The wife he gave away

Untitled EpisodeChapter21

Death is a consequence!

“Where is my Luna ?.”

I don’t tolerate delays without explanations. In a pack, time is not something you waste and pretend it doesn’t matter. It always matters. It decides whether a border holds or breaks, whether a warning arrives before an attack, whether a mistake becomes manageable or irreversible.

That evening began with something simple that already irritated me more than it should have. Valeria was supposed to have returned with my guard, and she did not.

I stood in the corridor just outside the council wing and looked at the young guard I had sent earlier. He avoided my eyes at first, which told me everything before he even spoke. When I asked him where Valeria was, he hesitated. That hesitation alone was a mistake.

He finally answered, but his voice came out uneven. “My Alpha… I knocked several times, but there was no response.”

I studied him for a moment without saying anything. Guards are trained to be precise. “Several times” is not precision. It is uncertainty dressed as effort.

“You knocked,” I repeated slowly.

“Yes, Alpha.”

“And she didn’t answer.”

“No, Alpha. I mean—yes, Alpha. She didn’t answer.”

The correction came too quickly, which meant he wasn’t confident in what he was saying. That alone was enough to make me narrow my attention.

“Did you enter?” I asked.

“No, Alpha. I did not.”

That part, at least, was correct. He wouldn’t have survived long if he had entered a Luna’s chamber without permission.

I dismissed him with a short nod and continued walking, but I had already noted the inconsistency. Valeria was not someone who ignored repeated knocks. She was many things, but careless in her personal awareness was not one of them. Something about that answer didn’t align with what I knew of her behavior.

“Stay here,” I said to the guard.

By the time I reached Seraphina’s chamber, I had already moved on from the guard’s report in my mind, though not fully. Small inconsistencies tend to stay at the edge of thought until they are resolved.

I stopped in front of the door and knocked once. Not twice. Not more.

It took longer than it should have before the door opened. I noticed that immediately. Not because delay itself is a crime, but because delay without reason usually means distraction. When the door finally opened, Seraphina stood there composed, as though she had been standing still long enough to make it look intentional.

I stepped inside without waiting and let my eyes move across the room briefly. Then I looked at her directly.

“What took you so long to open the door?”

She didn’t flinch. She never does.

“I didn’t realize it took that long,” she said calmly. “I was deep in conversation with my wolf.”

I didn’t respond to that immediately. I simply registered it and moved forward with what I needed to do. But even as I did, I was already aware of something else. A scent, familiar and close.

Dominic. He was very close.

I didn’t turn my head toward it. I didn’t scan the room in a way that would expose awareness. I simply continued speaking as though nothing had changed.

“Have you seen Dominic since the meeting ended?” I asked.

She paused for only a fraction of a second before answering, “No, I haven’t.”

The pause was small. Most people would not have noticed it. But I have been an alpha long enough to know when my Luna is lying to me.

I watched her a moment longer before speaking again.

“Are you hiding anything from me?”

The question wasn’t aggressive. It was direct. A clean test. People often expose themselves when they try too hard to remain calm under simple questions.

She met my gaze evenly. “No.”

Short. Controlled.

Still, I didn’t move on immediately, because Dominic’s scent was still present in her space. And it did not belong to a man who had simply passed by.

She added, carefully, “You don’t usually come into my chamber unless it’s important.”

She was correct.

“I didn’t come here for anything small,” I said. “I have an assignment for you.”

That shifted the room instantly. Not emotionally, but structurally. Conversations have phases, and this one had just changed phases.

Before I gave her the assignment, I addressed what had already been left unresolved.

“You broke an ancient law,” I said.

Her expression tightened slightly.

“No Luna is supposed to appear uninvited during an Alpha’s council meeting,” I continued. “That rule exists for order. Council decisions are not meant to be interrupted, especially by those born weak.”

She didn’t interrupt me, but I could see she had thoughts she was holding back.

“That won’t happen again,” I added. “And next time, you won’t be fortunate enough to be reminded.”

Then I moved to the reason I was here.

“You’re going to the enemy border,” I said.

Her reaction came immediately. “Why me?”

“You’re delivering a warning,” I continued.

“That’s dangerous,” she replied. “There are warriors trained for this. There are protocols that—”

“It doesn’t require discussion,” I cut in. “It’s an order.”

Silence followed, but it wasn’t acceptance. It was resistance held in place by discipline.

Then I added the part that mattered most.

“And you won’t be going alone.”

Her eyes lifted slightly at that.

“My beta will accompany you. Dominic.”

That name shifted something subtle in her expression again, but she controlled it quickly.

I turned slightly as if preparing to leave. There was no need to extend the conversation further.

Then she spoke.

“What if I am killed?”

I stopped near the doorway, but I didn’t turn around.

For a moment, I considered the question not as emotional concern, but as operational risk. Death is always a possibility in border assignments. That is not new.

“If you die,” I said finally, still facing forward, “then you died for a good cause. The pack will remember you.”

I turned to leave, but her voice held me back…

“Why are you really sending me away, Alpha Alaric?,” she asked.

Without turning back, I said, “Time shall tell, Luna.”