The brothers walked side by side down the west corridor of the palace, away from the party, their footsteps echoing in grim rhythm. Lionel's voice broke the silence. "She planned to have Andrea removed."
Joseph stopped walking. "Removed?" Lionel nodded once. "She called her a threat. Said she'd destroy everything we've built. She's scared—truly scared—of what Andrea might become."
Matthew exhaled a curse under his breath. "Of course she is." "We knew she'd do this," Joseph said tightly, his fists curling at his sides. "She's been pushing candidates down our throats for years. Andrea makes her lose control."
"She doesn't just challenge her control," Lionel said. "She ends it."
The air between them buzzed with a familiar frustration. The kind that came when instincts warred with duty. With restraint.
Joseph let out a low growl. "The bond ceremony won't mean anything until we mark her."
"We all know that," Matthew agreed. "But she's too weak right now. She couldn't handle the shift in energy. Her body isn't ready."
"I'll speak to the pack doctor," Lionel said. "See if there's anything that can help stabilize her. Physically. Magically."
Joseph ran a hand through his hair, pacing. "It's torture, you know that? Being near her. Breathing her in. And not being able to touch her. My wolf's going insane."
Matthew gave him a side-eyed smirk. "Please. You've had more than enough omegas to 'tame the urge.' Let's not act like you've been celibate."
"And don't forget Ashley," Lionel added dryly.
Joseph's expression twisted. "Ashley doesn't count. That was... convenient. Andrea's scent—it's intoxicating. It's like I'm starving and she's the only meal my soul wants. My wolf—he only sees her now."
Matthew actually looked a little unsettled by that. "I know the feeling. It's like standing too close to a fire. All you want to do is step in. Even if it burns."
"We can't mark her until she accepts us," Lionel reminded them. "All three of us. And we can't rush it or force it. The moment has to be hers."
"But Mother…" Matthew began.
"She'll have to understand," Lionel said firmly. "We'll talk to her again. This time not as sons, but as Alphas. She has influence, yes, but she doesn't have power over the bond."
Joseph's jaw clenched. "She'll try to break it anyway."
Lionel's voice dropped to a growl. "Then we'll show her why it can't be broken."
The room was silent when the Alphas stepped in. Their mother stood by the tall windows of her private receiving hall, the same room where she once held them when they were boys, fresh after their father's death. She didn't turn when they entered.
"You shouldn't have come," she said calmly, though her tone was laced with ice.
"We did," Lionel replied simply. "Because this conversation can't be left unfinished."
The Queen Mother turned slowly, her expression tight, regal, unreadable. "You've made your choice clear," she said. "But it's not just about you. This pack answers to more than one Alpha lineage. The other ruling families won't accept a human Luna—"
"She's not a human," Matthew interrupted, his voice quiet but sure. "Not fully. You felt it, didn't you? That night under the moon."
"She glowed," Joseph added. "She made the moon respond. That wasn't some parlor trick. No human girl could call the Moon to witness."
The Queen Mother's composure cracked just enough to see the pale flicker behind her eyes. She had felt it too. But still, she shook her head. "Even so—crowning her, bonding publicly—if the other packs refuse to recognize her, it'll spark division."
"Then let them refuse," Lionel said coldly. "She is ours. Chosen by the Moon herself. The rest of the world doesn't have to agree for the truth to be real."
The Queen Mother's lips tightened into a thin line. Her voice was taut. "You don't see what you're sacrificing."
"No," Joseph said softly. "You don't see what you're about to lose."
She froze.
"You taught us to rule with strength," Matthew said. "You taught us to fight for our place. Now we have something more—something worth protecting."
Lionel stepped forward, his voice softer now. Closer. "You said you wanted us to have what you and Father had. A love the pack could believe in. A bond that couldn't be broken."
"And now that we have it…" Joseph's voice dropped, "you're trying to tear it down."
"Is your pride more important than our happiness?" Matthew asked, the quiet sting in his voice impossible to ignore.
Silence.
A long, bitter silence.
Then Lionel stepped closer, his words meant only for her ears.
"Be proud of us, Mother," he said, low and final. "You know how much we adore you butwhen it comes to Andrea nothing you say will change our path. Not now. Not ever."
She didn't answer.
She couldn't.
The three of them walked out, leaving her standing in the center of the quiet room that had once felt like her kingdom. Her gaze didn't follow them. Her shoulders didn't relax.
She only stood frozen, watching her empire shift beneath her feet.
Behind her, near the archway, Ashley lingered. Eyes burning. Her hands were clenched at her sides. She had once been the crown jewel of the pack.
But now? Her crown had slipped. And someone else—someone glowing with silver fire—was about to wear it.