CROWNED AS THE RUTHLESS ALPHA'S CELESTIAL LUNA

SHOWDOWN

HEIDI’S POV

After turning off the shiny metal faucet of the kitchen sink, the warm water finally stopped running over my soapy hands. Grabbing a clean cotton towel from the handle of the oven, the damp fabric absorbed the moisture from my skin perfectly. A reassuring smile formed on my face to keep the young boy calm while he sat quietly on the marble countertop. Leo watched the tense exchange between the adults with wide brown eyes, and his small hands gripped the edge of the wood very tightly.

"Stay right here and eat your sweet chocolate chip pancakes, Leo," the words left my mouth in a very soft and steady tone to ensure he felt entirely safe in the large room. "Your father and his Beta simply need to help me take out some very annoying garbage from the front room, and we will return in a few minutes to draw your warm bubble bath upstairs."

The little boy nodded slowly, reached for a sticky piece of pancake, and took a small bite.

Turning away from the kitchen island, the long walk down the main corridor began. Kurt followed closely behind my steps, and his massive chest practically brushed against my shoulders because he absolutely refused to leave my side for a single second. The heavy thudding of his thick boots echoed loudly against the polished hardwood floors, yet his dominant physical presence provided an unexpected sense of security instead of fear. We walked past several large glass windows displaying the setting sun outside, and the golden light illuminated the expensive oil paintings hanging on the stone walls. Jason walked slightly ahead of us, reaching out his hands to push the heavy double doors of the formal sitting room completely open.

The air inside the formal sitting room felt incredibly stiff and completely uncomfortable. Three senior pack elders stood near the ugly green velvet couches, wearing expensive traditional robes and carrying highly arrogant expressions on their deeply wrinkled faces. Robert and Susan stood directly beside them, looking extremely angry and completely out of place in the luxurious environment. Susan crossed her arms tightly over her chest while her designer dress wrinkled terribly at the waist, and Robert clenched his fists aggressively at his sides while staring at my messy gray t-shirt.

"You have absolutely zero right to stand in this magnificent house," Susan shrieked the exact second the wooden doors hit the wall. "You are an ungrateful, lazy servant who ruins everything you touch, and you need to pack your pathetic belongings and leave this territory immediately before you embarrass us further in front of the honorable elders."

Before a verbal response could leave my lips, the oldest pack elder took a deliberate step forward and raised his wrinkled hand to quiet Susan down. He possessed thinning gray hair and a very stern facial expression, and he adjusted his heavy robe before speaking.

"We did not summon you here to listen to your foster mother scream, Heidi Artemis," the elder announced in a loud, demanding tone. "We requested this immediate audience with the new Alpha to discuss the catastrophic mistake he made on the stage today. The supernatural laws of our species clearly dictate that a Luna must possess a strong wolf to lead the pack properly and defend the territory borders from outside threats. You are completely wolfless, and your weak bloodline will absolutely destroy our political standing with the neighboring territories who already view our pack as unstable."

Kurt let out a deep, rumbling growl from the back of his throat, and the heavy physical pressure of his aggressive aura immediately filled the enclosed room to punish the elder for his disrespect. The three older men gasped loudly and stumbled backward against the wooden furniture, but a raised hand from me stopped Kurt from attacking them physically.

"You do not need to use violence to solve this specific problem, Kurt, because these people are completely irrelevant," the statement left my mouth calmly as my dark eyes locked directly onto the eldest pack member. "You stand in this room and talk proudly about the political standing of the territory, yet you allowed Erwin to run the finances into the ground for fourteen long years while you sat comfortably in your large houses eating expensive food. You are outdated relics who care only about old traditions instead of actual leadership, and your opinions hold absolutely zero value in my new home."

"How dare you speak to the senior council members with such blatant disrespect!" the second elder shouted loudly, pointing a shaking finger at my face. "We govern the laws of this land, and we will petition the Supernatural Council to have your mating bond forcefully annulled by sunset tomorrow!"

"You can petition whoever you want, but you will do it from outside my borders because you are all officially dismissed from your council positions," the firm declaration echoed through the room, leaving the elders completely speechless.

My attention quickly shifted toward the two greedy people who made my daily life miserable for over a decade.

"As for you two," the accusation began while pointing directly at Robert and Susan, "you have absolutely no right to speak about gratitude or embarrassment today or any other day. You took me into your home for the sole purpose of collecting the monthly orphan stipends provided by the pack funds. You received exactly one thousand dollars every single month for ten years to purchase my clothing, food, and educational supplies, yet you forced me to sleep on a thin mattress in a freezing basement next to a broken water heater."

Susan's face turned completely white, and she looked nervously toward the elders who were now staring at her with highly confused expressions because stealing pack funds constituted a major crime. Robert opened his mouth to deny the charges, but the truth needed to be exposed completely.

"You forced me to cook your massive breakfasts, wash your dirty laundry by hand, and scrub your floors on my hands and knees while you used my stipend money to purchase expensive suits and designer dresses," the loud accusations continued without any hesitation. "You are not my family, and you are nothing more than pathetic thieves who stole thousands of dollars from a helpless child."

"Shut your lying mouth right now!" Susan screamed at the top of her lungs, completely losing control of her temper because her dark secrets were finally exposed to the public.

She lunged forward violently, raising her right hand high into the air with the clear intention of slapping my face forcefully. Kurt roared loudly and moved his massive body to intercept the physical attack, but my own muscles reacted with sudden, terrifying speed. Before Susan's hand could even come close to my cheek, my left hand shot upward and caught her wrist tightly in mid-air.

The physical strength surging through my arm felt entirely unnatural and overwhelmingly powerful. Squeezing her wrist tightly, a loud popping sound echoed in the quiet room, and Susan screamed in sheer agony as her bones strained under the intense pressure of my unyielding grip. Twisting her arm downward forcefully, the sheer weight of the movement forced the older woman to fall directly onto her knees on the expensive rug.

"You will never raise a hand to me again, Susan, and you will never sleep another night in this territory," the promise left my lips in a cold, deadly whisper while staring down at her terrified, crying face. "If I ever see you or your pathetic husband anywhere near my estate again, I will not simply break your wrist, because I will make sure you both join Erwin in the dark underground dungeon."

Releasing her arm abruptly, Susan collapsed entirely onto the floor while crying loudly and clutching her injured wrist against her chest. Robert rushed forward to help his wife, looking absolutely terrified of the unnatural physical strength I just displayed against a fully grown woman.

Turning my body slightly, my eyes met the shocked face of the Beta standing near the heavy wooden doors.

"Jason," the command rang out sharply through the tense room to ensure he understood the absolute finality of the decision, "please gather the security guards and throw this absolute trash out of my house right now, and what exactly will you do if they refuse to leave the borders quietly?"