005 Wella POV - Hand Over Duties

Wella's POV

I started the handover the next morning.

Not because I had a plan. Not because I knew where I was going. But because I had learned, in three years of being Alexander's Luna, that nothing waits for you. The pack moves on whether you're ready or not. And I would not be Luna for much longer.

I had not told Mother yet. Every time I opened my mouth to say it—I'm leaving, Mother. I'm taking myself out of this pack, out of this life—the words stuck in my throat like fishbones. She had given her entire life to this pack. Forty years. She scrubbed their floors, she polished their silver, she swallowed their dismissals and their slights and their "good omega, quiet omega" pats on the head. And she had done it all so I could have a roof over my head.

If she did not want to leave, could I still go?

I didn't know. I didn't want to think about it. So I did what I always did when the weight got too heavy—I moved. I kept my hands busy. I folded the things that needed folding. I signed the papers that needed signing. I made myself useful, because that was the only way I knew how to exist without falling apart.

I called Theo to my office.

Theo was a gamma, stocky and steady, with the kind of face that made people trust him before he even spoke. We had grown up together in the Alpha House—he was the kitchen boy's son, I was the omega's secret. We used to steal bread from the pantry and eat it behind the garden shed, watching the high-born pups run past in their clean clothes, laughing about nothing.

He was the one who taught me that not everyone in the pack saw me as dirt. When I became Luna, he was the first one to bow and mean it. I made him my personal aide because I needed someone I could trust. And now, I was about to tell him I was handing that trust away.

"Theo, sit down." I gestured to the chair across from my desk.

He sat. He always did what I asked. He never questioned it. That was going to make this harder.

"I need you to start transferring my duties to Ava."

Theo blinked. For a full three seconds, he did not move. Then his jaw tightened—the way it did when he was trying very hard not to say something he would regret.

"Luna," he said carefully, "I don't think I heard you correctly."

"You heard me."

"Because it sounded like you just asked me to hand over the Pack League Meeting—the biggest event of the season—to Ava. The woman who abandoned this pack three years ago and just waltzed back like she owns the place."

She does. She is the beta’s daughter, the proud princess of the pack, and the ex mate of the Alpha. She owns this place, because she owns Alexander’s heart.

It’s not me who is giving Ava everything. It’s Alexander.

"That's exactly what I asked."

Theo leaned forward. His voice dropped, the way it did when he was trying to be gentle. "Wella. Talk to me. What's going on?"

I looked at him—really looked. The crease between his brows. The way his hands were pressed flat on his knees, holding himself still. He had been with me through everything. The first year, when Alexander screamed at me and I came out of his room with red eyes, Theo never asked. He just left a cup of hot tea on my desk and walked away. The second year, when I started staying in Alexander's room late, Theo never asked about that either. He just made sure my dinner was kept warm.

He deserved better than a lie. But I could not give him the truth.

"I'm tired, Theo." I said it quietly. "That's all. I'm tired. Ava has the skills, she has the connections. Let her handle this one."

Theo's face softened. He didn't believe me—I could see that. He knew me too well. But he wasn't the kind of man who pushed. He was the kind who waited.

"Okay," he said. "Okay. I'll start the transfer."

He stood up. I thought he was leaving. But he came around the desk instead. He crouched beside my chair, so his face was level with mine. His eyes were warm—brown and steady, like the earth.

"Wella." His voice was low. "I know she's back. I know it's hard. But you've survived worse. You've survived him at his worst. You're not going to let her take this from you, are you?"

I couldn't answer. My throat was too tight.

Theo must have read the answer in my silence. He reached out and pulled me into a rough, solid hug—the kind of hug that smelled like bread and woodsmoke and safety. His hand patted my back, clumsy and kind.

"You'll get through this," he said. "I'm right here. You're not alone."

I wanted to tell him I know, I know, I know. I wanted to tell him you're the only person in this pack who sees me. I wanted to tell him thank you for staying when everyone else walked away.

But I didn't get the chance.

The door swung open.

Alexander stood in the frame, and behind him, tucked just at his shoulder like a possession, Ava.

For one second, Alexander's face was blank. Then his eyes landed on Theo's arms around me. And the blankness shattered into something I had never seen before—something hot and ugly and barely contained.

"What the hell is this?"

Theo pulled back immediately. He was on his feet in a second, hands up, instinctive submission rolling off him. "Alpha, I was just—"

"You were just touching my Luna." Alexander's voice was low. Deadly low. "In her office. With the door closed."

"The door was open," I said. My voice came out steady, even though my heart was pounding.

Alexander's eyes snapped to me. They were cold. Hard. Like amber that had frozen over.

"You are the Luna of this pack. You are the face of this pack. And you are standing here, wrapped around a gamma?"

"It was a hug, Alexander. A friend hugging a friend."

Like you accompany Ava to Obstetrics. But I dare not say, not to an Alpha.

"A friend." He laughed—a short, brittle sound. "You think I'm stupid? You think I don't see what you're doing? You've been distant for weeks. You disappear. You hide in your mother's cabin. And now I walk in and find you in the arms of another man, handing over your duties to Ava?"

He heard? He was listening this whole time?

"Because what?"

I stopped. I looked at him. I’m only grateful that I didn’t mention Ava or the baby just now, or it’s already over for me.

I looked at Ava, standing behind him with her lips pressed together, her eyes wide and innocent.

She followed him here. She brought him here. She knew.

I didn't say that. I didn't say anything. I just stood there, feeling the air leave my lungs, feeling Theo's eyes on my back, feeling Alexander's rage burn holes through my skin.

"You know what," Alexander said. His voice had gone quiet. That was worse. "I'm done with this. I'm done with the disappearing. I'm done with the games. You want to hand over duties to Ava? Fine. Maybe she'll actually show up."

He turned and walked out. Ava followed him, but at the door, she looked back.

Her eyes met mine. And for just a second—just a flicker—she smiled.