THE ALPHA'S SILENT BETRAYAL

Chapter 7: Last Days Of a Luna

Jason’s POV

The Council’s ultimatum sat open on my desk, the deadline circled in red.

Before the Solstice.

They wanted an heir. They wanted certainty about the bloodline, and they wanted me to act before the Council decided my hesitation had become a threat to the pack.

I had spent months avoiding this conversation. Every time the subject came up, I found another reason to push it aside. Devlin and I had talked about children early in our marriage. She wanted them. I had promised we would when the time was right.

Then the months passed.

We tried. It didn’t happen. Eventually, we stopped talking about it because every failed month left something painful between us.

I stared at the document again, feeling the weight of how long I had allowed Devlin to carry that pain alone.

A knock sounded.

My mother entered without waiting for an answer. Her eyes went straight to the paper on my desk.

“They gave you a deadline?”

“Yes.”

“And what are you going to do?”

I closed the document. “Talk to Devlin.”

Her expression tightened. “Jason, the Council is not asking for another discussion.”

“I know what they’re asking for.”

“Then you understand what is at stake.”

“I understand.” I kept my voice steady. “But I’m not making a decision about her body because the Council wants an heir.”

My mother stared at me. “You need a solution.”

“I need to speak to my mate first.”

She said nothing else before leaving, but her silence carried its own pressure.

I found Devlin in her office later that afternoon, working through a stack of reports.

“I need to talk to you.”

She looked up. “About what?”

“The Council.”

Something changed in her expression, though she said nothing.

“They gave me until the Solstice to secure an heir,” I said. “They’re putting pressure on me to find a solution.”

Her fingers tightened around the report in front of her.

“What solution?”

“I don’t know yet. That’s why I’m here.”

She waited.

“I want to know what you want, Devlin. Not what the Council wants. Not what my parents want.”

Her eyes dropped to the desk.

“I still want a child.”

The answer came quietly, but it landed hard.

“I stopped talking about it because every month I wasn’t pregnant felt like another way I was failing you. I could see the disappointment, even when you tried not to show it. After a while, I couldn’t keep putting myself through that.”

My chest tightened. “You should have told me.”

“You should have asked.”

There was no accusation in her voice. That made it worse.

“I should have,” I admitted. “I’m sorry.”

She looked at me then, and I saw how much she had kept to herself.

“I want us to see a doctor,” I said. “Not because the Council ordered it. Not because they need an heir. I want us to understand what’s happening instead of letting you blame yourself.”

Her face went still.

“And if there is something wrong with me?”

“I don’t know.”

The honesty seemed to matter more than a comforting answer.

“I won’t lie to you about that,” I continued. “Whatever the doctor says, we face it together. But I won’t make that decision without you.”

She took a slow breath. Her eyes stayed on mine, searching for something I wasn’t sure I could give her yet.

“Okay. I’ll go.”

I reached across the desk and covered her hand with mine. She didn’t pull away, but she didn’t lean into me either.

I left her office with a strange ache in my chest.

For the first time, I wondered whether I was trying to save my mate because I loved her or because I was afraid of what I would lose if I failed the Council.

I didn’t have an answer.

Devlin’s POV

After Jason left, I stayed at my desk, staring at the reports without reading a word.

His conversation had unsettled me more than I wanted to admit.

I still wanted a child. I wanted the family we had once imagined together, before every month without a pregnancy turned that dream into another source of shame.

Some nights, I had wondered whether my missing wolf was part of the reason. Whether my body was simply refusing to give Jason what he needed.

Now the Council had placed a deadline over our heads, and I couldn’t stop wondering what had really brought Jason to my office.

Did he want a child with me, or did he want an heir because the Council was forcing his hand?

The question followed me through the evening.

Later, I was passing the library when I heard voices inside.

French.

I stopped.

Chloe spoke first.

“Il essaie encore avec elle.”

He’s trying with her again.

I stayed still, listening.

Isabelle answered, her voice low. “Jason pense qu'il peut réparer quelque chose qui est déjà brisé.”

Jason thinks he can fix something that is already broken.

My stomach tightened.

Then Chloe asked, “Et si elle tombe enceinte?”

What if she gets pregnant?

There was a brief silence before Isabelle replied.

“Alors tout changera.”

Then everything will change.

I stared at the closed door.

They weren’t discussing whether I wanted a child. They were discussing what my pregnancy would mean for my position.

Chloe had already imagined a future without me in it.

And Isabelle clearly knew about it.

I heard Chloe speak again, more quietly this time.

“Et si elle ne peut pas lui donner un héritier?”

What if she can’t give him an heir?

Isabelle answered without hesitation.

“Alors le Conseil trouvera quelqu'un qui le peut.”

Then the Council will find someone who can.

My blood ran cold.

I stepped away from the door before they could hear me.

All evening, Jason’s words kept returning to me. He had asked what I wanted. He had listened. He had apologized.

Part of me wanted to believe that meant something.

But now I understood the position I was standing in.

My body had become part of a political deadline. My ability to have a child could decide whether I remained Luna.

I returned to my room and closed the door behind me. I sat on the edge of the bed, letting the quiet settle around me while I replayed every word I had heard. The fear was still there, but it no longer felt like the only thing inside me. Anger had finally taken its place beside it.

For years, I had waited for Jason to notice what was happening around me. I waited for him to speak when his mother crossed a line. I waited for him to make it clear that I was his mate and Luna, not a temporary place-holder until someone more useful came along.

Tonight, I finally understood that waiting was costing me more than I could afford.

If Jason chose to stand beside me, I would see it.

But I would no longer build my future around the hope that he would.

I had spent too much time trying to prove I deserved the place I already held.

If they were planning to take it from me, they were going to have to face me first.