Chapter 5

Eleanor's POV

Three weeks had passed since the meeting, and I was drowning in pack responsibilities while trying to ignore the whispers that followed me everywhere. Reports needed filing, supply requests needed approval, and winter preparations couldn't wait for my personal crisis.

I was reviewing winter supply reports when Alpha Charles burst into my office without knocking, his bulk filling the doorway.

"We need to talk," he snarled.

I didn't look up. "Then make an appointment."

"Don't play games with me, girl." Charles stepped inside, making the space feel smaller. "You know exactly why I'm here."

"If this is about your daughter—"

"It's been three weeks," he cut me off. "You're still playing house like nothing happened."

Heat flashed through me. "Nothing did happen. Not the way you're implying."

Charles laughed harshly. "Really? My daughter can barely eat, can barely sleep. The mate bond is killing her slowly, and you're too fucking selfish to see it."

I shot to my feet, chair slamming backward. "Don't you dare call me selfish for not wanting to share my husband!"

"For keeping him from his destiny." Charles leaned forward. "You think you're protecting your marriage? All you're doing is prolonging everyone's suffering like a pathetic, desperate woman."

"Get out of my office. NOW."

"Not until you listen to reason." His eyes flashed gold with rage. "Claire is his fated mate. That bond trumps whatever ceremony you two went through. In the eyes of the moon goddess, she's already his true wife. You're just the placeholder."

"That's not how this works!"

"Isn't it?" Charles's voice turned vicious. "When's the last time he touched you? Really touched you? When's the last time he looked at you the way he used to? Face it, you're already forgotten."

My hands shook with fury.

"I can smell it on you," Charles continued. "The loneliness. The rejection. The desperation. He can't help it, his wolf won't let him touch you anymore. Not when his true mate is suffering because of your stubbornness."

"Shut your fucking mouth!"

"The truth hurts, doesn't it?" Charles's smile was pure cruelty. "You're fighting a losing battle, and everyone knows it. Even your own pack members are starting to whisper about their pathetic Luna who can't keep her man satisfied."

Rage exploded through me. "My pack would NEVER—"

"Your pack wants stability," Charles interrupted. "They want their Alpha at full strength, not some lovesick fool pining after another woman! Right now, Edward is weak because he's fighting his nature. And that makes all of you vulnerable to attack!"

The threat was clear and brutal.

"The council has already made their decision," Charles continued. "Edward must bring Claire into this pack. Or face war from every Alpha in Forestvale."

"You can't force this!" I screamed.

"I'm not forcing anything. I'm just stating facts. Your husband made his choice the moment he put his hands on my daughter. Now you get to choose how gracefully you step aside, or how ugly this gets."

"Step aside?" My voice went deadly quiet.

"You can fight this and make yourself look pathetic in front of every pack in the region, or you can accept reality and maintain some dignity. Either way, Claire will be living in this house within the week. In your bed, if Edward has any sense."

Something inside me snapped. Pure, white-hot rage flooded my system. "Get the FUCK out of my office before I rip your throat out!"

"Try it, little Luna," Charles taunted, stepping toward me. "Let's see how tough you really are when—"

Edward's scent hit my nostrils. The office door filled with my husband's imposing frame, and the temperature seemed to drop twenty degrees.

"Get away from my wife." Edward's voice was deadly calm, but barely leashed violence rolled off him in waves. His eyes were already flashing gold.

Charles turned slowly, expression shifting to calculated defiance. "Alpha Edward. Perfect timing. We were just discussing your wife's... adjustment period."

"I said get the fuck away from her." Edward stepped fully into the room, the office suddenly claustrophobic with two enraged Alphas.

"Or what?" Charles challenged, spreading his arms. "You'll fight me?"

Edward's eyes blazed pure gold, his wolf pushing to the surface. "Choose your next words very fucking carefully, Charles."

"Why? Afraid I'll say something true?" Charles's lip curled into a vicious sneer.

The silence was deafening. Edward went completely still, the kind of stillness that preceded explosive violence.

"You know nothing about my marriage," Edward said.

"I know enough." Charles gestured toward me with contempt. "Look at her, Edward. Really look. She's miserable. You're miserable. Even your pack can smell the tension between you. How long are you going to pretend this pathetic charade is sustainable?"

"That's not your fucking concern."

"It became my concern when you decided to toy with my daughter's emotions like some horny teenager!" Charles exploded. "You've acknowledged the mate bond. You've been intimate with her. But you won't complete the claiming because you're too much of a coward to face the consequences!"

Edward took a step forward, fists clenched white. "Say that again. I fucking dare you."

"You're a coward," Charles repeated slowly. "A selfish, pathetic coward who wants his cake and to eat it too. You want the power that comes with a fated mate bond, but you don't want to hurt your precious wife's feelings. Well guess what? You're hurting everyone!"

"STOP!" I screamed, but neither Alpha was listening anymore.

"Here's what's going to happen," Charles continued viciously. "You're going to bring Claire into this pack. You're going to mark her properly. And your wife is going to accept her place in this new arrangement, or she can get the hell out!"

"Like hell," Edward snarled, taking another step forward. His canines were elongating.

"You think you have a choice?" Charles laughed mockingly. "You refuse to claim Claire properly, and you'll face a vote of no confidence from the Forestvale Alliance."

The political implications hit we like a sledgehammer. Without the alliance's support, our pack would be isolated, vulnerable to attacks from hostile territories.

He leaned closer, voice dropping to a threatening whisper. "Either way, you lose something important. The question is: what are you willing to sacrifice?"

The tension was suffocating. Edward's wolf was so close to the surface I was afraid he might shift.

"Get out," Edward said finally. "Get out now, before I do something we'll both regret."

"This week," Charles said, straightening his jacket as he headed for the door. "After that, the alliance acts to protect the stability of our region. And I won't be asking nicely."

He paused in the doorway, looking back with something like pity mixed with disgust. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry it came to this. But you brought this on yourselves with your selfishness."

After he left, Edward stood frozen, chest heaving like he'd just fought a war. His hands were still clenched into fists, struggling to regain control.

"He's right," I said quietly, voice hoarse from screaming.

Edward's head snapped toward me, eyes still flashing gold. "What?"

"You can't keep fighting this forever." I looked down at my shaking hands. "The mate bond... it's stronger than what we have. It always was."

"Don't fucking say that."

"It's true." I met his eyes, seeing the pain and rage there. "When's the last time you were able to make love to me without thinking about her?"

He opened his mouth to deny it, then closed it again. The answer was written all over his face, in the guilt and misery that replaced the anger.

"I love you," he said desperately, voice breaking.

"I know." I stepped back, putting distance between us. "But love isn't always enough, is it?"

We stood there looking at each other across an ocean of hurt and rage and confusion, both of us drowning in a situation that was tearing us all apart.

The door was closing on our old life, and we both knew it.