Luna. Chapter 183

(Lyra's POV)

The words hung in the air between us like poison.

"Marriage," I repeated slowly, tasting the bitter on my tongue.

General Cassius straightened his uniform, his cold eyes watching me with predatory satisfaction. "It's the most practical solution to our current political situation."

I wanted to laugh. Or scream. Or both.

"Practical for who?"

"For everyone involved. Your family gains royal protection. The kingdom gains stability. The people get peace instead of war."

"And you get what you want most." I kept my voice level despite the rage building inside me. "Control."

"Control is necessary for order."

I stood up from the chair where I'd been sitting, my hands trembling with suppressed fury. This conversation was happening in my own living room. In my home. Where my children slept upstairs.

The audacity of it made my wolf snarl beneath my skin.

"And if I refuse?"

Cassius's smile was sharp as broken glass. "Then your son's abilities become a matter of public safety. The Council of Alphas would have no choice but to intervene."

The threat was clear. Marry him or watch them take Asher away.

I had faced down trained killers. Survived supernatural attacks. Fought battles that would have broken weaker people. But nothing had prepared me for this moment.

This calculated cruelty. This manipulation of my love for my children.

"You're asking me to betray everything I believe in."

"I'm asking you to be realistic about your situation."

"My situation?"

"A single mother with a dangerous child and no powerful allies. Your mate is gone, Luna. He's not coming back to save you this time."

The words hit their intended target. Kael's absence was a wound that hadn't healed. But I wasn't the same helpless woman who used to need saving.

I'd learned things in the past year. Hard things. Painful things.

I'd learned that survival meant making choices other people couldn't understand. I'd learned that protecting family sometimes required sacrificing personal happiness. I'd learned that strength came in forms I'd never imagined.

"I need time to consider this."

"Of course. Take all the time you need." His tone suggested I didn't have much. "But don't take too long. The political situation is becoming more unstable every day."

He moved toward the door, his steps measured and confident.

"Luna Blackwood," he said without turning around. "I hope you make the right choice. For everyone's sake."

After he left, I sat alone in my living room, staring at the place where he'd been standing.

The silence felt oppressive. Heavy with implications and unspoken threats.

Marriage to Cassius would solve the immediate problems. Asher would be safe. My pack would be protected. The constant threat of political retaliation would disappear.

All it would cost was my soul.

I closed my eyes and let myself think about Kael for exactly thirty seconds. His laugh. His hands in my hair. The way he said my name when he was trying to convince me of something important.

The way he used to hold me after nightmares. The way he made coffee in the morning, always remembering how I liked it. The way he read bedtime stories to the children, doing different voices for every character.

Then I opened my eyes and pushed those thoughts away.

Kael wasn't coming back. I was on my own.

But that didn't mean I was powerless.

Cassius thought he was forcing me into submission. He thought desperation would make me compliant. He thought I would accept his proposal because I had no other options.

He was about to learn that desperation could also make someone dangerous.

I pulled out my phone and started making calls.

The first call was to Alpha Martinez. He answered on the second ring.

"Lyra? Is everything all right?"

"I need a meeting. Tonight if possible."

"What's the situation?"

"General Cassius just proposed marriage."

Silence on the other end of the line.

"I'll be there in an hour," Martinez said finally.

The second call was to Nova. My daughter's voice was sleepy but alert when she answered.

"Mom? What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong, sweetheart. I just wanted to hear your voice."

"Are you crying?"

"No. Maybe a little."

"Is it about Dad?"

"It's about a lot of things. Nova, I need you to listen very carefully. If anything happens to me, if I disappear or if someone tells you I've gone somewhere, I want you to call your Uncle Marcus immediately. Don't trust anyone else. Do you understand?"

"Mom, you're scaring me."

"I'm not going anywhere, baby. I'm just being careful."

"Promise?"

"I promise I'll do everything in my power to come home to you."

The third call was to Elena. She answered immediately, like she'd been waiting.

"I heard," she said without preamble.

"How?"

"Word travels fast in political circles. Cassius has been telling people for weeks that he expects an announcement soon."

"He's been planning this."

"For months. Maybe longer. Lyra, you can't agree to this."

"I don't have a choice. He'll take Asher if I refuse."

"Then we find another way."

"What other way? The law is on his side. The political system supports him. I'm one woman against the entire government structure."

"You're not just one woman. You're the Luna of Blackwood Pack. You have allies. You have resources."

"Do I? Because it feels like I'm completely alone in this."

Elena was quiet for a moment. "Lyra, there's something I haven't told you."

"What?"

"There are others. Other pack leaders who are tired of Cassius's interference. Other supernatural families who've been threatened and manipulated."

"How many others?"

"Enough to matter. Enough to make a difference if we coordinate properly."

I felt something shift inside my chest. Not hope, exactly. But possibility.

"What are you suggesting?"

"I'm suggesting that General Cassius isn't as powerful as he thinks he is. And I'm suggesting that you're not as powerless as you feel."

"Elena, if we try to fight him directly and we lose, the consequences will be catastrophic."

"And if you marry him, the consequences will be catastrophic anyway. Just slower."

She was right. I knew she was right.

Cassius didn't just want me as a wife. He wanted me as a symbol. A Luna brought to heel. Proof that even the most independent supernatural leaders could be controlled.

If I married him, I wouldn't just be sacrificing my freedom. I'd be legitimizing his authority over the entire supernatural community.

"What do you need from me?" I asked.

"Time. Give me forty-eight hours to reach out to our potential allies. To see what kind of coalition we can build."

"And if we can't build one?"

"Then we improvise. But Lyra, I need you to promise me something."

"What?"

"Promise me you won't agree to anything without talking to me first. No matter how much pressure he applies. No matter what threats he makes."

"Elena, if he threatens to take my children—"

"Then we protect your children. All of us together. But we don't hand him victory on a silver platter."

After I hung up, I walked upstairs to check on Asher and Nova.

They were both sleeping peacefully, completely unaware that their mother's choices might determine the future of supernatural politics.

Asher had his arms wrapped around a stuffed wolf that Kael had given him for his second birthday. Nova had fallen asleep reading, her book still open beside her pillow.

They looked so young. So innocent.

They deserved better than this. They deserved to grow up in a world where their abilities were celebrated instead of feared. Where their choices weren't limited by other people's prejudices and power games.

If General Cassius wanted to play political games, then we'd play political games.

But we'd play by my rules.

I went back downstairs and opened my laptop.

Time to start researching everything I could find about General Cassius's background. His financial connections. His political vulnerabilities.

His weaknesses.

If he thought he could intimidate me into submission, he was about to learn how wrong he was.