เล่ห์ลวง(ร้าย)นายแฟนเก่า | ภีมxน้ำชา

The council elders spoke about my body like I was an empty chair in the room.

I stood on the stone platform beside Kael, keeping my eyes fixed on the floor while six old men debated my fertility. They had summoned me here for this sole purpose.

Three years of marriage, three years with the Luna title, and no baby to show for it.

They didn't care that I had drunk every bitter herb the pack healers gave me. They didn't care about the rituals, the prayers, or the examinations that left me feeling stripped of any dignity.

To them, I was just broken.

"The bloodline is weakening,"Elder Ezra said, his voice echoing off the walls. "A pack without a future is an invitation for war."

I kept my hands folded tightly in front of my dress, my nails digging into my palms so I wouldn't start shaking.

I was used to the words by now. Barren. Useless. A bad omen.

Then there was the mark on my collarbone. It was a birthmark, shaped like a fractured crescent, but the older wolves claimed it was a curse from birth.

My hand instinctively moved up, touching the fabric of my tunic to make sure the mark was hidden from their eyes.

"Alpha Kael needs an heir,"Elder Thomas spoke up, not even bothering to look at me. "If the Luna cannot provide one, perhaps he should take a secondary mate who can."

"Or she should step down voluntarily,"another voice added from the back row. "Surrender the title before the pack loses faith."

They said all of this right to my face.

I swallowed the lump in my throat, trying to keep my breathing steady so no one would see how much it stung.

I looked toward Kael, waiting for him to step in.

I just wanted him to say one word. Anything to shut them up.

He stood there with his arms crossed over his chest, staring straight ahead with a blank look on his face.

He didn't tell them to stop. He didn't defend me. He didn't even so much as blink when Ezra called me a burden to the pack.

That silence hurt worse than anything the elders were saying.

This was my mate. The man I had slept beside every night for three years. The man I had tried so hard to make proud.

"Alpha,"Elder Ezra said, leaning forward in his chair. "The borders are unstable, and the southern packs are watching us. Do you intend to keep a barren Luna while our future remains uncertain?"

The entire hall went quiet.

Kael's silence stretched between us.

I turned my head and looked at him, searching his jaw, his eyes, anything that might show he still cared about me.

For one second, I thought he might finally choose me over them.

He didn't.

"The matter will be handled soon,"Kael said.

His voice was steady. It didn't waver at all.

The elders nodded to each other, taking his words as an open green light to keep planning my replacement.

Right then, I realized something that made my stomach sink into the floor.

Kael had already made up his mind before we even walked into this room.

I didn't say a word. I turned around, stepped off the raised platform, and walked out of the council hall before the tears in my eyes could spill over.

I walked fast until I reached the small courtyard behind the main house. Nobody came back here, which made it the only safe place left.

I sat down on the cold bench and buried my face in my hands, finally letting myself cry.

I was so angry at myself. Why did I keep expecting him to protect me when he had never done it before?

I had done everything I was supposed to do as Luna. I learned their history, bandaged wounded warriors, attended every boring meeting, and smiled at people who hated me.

I stood beside Kael during territory disputes when the other alphas laughed at him for bringing his mate along.

None of it mattered to anyone. None of it mattered to him.

Footsteps sounded against the gravel path, and I quickly wiped my cheeks with the back of my sleeve.

Kael walked into the courtyard, stopping a few feet away from where I was sitting.

For a second, I thought he had followed me to check if I was okay.

"You should not have walked out like that,"he said instead, looking down at me. "It makes you look weak in front of the council."

I let out a dry laugh, looking up at him. "You let them talk about replacing me, Kael. You didn't say a single thing."

"You need to understand the position I am in,"he replied, his tone flat and tired. "The pack is restless. The elders are pushing me every single day, and I am the one who has to deal with the pressure."

"Do you think I am the problem?"I asked him directly.

He looked away, staring past the wall toward the tree line. He didn't answer.

"Kael, look at me,"I said, standing up from the bench. "Do you still want me as your Luna?"

Another silence.

He just stood there, refusing to meet my eyes, and that was when I realized I didn't even know who this man was anymore. The boy who used to hold my hand in the woods had disappeared behind the Alpha title.

"The pack needs an heir, Aurelia,"he said, turning his head back toward me. "I cannot keep putting my leadership on the line because of you."

"And what exactly am I supposed to do about that?"I asked, my voice barely above a whisper. "I have done every ritual. I have taken every medicine. What else do you want from me?"

He had no answer for that.

Instead, he looked at me with a cold look I had never seen on him before.

"Perhaps the Moon Goddess made a mistake choosing you as my Luna,"he said.

The words hit me so hard I couldn't even breathe for a second.

I went still, staring at him as he turned around and walked back toward the council hall without looking back even once.