her claim on Luna title
1322 Words
Arthur’s P.O.V. (Continued)
The moment they sensed my presence as I stepped inside the living room, they became silent, and the air in the living room shifted.
I strode towards them, one hand thrust inside my pocket, another hand clutching my phone tightly.
I stopped behind the single couch and observed them coldly.
Winfred was sitting on the long couch to my right with his younger daughter, Gloria Ashford.
He was sitting comfortably, legs crossed, hand spread at the edge of the couch behind Gloria as if he owned this place.
He immediately straightened his back as soon as he noticed me.
His expression still carried the same fake and calculated politeness that reeked of flattery.
Beside him, Gloria was posing herself as a refined and delicate woman with a perfect, practiced soft smile.
I swept my gaze to my parents, who were sitting on the left side of the couch.
My father was, as always, cold and indifferent, but my mother held hope in her gaze when she looked at me.
“Explain this to me, Luna,” I asked her formally, my voice cold and completely detached.
Her eyes widened in shock, and she looked at my father in a daze before looking back at me.
Dad raised a brow but didn’t say a word to any of us.
“Alpha Arthur,” Gloria called me softly, but my gaze was fixed on my mother.
Mom took a few seconds before regaining her composure.
She cleared her throat before answering me.
“Wilfred said that he needed to discuss your marriage. So, I asked him to come here so that we can talk face to face.”
The corner of my lips tugged mockingly.
Was she really that naïve or was she taking me as a fool?
“Alpha Arthur….. we…. we came here to correct the mistake th… that happened at the engagement ceremony.
Fenrir roared aloud, ready to rip them apart, but I held him back.
“Mistake?” I asked coldly, tilting my head slightly.
“Yes, Alpha. A mistake.” Gloria spoke hurriedly, standing up while clutching the hem of her maxi dress tightly.
So, that’s how they planned to play this, huh?
“Gloria was so excited th… that she fainted a day earlier, a…. and we just put Skye at Gloria’s place temporarily to save face in front of the whole world, and it worked,” Wilfred explained, chirping excitedly in the end.
I sneered internally but let him misunderstand that now he had the upper hand.
“You see, Alpha, Skye….. my eldest daughter…. She is no match for yours….. she…. She is just….just…” he moved his shoulders up and down, trying to fake his discomfort while calling Skye by name.
“A mute burden,” I finished what he couldn’t say.
Gloria froze, and Wilfred went pale.
William told me that they called her a mute burden when the kidnappers called him for ransom.
Dad cleared his throat, reminding me that they were guests, but I didn’t pay attention to him.
Wilfred gulped hard, regaining his composure, but he wasn’t as confident as he was earlier.
“Well, a…. according to the marriage agreement, Gloria is your rightful bride. It…. It’s time for Skye to go back home and hand over her fiancé’s position to Gloria.” Wilfred spoke hesitantly but tried hard to keep her voice firm.
For a few seconds, I just stared at him coldly, making them so anxious that they started sweating bullets.
Gloria was now shivering slightly while moving toward her father for protection.
Then I started laughing.
A low, humorless laughter.
I watched Gloria turning pale from fear, and Wilfred….
He was now standing like a statue; his mouth opened like a fish gasping for oxygen.
“You called my fiancée a mistake…………………. In my home?” I asked them in a deliberately slow pace.
The temperature drop in the room was enough for them to feel the pressure of my aura.
They both fell to the couch backward and landed on the couch with a thud.
“It…. It’s a misunderstanding, Alpha. I…. I mean to say that…. That.”
“Say what?” I roared, releasing my fury at that very instant.
“You belittled my fiancée in front of my face. Who do you think you are, Wilfred?” I asked him coldly, paying no attention to his status as an elder.
They both trembled so hard that it felt like they were having a seizure.
“Listen to me, Alpha…. Skye…. Sh…. She can’t be your Luna. Gloria is more capable than Skye, an….. and she can also speak.”
“Can speak??? Do I need a sound box to make noise all day long instead of a Luna?” I taunted in the same manner, and he turned deathly pale.
Winfred looked at my parents for help and then looked at me like a lost puppy.
“You think I choose based on convenience,” I asked him mockingly.
“You…. You chose wrong, Alpha.” Wilfred replied while stuttering a little, not giving up on the hope of making Gloria my Luna.
The room went still as soon as the words left his mouth.
My mother gasped, and my father sucked in a breath, clearly annoyed and angry with Wilfred’s desperate attempt.
“You said that Gloria fainted, and you took a desperate measure by substituting Skye at Gloria's place to save face, right?” I asked, repeating his words in a taunt.
He immediately bobbed his head furiously.
“And it has been more than three months since my engagement. She woke up after three months?” I taunted, and whatever hope came back to his eyes vanished immediately.
“Arthur.” My mother called me softly.
I didn’t look at her but kept my gaze locked on Wilfred.
“He is right, Arthur. Gloria is better suited to be Luna than Skye, son. You …. You should consider the pack.”
“The pack will accept who I choose, Mother."
My interruption and declaration were enough to make her gasp again.
The stillness in the room was completely thick with tension.
“Be rational, Arthur.” Mom still didn’t give up.
This time, I moved in her direction at a slow pace.
"Be rational, you say, right?" I asked her, and her expression darkened.
"You, as the current Luna of our pack, let a man who replaced his own daughter as livestock enter my pack, putting the safety of the pack at risk. Where is your rationality?" I asked her, an accusation evident in my voice.
Each word coming out of my mouth hit harder than the previous one.
She held her breath while looking at me with a stunned expression.
"Skye was kidnapped...... she had no one to save her..... she fought.... saved her dignity from those filthy rogues and jumped off the cliff without any hesitation, escaping death when she was heavily drugged. Do you think that a girl who fainted because of the excitement of getting engaged is a fit for Luna?" I questioned her while recalling what Skye endured.
Mom had no retort to it. She lowered her eyes, bit her lower lip, but didn't speak again.
"But .... she is a mute," Gloria voiced out in a weak tone.
"And yet she is brave enough to endure the storm instead of giving up on her life," I retorted, but didn't look in her direction.
My eyes were still glued to my mother, who still had her head hanging low.
"B.... but we need this alliance.... my pack...we were promised...." Wilfred yelled desperately.
"You broke the alliance first, Wilfred; now you are facing the consequences.
"I refused to let you take Skye as your Luna. I am her father. I can make this decision for her," Wilfred retorted again, taking another desperate measure.
- Writer
