My Rouge Luna

Chapter 19

Chapter 19

The Weight of the Crown

Carlos’s POV

An Alpha’s life should be simple: territory, warriors, law. Lately, nothing felt simple. The borders hummed with movement. The council whispered like a fever through the halls. And beneath everything, a new and corrosive current—fear—threaded through my pack.

But the loudest sound in my head wasn’t scouts or summons. It was her name.

Christa.

She had become a lodestone in my world: impossible, infuriating, and impossibly mine. The idea of her in the hands of her father — or worse, the council turning her into leverage — set teeth on edge in me I had never known. I could have unleashed the pack, taken the field. Instead I called a meeting.

Selma

The scent hit me before the knock did — jasmine and venom.

I opened the office door to find Selma leaning against the frame, her dress cut low enough to bare her intent. Her lips curled in that sly smile that once tempted me, but now only reminded me of rot.

“You don’t look happy to see me, mi rey,” she purred, slinking inside without invitation.

“I’m not,” I said flatly, closing the door behind her.

She laughed softly, circling me like a predator with painted claws. “Word spreads fast, Carlos. The council whispers, your warriors gossip, and every wolf with a nose knows you’ve tied yourself to that outsider girl.” Her eyes flashed, venomous. “Christa. A half-blood nobody. And you would throw me aside for her?”

I stepped into her path, jaw tightening. “Enough. Whatever we were, Selma, it’s done. Christa is my mate. That bond isn’t up for debate.”

Her laugh turned sharp, brittle. “Mate? Or mark? You think she’ll choose you? She’ll bleed you dry and leave you hollow. Just like her cursed father.” Her nails grazed my arm, daring. “But me, Carlos… I was always loyal. I understood you.”

I caught her wrist, hard enough to make her gasp. My wolf surged, but I held him back. “Loyalty?” I spat. “You scheme with councilmen behind my back. You poison the air with jealousy. That’s not loyalty. That’s treachery dressed in perfume.”

For a heartbeat, her mask slipped — rage, sharp and ugly. Then she smiled again, slow and dangerous. “Careful, Alpha. Wolves with broken hearts are unpredictable.” She leaned close, whisper hot against my ear. “And I’ve seen empires fall because of women like her.”

I shoved her back, voice dropping to ice. “You’ll stay away from Christa. Away from her sisters. If I even hear a whisper of your shadow near them, Selma… I’ll exile you myself. And pray that’s the worst fate you face.”

Her eyes gleamed with something unhinged, but she curtsied mockingly. “As you wish, mi rey.”

She swept from the room, leaving the faint trail of jasmine and threat behind her. I stood in the silence, fists clenched. There was no time for distractions like Selma. Not with what loomed on the horizon.

⸻

The Meeting

Ricardo arrived first, twin eyes somber. Ramiro followed, bringing that easy grin that never reached his eyes when things were serious. They were my blood and my right hand—steady.

“Alpha,” Ricardo said. “Scouts report increased movement east. Small bands probing our lines. Could be testing. Could be a diversion.”

“Or it could be the beginning,” I said. “We prepare like it’s both.” My voice was the thing that steadied the room. “Double patrols on the east and south. Rotate the younger wolves out for rest. Pull our best trackers. No one sleeps unarmed.”

Ramiro nodded, already running through the logistics in his head. “We can shift two squads from the western ridge. They’ll be there in an hour.”

I let the plan settle, then dropped the second shoe. “And Christa.”

Ricardo’s expression flickered. “We thought you might want her contained—”

“Not contained,” I interrupted. “Protected. But not hidden like a prize. She’s not a trophy for the council. If her father comes for her, I want him meeting the full force of a pack that’s fighting with her, not for her.”

Ramiro’s hand curled into a fist. “You want the sisters in the fold.”

“Yes.” My words were blunt because there was no poetry to say. “I want them at the table with us. They’re dangerous and loyal in ways this pack could use. I want Christa’s sisters standing with us — not somewhere behind the line but beside us. If they want to burn this thing down, I’ll hand them the f*****g matches