Chapter 14: The Eve of Surrender

Jason's POV

The office was silent except for the pendulum clock ticking against the far wall. I stood by the window, staring over the courtyard without really seeing it.

Tomorrow night was the Solstice Gala. The night I was supposed to stand before the entire pack, solidify my power, and announce Chloe as my future Luna. Everything had already been arranged. The seating, the visiting Alphas, the Council, the announcement, the annulment papers. Even the speech I was supposed to give had been written for me.

It was everything my family had planned for. Everything I'd been told a true Alpha needed to do. Secure the bloodline. Protect the pack. Choose strength over weakness. Choose the future over personal feelings. I'd heard those words so many times they'd almost become part of me, but now I couldn't understand why following them felt like the floor was giving way beneath me.

Below, servants moved through the courtyard preparing the estate for tomorrow night. Guards were being stationed around the grounds, and decorations were going up in the ballroom. Everyone was getting ready to celebrate, everyone except me.

A soft knock sounded at the door.

"Come in."

Lance stepped inside, holding a leather folder. "Security details for tomorrow are set," he said, placing it on my desk. "The visiting Alpha delegations have confirmed their arrival times. We've doubled the guards at the eastern entrance, and the Council representatives will arrive before sunset."

"Good."

I still didn't turn, and Lance didn't leave either. I already knew that look. He always had it when he wanted to say something serious, and after being best friends since we were kids, I knew him well enough to recognize when he was waiting for me to ask.

He was the only person who could look me in the eye and tell me the truth without worrying about the consequences. Sometimes I wished he'd learned to keep his mouth shut.

"What is it?"

He folded his arms. "Jason."

"What?"

"Devlin was at the archives earlier today. I ran into her there."

I turned around. "What was she doing there?"

"Looking through foreign arrival files. Her mother's, specifically." He paused, and a strange uneasiness settled over me. "The file was heavily redacted, as expected. She didn't stay long after I walked in." Something shifted in his expression. "But she isn't acting like someone who's given up, Jason."

"Meaning?"

"She's changed."

Those two words hit harder than they should have because I knew exactly what he meant.

Devlin had changed. The quiet, accommodating woman who used to lower her eyes when my mother insulted her was gone. She didn't let cruel words pass over her anymore. The woman who waited up for me at dinner, no matter how late I came home, was gone too. And that smile, the one that used to break across her face the second I walked into a room, even after I'd ignored her all day, I couldn't remember the last time I'd seen it.

Now she barely looked at me. She didn't argue, cry, or beg. She just looked at me like I was a stranger, and somehow that hurt more than anger ever could.

When Chloe first came back into my life, I'd thought Devlin would fight for me. I expected her to cry, plead, and demand that I remember the promises I'd made four years ago. Instead, she'd just looked at me. No tears. No rage. Just that hollow gaze that made me feel smaller than I'd ever felt.

I looked away. "She doesn't have a wolf, Lance." I hated how weak my own voice sounded. "Without one, she has no leverage with the Council. Once the annulment papers are signed tomorrow night, she'll have no choice but to step aside."

Lance walked to the desk and put both hands flat on it. "Are you doing this because it's right for the pack? Or because your mother convinced you it's what an Alpha's supposed to do?"

My jaw tightened. "Don't start."

"I'm not starting anything."

"Then leave it alone."

"No."

His voice was so calm it made me angrier.

"Chloe can give me an heir!" I snapped. "A strong bloodline. Devlin can't offer that. You know how the elders look at her. They've treated her like a liability since the day we mated."

"And you let them."

The words landed harder than they should have.

"I protected her," I said, and even as it left my mouth, I knew how pathetic it sounded.

Lance's face hardened. "Did you? Or did you hide behind that excuse until keeping her became inconvenient?"

My chest tightened. "You don't understand what I'm dealing with."

"I understand perfectly." He stepped closer. "You loved her once." My eyes dropped. "And you still do."

"Don't."

"Then prove me wrong."

I couldn't, because I didn't know how.

The door opened, and Chloe walked in wearing a shimmering silk gown, her hair perfectly styled and her smile bright and confident. She looked exactly like the future Luna everyone wanted.

"Jason, darling." She crossed the room and slipped her arm through mine. "Your mother's waiting in the main hall. We need to finalize the seating for the head table."

I looked down at her. Beautiful. Very beautiful. A woman with a wolf, a respected bloodline, exactly what my family had spent years telling me I needed.

So why didn't I feel anything? Why did my chest ache instead?

Devlin's face came to me, sitting by the window in our quarters, her dark skin glowing in the morning light, her hair falling around her shoulders, that small smile she used to give me before the title of Alpha became more important to me than the woman who loved me before it ever made me a leader.

"Jason?" Chloe tugged on my arm. "Are you listening?"

I blinked. "Yeah." I stepped back, pulling my arm from hers. "I'm listening."

Her smile flickered. "Your mother's waiting for you downstairs."

"I'll be there in a minute."

"Don't take too long." She leaned in, brushing her fingers over my arm before heading for the door. Then she stopped and looked back at me. "Tomorrow's going to be perfect. Our future starts tomorrow."

I forced a smile. "Yeah."

She left, and the door closed behind her. Lance was still there, watching me. I didn't look at him.

"Everything's set for tomorrow," I said, my voice coming out empty. "There's no turning back now."

Lance didn't answer right away. Then he nodded. "I know." He turned toward the door but stopped before leaving. "I just hope you're ready for whatever happens when she stops playing by your rules."

The door closed behind him, but his words stayed with me.

Whatever happens.

I walked to my desk and opened the top drawer. Inside sat a small velvet box. I stared at it before picking it up, my fingers shaking as I opened it.

The ring I'd given Devlin on our mating day rested inside. A simple silver band. She'd loved it. I remembered the tears in her eyes when she first saw it, the way she'd smiled at me right after. I'd kissed her hand and promised her forever. I'd promised I would never reject her, that no matter what anyone said, she'd always be my Luna.

And now I was preparing to stand in front of the entire pack and replace her.

I closed my eyes. What kind of man made promises like that and broke every single one?

I let my mother humiliate her. I'd let the pack sideline her, and watched the Council treat her like she was less than everyone else, and I'd brought another woman into our home. The worst part was that Devlin never stopped trying. For four years beside me, she'd managed the estate, handled pack affairs, and listened to problems that should have landed on my desk instead of hers. She carried responsibilities I barely noticed because I was too busy worrying about a bloodline everyone kept telling me she'd ruin.

And what had I given her in return? Silence, distance, humiliation, and betrayal.

I stared at the ring. For years, I'd told myself I was sacrificing my own happiness for the pack. But maybe that had never been the truth. Maybe I was just a coward, one who picked the easier path because standing against my family would have cost me something: my title, their approval, the future they'd already built for me.

I closed the box, then opened it again. I didn't know why. Some part of me wanted to go back four years, to the night I promised her forever, when Devlin still looked at me like I was the safest place in the world.

But time didn't move backward. Tomorrow night is coming.

I shut the box, pushed it into the drawer, and slammed it closed. Tomorrow, I'd told myself, everything would be over. The marriage. The promises. The life Devlin and I had built. I'd spent weeks calling tomorrow the beginning of my new life.

But staring at that closed drawer, one thought settled over me and wouldn't leave.

What if tomorrow wasn't the end of Devlin's story? What if it was the beginning of mine?

For the first time since I agreed to destroy my marriage, I wasn't afraid of losing my crown. I was afraid of losing the woman who had once loved me more than she loved herself.

And somehow, I already knew I was too late.