmured under my breath. “But everything I do… is because I do.”

If she failed—she would be punished.

If she hesitated—she would be replaced.

If she refused—she would be destroyed.

The council had made that clear.

And the witch’s warning made everything worse.

Someone had Adrian's heart.

Someone who wasn’t her.

If the ritual failed because of that… Lucy wouldn’t just lose the title.

She would lose everything.

I wasn’t willing to let that happen.

Not while I was still breathing.

I closed my eyes briefly. She would hate me for a while. She might never understand me. She might think I was cruel. Controlling. Heartless.

But if she survived this…

She would realize I saved her.

Even if she hated me for it.

I straightened my shoulders and walked away, refusing to look back.

There was no room for softness now.

No room for comfort.

Only duty.

Only survival.

She would do what must be done.

Whether she understood it now…

Or later.

---

LUCY — POV

I kept walking until my legs ached, until the anger burning in my chest simmered into something else—exhaustion, maybe. Or sadness. Or the beginning of a truth I didn’t want to face:

My father wasn’t going to stop.

He wasn’t going to bend.

He wasn’t going to listen.

He wanted me to go through with the ritual even if it killed me.

Even if it killed someone else.

Even if Adrian didn’t want me.

And that…

That hurt more than anything.

But one thing was clear:

If I wanted to survive—

If I wanted to keep my sanity—

If I wanted any part of my life to be mine—

I had to make my own decisions now.

Not his.

Not the council’s.

Mine.

I wiped my eyes, steadied my breath, and kept walking.

For the first time…

I didn’t know where I was going.

But I knew one thing for sure—

I wasn’t going to let anyone decide my destiny for me.

Not anymore.

Not ever again.