Chapter Thirty-four- The Woman Who Wanted My Place

Kael’s POV

The figures on the report refused to make sense.

I had been staring at the same page for nearly ten minutes, comparing the latest trade records from Silverpine against our remaining reserves. There was a mistake in the iron distribution , and although it wasn’t large enough to threaten our agreement, I didn’t like the fact that I couldn’t account for it.

I tapped my pen against the desk and reached for another file.

If I had learned anything from being Alpha, it was that small problems rarely remained small when ignored.

Ironcrest had survived too much for me to become careless now.

My father, the late beta had taught me that a pack was only as strong as the people responsible for protecting it. Alpha Lucien had reinforced that lesson during the years I trained alongside Aria. Every decision mattered, even the ones that seemed insignificant at first.

I intended to make certain I never forgot that.

I was so engrossed in the documents that I didn’t hear the office door open.

I didn’t notice the footsteps crossing the room, either.

It was only when a voice interrupted my thoughts that I finally looked up.

“Good morning, Alpha.”

Selena stood a few feet from my desk, her hands clasped loosely in front of her.

I frowned. “How long have you been standing there?”

“Not very long.” She beamed.

That was unlikely. I leaned back in my chair and set down my pen.

“Did you knock?”

“Of course.” She kept smiling.

I stared at her.

She smiled. “Perhaps you were too busy to hear me.”

“Perhaps.” I glanced at the stack of reports before me. “What do you need, Selena?”

She walked closer to my desk without waiting for an invitation.

“I wanted to speak with you about something.”

“Then speak.”

Her smile widened slightly.

It was a look I had come to recognize over the past few weeks. Selena rarely approached me without a purpose, and when she did, she usually took her time getting to it.

I had tolerated that habit when we were together because I considered her a capable warrior and a valuable member of the pack.

These days, I found it increasingly irritating.

Especially when she behaved as though the boundaries between us were optional.

“I’ve been observing something,” she began.

I returned my attention to the report.“That sounds productive.”

She ignored the dismissal. “It’s about your marriage.”

My pen stopped moving.

Slowly, I lifted my head. “My marriage?”

“Yes.” She nodded.

I put the report aside. “Whatever you think you’ve observed about my marriage is none of your concern.”

She tilted her head. “You haven’t even heard what I have to say.”

“And I don’t need to. My marriage is private.”

Selena laughed softly, as though I had made a joke.

“Alpha, there’s no need to become defensive. I’m only concerned about Ironcrest.”

People often hid their personal ambitions behind the welfare of the pack. They assumed that if they wrapped their intentions in enough talk about duty, no one would question them.

Unfortunately for Selena, I had spent too many years around the elders to fall for it.

“Then tell me what your concern has to do with Ironcrest.”

She rested her fingertips against the edge of my desk.

“It’s been several weeks since your wedding, hasn’t it? And yet, I haven’t picked your scent on Aria.”

For a moment, I wasn’t certain I had heard her correctly.

Then the meaning of her words settled over me.

My expression hardened. “Excuse me?”

She shrugged. “Your scent. It should be on her by now. Strongly, too, considering she’s your wife.”

I stared at her in disbelief.

She was discussing my private life as though she were inspecting a warrior’s uniform.

“And what exactly do you intend to do with that observation?”

Selena gave me an innocent look.

“I’m simply pointing out that you don’t seem to be spending much time together as a married couple.”

A cold silence settled over the office.

She continued anyway.

“Everyone knows how important a Luna is to an Alpha. A successful union strengthens the pack, and an heir ensures its future. If you and Aria aren’t….”

“Finish that sentence carefully.” My voice was quiet.

Selena paused. For the first time since entering the room, she appeared to recognize that she had stepped onto dangerous ground.

But she quickly recovered. “I’m only saying that the elders will eventually notice.”

I leaned forward. “Notice what?”

“That there’s no heir on the way.” Her eyes held mine.

“They’ve already spent years worrying about the future of the Nightshade line. Your father is gone, Alpha Lucien is gone, and now the future of Ironcrest rests on you and Aria. You don’t think they’ll begin asking questions if nothing changes?”

I felt my jaw tighten. The elders had discussed heirs before. It was hardly a secret that they wanted the Nightshade line secured and the pack’s succession protected.

But Selena wasn’t speaking out of concern for our future. She was looking for a weakness and she had chosen the wrong subject.

“That is a matter between my wife and me,” I said. “The elders may raise their concerns when the time comes, but they will not dictate what happens in my bedroom.”

“Of course, Alpha.” Her tone was agreeable.

She leaned back slightly, studying me with an expression that made my patience wear thinner.

“Still, it’s rather surprising.”

“What is?” My brows furrowed,

She gave a small, mocking laugh. “It’s almost as if the princess doesn’t fancy you.”

Something inside me went still.

I rose from my chair. “Be very careful, Selena.”

She lifted her hands. “I’m not insulting you. I’m only making an observation.”

“An observation based on what? And what you can see is not the same as what you know.”

Her smile faltered.

I stepped around the desk, unwilling to let her continue speaking about Aria as though my wife were some disappointing arrangement that had failed to meet expectations.

“First, Aria is no longer a princess,” I said. “She is the Luna of Ironcrest. I expect you to address her with the respect her position deserves.”

Selena’s lips pressed together. “Of course.”

“Second, you will not discuss my wife’s private life again. Not with me, not with the elders, and certainly not with the warriors. Whatever happens between Aria and me is none of your business.”

“I understand, Alpha.” She bowed.

“Do you?” I squinted my eyes.

She nodded. But I could see the resentment beneath her composed expression.

I should have ended the conversation there.

Instead, I waited, giving her the opportunity to leave of her own accord.

She didn’t take it.

“I only thought you might need someone who understands the responsibilities of being Luna,” she said.

I stared at her. “Aria understands her responsibilities.”

“Does she?” She smirked.

The question was delivered softly, almost sweetly.

My hands curled at my sides. “Explain yourself.”

Selena’s expression brightened, as though she had been waiting for me to ask.

“Aria has been away from Ironcrest for a long time. She doesn’t know everything about how the pack has changed, and she may not understand what is expected of her now that she’s returned.”

“She has been learning those responsibilities every day.” I frowned.

“Learning isn’t the same as fulfilling them.”

I took another step toward her. “That is enough.”

But Selena had apparently decided that caution no longer mattered.

“If she can’t give you an heir, or if she refuses to fulfill her duties as your wife, someone will eventually have to consider the consequences.”

I felt a dangerous anger rise in my chest.

“Are you suggesting my wife is failing in her duties?”

“I’m suggesting that the pack cannot afford to ignore the future.” She shrugged.

“The pack’s future is not yours to manage through speculation about my marriage.”

She lowered her eyes. For a moment, I thought she might finally understand the seriousness of what she was doing.

Then she looked up again. “Perhaps I could help.”

I stared at her. “Help with what?”

Her smile returned, and this time there was no attempt to hide the ambition behind it.

“If Aria continues to struggle with her responsibilities, I would be willing to step in.”

I said nothing, so she my silence as encouragement.

“I know the pack. I understand its traditions, and I have the strength to stand beside an Alpha. The elders already know I would make a suitable Luna.”

“They know no such thing.”

Her smile tightened. “Perhaps not officially.”

I felt my patience finally reach its limit.

“Selena, if you came here to discuss training schedules, patrol rotations, or any other legitimate pack matter, you should have said so. But you came into my office to question my marriage, speculate about my wife’s private life, and suggest that you might replace her.”

“I never said I wanted to replace her.” She frowned.

“You have done nothing else since you walked through that door.”

She drew a breath.

Then, to my disbelief, she smiled as though she had just found the perfect solution to a problem I hadn’t asked her to solve.

“Well, if Aria loses her mind again and decides to abandon you, I would be more than willing to become your breeder.”

For several seconds, I simply stared at her.

A breeder?

She had reduced the role of a woman to the ability to bear my children, as though an heir were the only reason an Alpha might choose a mate.

As though Aria were an obstacle between Selena and the position she wanted, or my marriage were an opportunity she could wait out until my wife made a mistake.

The anger that swept through me was unlike anything I had felt during the conversation.

“Get out.” I ordered.

Selena blinked. “Alpha…”

“Get. Out.” I barked as my voice cracked through the office.

She stiffened, but before she could respond, the door behind her opened.

Neither of us had heard the knock or had noticed the footsteps in the corridor.

I turned toward the entrance and saw that Aria stood in the doorway.

Her gaze moved from me to Selena, then settled on the space between us.

She had heard enough.

I knew it from the stillness of her face, from the way her fingers tightened around the document she carried, and from the sudden coldness that entered her eyes.

For one terrible moment, nobody spoke.

Then Aria stepped into the room and closed the door behind her. And I knew that whatever happened next, Selena had finally gone too far.