69. Not Just A Tool.

Lucy – POV

I didn’t want to come here.

My legs felt heavy as I walked toward my father’s study. Every step felt like I was walking deeper into something I could not escape. The walls of the house felt closer than usual. The air felt thick.

I pushed the door open.

My father, Rowan, was standing near the window with his back to me. His hands were behind his back. He didn’t turn immediately. He already knew I was there.

“Father,” I said quietly.

He turned slowly.

His face was calm. Too calm.

“You came,” he said.

I walked in and closed the door behind me. My heart was beating fast. I could feel it in my chest, loud and uneven.

“I had to,” I said. “We need to talk.”

He nodded and gestured for me to sit.

I didn’t sit.

I stood there, my hands clenched by my sides.

“I don’t want this,” I said suddenly.

He frowned slightly. “Don’t want what?”

I swallowed.

“This ritual,” I said. “Adrian. Everything.”

Rowan’s eyes sharpened.

“Sit, Lucy,” he said.

I shook my head.

“If I sit, I might not say what I came here to say,” I replied.

Silence filled the room.

“Fine,” he said. “Speak.”

I took a deep breath.

“After the ritual... After the blood moon eclipse,” I said slowly, “Adrian is going to drop me.”

Rowan didn’t respond immediately.

“He already called me a tool,” I continued. “To my face.”

That made him react.

His jaw tightened.

“He said he will accept me only for the ritual,” I said. “Nothing more.”

I laughed bitterly. “He didn’t even try to soften it.”

Rowan walked toward the chair and sat down slowly.

“And after that?” he asked.

“That’s the problem,” I said. “After the ritual, I become nothing.”

I finally sat down too.

“The council will be done with me,” I continued. “They won’t need me anymore.”

Rowan watched me closely.

“And Adrian,” I added, my voice shaking now, “will still find his mate. No matter how long it takes.”

I looked at my hands.

“So what happens to me?” I whispered.

Rowan – POV

I listened carefully.

Lucy was afraid.

Not the kind of fear that fades. This one was deep. Real.

She wasn’t thinking like a strategist right now. She was thinking like a woman who knew she was being used.

“That is why you are worried,” I said slowly.

She looked up at me.

“Yes,” she said. “I don’t want to be used as a tool.”

The word hung in the air.

Tool.

I leaned back in my chair and exhaled.

I had expected this moment.

I just didn’t expect it to come this soon.

“You think I would let that happen?” I asked.

She didn’t answer.

She didn’t need to.

I stood up and walked slowly around the room, thinking.

Adrian was difficult.

The council was predictable.

The ritual was necessary.

But Lucy’s position was not secure yet.

And I would not allow my daughter to be discarded.

Lucy – POV

My father was quiet for too long.

That scared me.

When he thinks, it usually means something dangerous is forming in his mind.

“I don’t want to be crowned just to be thrown away,” I said again. “I don’t want to be remembered as the girl used to save them.”

He stopped walking.

Turned to face me.

“That will not happen,” he said.

His voice was firm.

I frowned. “How?”

He went back to his chair and sat down.

“There is a way,” he said.

I leaned forward slightly.

“What way?”

He folded his hands together.

“Before the ritual,” he said, “Adrian will crown you.”

My breath caught.

“What?” I whispered.

“Officially,” he continued. “Before the ritual begins, you will be crowned as Luna.”

My heart raced.

“That’s impossible,” I said quickly. “Adrian will never agree.”

“I know,” Rowan said calmly.

I shook my head.

“Even if the council agrees, Adrian won’t,” I insisted. “He hates the idea of me.”

Rowan nodded slowly.

“Yes,” he said. “I thought of that too.”

Rowan – POV

Lucy was right.

Adrian would resist.

He always did.

But resistance could be broken.

“Listen to me,” I said. “The council does not need Adrian’s love. They need his obedience.”

She stared at me.

“Before the ritual,” I continued, “you will demand to be crowned officially as Luna.”

Lucy’s eyes widened.

“Demand?” she repeated.

“Yes,” I said. “Not ask. Without you being crowned you'll deny them the ritual.”

She stood up.

“They won’t listen to me,” she said. “They see me as—”

“As marked,” I interrupted.

She froze.

“The mark is your power,” I said. “Not your weakness.”

She swallowed.

“As long as you are crowned officially,” I continued, “your position remains secure even after the ritual.”

She paced the room.

“But what if Adrian refuses?” she asked.

“That is where the council comes in,” I replied.

Lucy – POV

My mind was spinning.

“You mean,” I said slowly, “the council will pressure him.”

“Yes,” my father said.

I stopped pacing.

“They will force him,” I said.

“They will convince him,” Rowan corrected.

I laughed bitterly.

“They will corner him,” I said.

He didn’t deny it.

“And once I am crowned,” I said, “he can’t undo it.”

“Exactly,” Rowan replied.

My chest felt tight.

“But what if this backfires?” I asked. “What if he hates me more?”

Rowan stood up and walked toward me.

“Power is not about being loved,” he said quietly. “It is about being untouchable.”

I looked at him.

“And once you are Luna,” he continued, “you cannot be discarded.”

I felt both relieved and terrified.

Rowan – POV

Lucy was silent.

She was thinking.

This was good.

“You will not be a tool,” I said firmly. “You will be a position.”

She looked at me.

“And if Adrian refuses completely?” she asked.

I smiled slightly.

“He won’t,” I said.

“Why are you so sure?” she asked.

“Because the eclipse is coming,” I replied. “And fear makes men bend.”

Lucy – POV

I sat back down slowly.

“So before the ritual,” I said, “I tell them to crown me.”

“Yes,” Rowan said.

“And if Adrian objects,” I continued, “the council will step in.”

“Yes.”

“And once crowned,” I whispered, “even after the ritual… I stay.”

“Yes.”

My heart was beating fast again.

This wasn’t what I wanted.

But it was what I needed.

“I don’t want to lose myself,” I said softly.

Rowan placed a hand on my shoulder.

“You won’t,” he said. “You will win.”

I closed my eyes.

I wasn’t sure if I believed him.

But I knew one thing.

I would not be just a tool.

Rowan – POV

As Lucy sat there, I knew the path was set.

The council would resist at first.

Adrian would fight.

But pressure always works.

And my daughter would not walk away empty-handed

Lucy – POV

When I stood up to leave, my legs felt steadier.

The fear was still there.

But now, it had direction.

I turned at the door.

“Father,” I said.

“Yes?”

“If this fails…” I paused. “What then?”

Rowan’s eyes darkened.

“It won’t,” he said.

I walked out.

But deep inside, I knew.

This was no longer just a ritual.

This was war.