Chapter Thirty- Seven - The Heir They Expect

Kael’s POV

I stood just outside the packhouse entrance, my arms folded across my chest as I watched the omegas working in the courtyard.

Several large wooden tables had been arranged beneath the shade of the trees. The omegas stood around them, skinning the meat brought in by the hunters that morning. Their hands moved quickly and efficiently, preparing the animals for storage before the cold season arrived.

The smell of fresh meat filled the air, mingling with the scent of damp earth and the faint smoke drifting from the kitchen.

It was an ordinary afternoon in Ironcrest.

Warriors passed through the courtyard on their way to the training grounds, while a few younger wolves carried baskets of supplies toward the storehouses. Somewhere beyond the packhouse, I could hear the steady thud of blades striking wood.

Everything appeared to be running as it should, yetmy mind was elsewhere.

More precisely, it was occupied by my wife.

Aria had surprised me during the council meeting that morning. She had listened carefully, asked sensible questions, and offered practical solutions without allowing the elders to intimidate her. I had known she possessed intelligence and determination, but seeing her put those qualities to use as Luna had stirred a sense of pride I hadn’t expected to feel so strongly.

She was learning and, more importantly, she was beginning to believe in herself.

I wanted her to continue growing into the woman she was meant to be without feeling that she had to prove her worth to me.

Unfortunately, not everyone in Ironcrest shared my patience.

“Alpha.”

I turned at the sound of the familiar voice.

Elder Elijah stood a few feet away, his hands clasped behind his back. His silver hair was neatly combed, and his expression carried the usual seriousness that made younger wolves straighten whenever he entered a room.

“Good afternoon, Elder,” I greeted him.

He inclined his head before turning his attention toward the courtyard.

For a while, neither of us spoke.

I watched an omega struggle to lift a heavy basket onto one of the tables. Before I could signal a nearby warrior to help her, another omega hurried over and lifted the basket with her.

Satisfied that the problem had been resolved, I returned my attention to the elder.

He was still watching the workers then he cleared his throat.

“Alpha, there is something I would like to discuss with you.”

I glanced at him. “Go ahead.”

He hesitated briefly, which was unusual for a man who rarely struggled to speak his mind.

“How are things between you and the Luna?”

I frowned slightly. “They are fine.”

“Fine? Are you sure?” He looked worried.

“Yes.”

He turned to face me fully. “Are you certain?”

I stared at him, wondering where the conversation was heading.

“As certain as I can be, Elder. Is there a particular concern you wish to raise?”

He studied me for a moment before asking the question I hadn’t anticipated.

“Has your marriage been consummated yet?”

For several seconds, I simply looked at him.

I had expected a discussion about the pack’s winter preparations, perhaps another complaint about the council’s decisions, or even a report concerning the northern patrols.

I certainly hadn’t expected to be questioned about what happened or didn’t happen between my wife and me.

My jaw tightened. “Why are you asking me that?”

Elijah didn’t appear offended by my reaction.

“Because you are the Alpha of Ironcrest, and Aria is your Luna. Your marriage concerns more than the two of you.”

I looked away, uncomfortable with the direction of the conversation.

The elder waited. I could have avoided answering. I could have reminded him that my bedroom was not a matter for the council, or that my private life was not something I intended to discuss in the courtyard.

But Elijah had served my predecessor for decades. He had earned the right to speak frankly, even when I disliked what he had to say.

Besides, lying would accomplish nothing.

“No,” I answered at last. “We have not been intimate.”

His eyebrows rose. For the first time since approaching me, Elder Elijah looked genuinely surprised.

“You haven’t?”

“No.” I stole him a glance.

“But you are married.” He frowned.

“I’m aware of that.” I nodded.

He stared at me as though he expected me to explain that I was joking.

When it became clear that I wasn’t, he let out a slow breath.

“I must admit, Alpha, I find that difficult to understand.” He shook his head sadly. “Your coronation and wedding took place weeks ago. You share a room. You are husband and wife. What exactly is stopping you from fulfilling your duties?”

My fingers curled against my arms.

As though marriage were a contract that gave me unrestricted access to my wife’s body or the ceremony, the vows, and the mark on her neck meant that Aria no longer had a choice.

I had once believed that my position gave me the right to make decisions for her. I had convinced myself that I knew what was best, even when she had begged me to stop.

The memory still made my stomach turn.

I had taken something from her that I had no right to take. I would not make that mistake again.

“Aria and I are working through our differences,” I said carefully.

Elijah’s expression hardened. “Your differences?”

“Yes.” I nodded.

“Alpha, you are no longer a young warrior with years ahead of him to waste. You lead an entire pack. Your marriage was arranged to preserve the Nightshade lineage and secure Ironcrest’s future. Surely you understand the importance of that.”

“I do.” I swallowed.

“Then why are you allowing this situation to continue?”

I drew a slow breath. Aria had spent too long feeling that her life belonged to everyone except herself.

She had returned to Ironcrest carrying grief, regret, and the painful knowledge that she had trusted the wrong man.

I had made her afraid of me when I should have been the person she could trust. every time she looked at me with uncertainty, I was reminded of how much I still had to make right.

But those were not things I could explain to an elder who saw our marriage primarily as a means of preserving a bloodline.

“Aria and I are making progress,” I said. “That is what matters to me.”

Elijah shook his head. “Progress will not produce an heir.”

My expression went cold. “I never said it would.”

“Then perhaps you should consider what is expected of you.” He mumbled.

“I know what is expected of me, Elder.”

“Do you?” His voice sharpened.

“Because from where I stand, it appears that you are treating this marriage as though it were an ordinary arrangement between two wolves. It is not. You are the Alpha of Ironcrest, and Aria is the last surviving child of the Nightshade Alpha. The future of this pack depends on the stability of your union.”

I held his gaze. “The stability of my union depends on Aria and me learning to trust each other.”

“And how long do you intend to wait for that?”

“As long as necessary.” The answer left my mouth before I could reconsider it.

Elijah stared at me.

For a moment, I thought he might raise his voice. Instead, he looked toward the courtyard, where the omegas continued their work without paying attention to our conversation.

When he spoke again, his tone was quieter.

“Alpha, I understand that you and Aria have a complicated history. I was present when she returned. I saw the tension between you. I know that the two of you have not had an easy beginning.” He sighed.

“But complications cannot become an excuse to neglect your responsibilities.”

I clenched my jaw. “I am not neglecting anything.”

“Then prove it.” He snapped.

The words struck harder than they should have.

I had spent the past several weeks trying to become a better husband to Aria. I had been careful with my words and actions, giving her room to approach me without feeling that I was demanding something in return.

I had learned to recognize the difference between her willingness to stay beside me and her willingness to let me close.

Those were not the same thing and I wasn’t going to pretend they were simply because the elders wanted an heir.

“I am working on it,” I said, keeping my voice controlled.

Elijah gave a disapproving shake of his head. “Working on it? That is a vague answer for a matter of such importance.”

“What would you prefer me to say?” My brows furrowed.

“That you understand your duty to this pack.” He straightened “Then you understand that Ironcrest needs an heir.”

I looked directly at him. “I understand that the pack needs a future.”

“Precisely. And that future cannot remain uncertain forever.” His gaze grew stern.

“The pack members will soon begin asking questions. They will want to know when they can expect a pup. They will wonder whether their Alpha and Luna are fulfilling the purpose for which they were married.”

I felt a familiar irritation building in my chest.

“Let them ask.”

Elijah’s eyes narrowed. “That is your answer?”

“My answer is that my marriage is not a public performance. The pack has every right to expect strong leadership from me. It has every right to expect me to protect our borders, manage our resources, and ensure our people have what they need to survive. But no one has the right to demand that my wife become pregnant on their schedule.”

The elder’s expression became unreadable.

I continued before he could interrupt.

“Aria has already endured enough pressure from this pack. She returned after losing her father, and she is trying to find her place here again. I will not make her feel that her worth as Luna depends on how quickly she produces an heir.”

Elijah looked at me for a long moment.

Then he sighed. “You speak as though I am asking you to mistreat her.”

“I am saying that you are asking me to prioritize the expectations of others over the woman I married.”

“And I am reminding you that you did not marry an ordinary woman.” He glared at me.

My patience thinned. “Aria is my wife before she is the Nightshade heir.”

“And she is the Nightshade heir before she is merely your wife.”

The words fell between us like a challenge.

I stared at him. Elijah had always been loyal to Alpha Lucien. I knew that. He had served my predecessor through difficult years and had supported his decision to arrange my marriage to Aria.

But I had never considered how deeply he might have tied that loyalty to the expectation that Aria would give birth to the next generation of Nightshades.

To him, her marriage was not simply a union between two wolves. It was a responsibility she had inherited from her father. And now, apparently, it was one he expected me to enforce.

“You should remember Alpha Lucien,” Elijah continued. “He spent his life protecting Ironcrest and preserving the Nightshade lineage. He wanted his daughter to have a secure future, and he believed that future lay with you.”

My chest tightened at the mention of Lucien.

I could still remember the old Alpha’s final instructions. He had trusted me to find Aria, bring her home, and help her reclaim the place she had abandoned.

He had trusted me with his daughter when he could no longer protect her himself.

I had promised him that I would but I had never promised to treat her as an obligation.

“I know what Lucien wanted,” I said quietly.

“Do you?” Elijah asked. “Because I believe he would have been happy to see his daughter provide the next heir of the Nightshade lineage. He would have wanted to know that his bloodline would continue and that the future of Ironcrest was secure.”

I looked away. The words found their mark because I agreed with the way Elijah had framed them, and because part of me had wondered what Lucien would think if he could see us now.

Would he be disappointed that Aria and I had struggled to build a marriage? Would he believe I was failing the promise I had made to him?

Would he understand that I was trying to give his daughter something more important than an heir? A choice and freedom to decide what happened to her own body.

The chance to enter our marriage willingly rather than because the elders had decided that enough time had passed.

I couldn’t ask Lucien those questions but I could decide what kind of husband I would be.

“I will not force Aria into anything,” I said.

Elijah’s face hardened. “No one asked you to force her.”

“Then stop speaking as though I should make her fulfill a duty regardless of whether she is ready.”

For a moment, I thought the elder might argue.

Instead, he straightened his shoulders and regarded me with the solemn expression he wore whenever he believed a difficult truth needed to be spoken.

“Be careful, Alpha. Patience is a virtue, but even patience has its limits. You may believe you are protecting your marriage by giving Aria all the time she needs, but the pack will not wait indefinitely.”

He continued. “The people will expect a pup. The elders will expect an heir. And your predecessor would have expected you to protect the future he entrusted to you.”

His gaze held mine for one final moment. “Do not mistake a woman’s uncertainty for a reason to neglect your own responsibilities.”

My hands tightened at my sides. Before I could respond, Elijah turned away.

He began walking slowly across the courtyard, his steps measured and deliberate. He didn’t look back, and he didn’t wait for me to answer.

I watched him move toward the garden path until the shadows swallowed his figure.

For several moments, I remained where I was. Around me, the packhouse continued its ordinary rhythm. The omegas worked at the tables, warriors crossed the courtyard, and somewhere in the distance, a wolf called to another.

Ironcrest carried on as though nothing had happened. But Elijah’s words remained with me.

The pack would expect a pup, the elders would expect an heir, and Lucien would have wanted his daughter to continue the Nightshade lineage.

I dragged a hand over my face.

I wanted children. I had never hidden that from myself. The thought of a little pup with Aria’s stubbornness and my temperament had crossed my mind more times than I cared to admit.

But I wanted that future with a woman who chose it freely. Not a woman who believed she had to surrender her fears, her wishes, and her body to keep her place beside me.

Aria had spent enough of her life believing she needed to prove herself worthy of love.

I would not become another person who made her feel that way.

Still, as I watched the last of the sunlight disappear behind the mountains, I couldn’t ignore the weight settling over my shoulders.

I could protect Aria from the pressure for a while and I could silence the elders when they overstepped.

But eventually, the questions would grow louder and when that day came, I would have to find a way to protect my marriage without allowing the pack’s expectations to become a burden Aria carried alone.