Page 158 of Chased By My Grumpy Alpha
The implications are earth-shattering. If Astra truly carries Eclipse Born blood, then she’s not just some random healer who caught the Council’s attention. She’s the living remnant of something they once considered dangerous enough to warrant genocide.
“If...” I pause, my mind piecing together fragments of information, connections I’m only now beginning to see. “If a mother knew her offspring carried that bloodline, and she wanted to protect the child…”
“The only way would be to suppress the child’s wolf through magic,” my father finishes for me.
The words hang in the air between us like a death sentence. Luna shifts on his shoulders, sensing the tension, but neither of us moves to comfort her.
My father’s face has gone pale, his eyes wide with dawning realization. “You’re talking about Astra,” he says quietly.
I nod slowly, watching understanding bloom across his features like a spreading stain. “Her mother had her wolf suppressed.” The pieces are falling into place now, creating a picture that’s both horrifying and brilliant in its desperation. “She made everyone believe Astra was latent to hide what she really was.”
“If Astra is Eclipse Born...” My father trails off, his astute mind clearly racing through the implications. “The Council hasbeen aware of this for some time, haven’t they? That’s why they’ve been pushing so hard to get her into their custody.”
“I believe so.”
The King stands abruptly, causing Luna to leap gracefully from his shoulders and land on the desk with an indignant chirp. He begins pacing behind his chair, his expression shifting into the calculating mask I know so well—the face of a king weighing political ramifications.
“This changes everything,” he mutters, more to himself than to me. “If the Council simply wanted to eliminate her as the last member of a dangerous bloodline, they would have pushed for execution. Quick, clean, final.”
He stops pacing and fixes me with a stare that makes my blood run cold.
“But they want her alive, Lucian. They want her in their custody, not dead.” His voice drops as he nears the logical conclusion. “Which means they don’t want to destroy the Eclipse Born bloodline—”
“They want to use it,” I finish for him this time, sighing heavily.
“Exactly.” My father taps his fingers against the edge of the desk. “Whatever ability the Eclipse Born possessed, the Council believes they can harness it. Control it. Use your mate as a weapon. Times have changed; they’re no longer simply exterminating anything that isn’t pure wolf. Now, they want to exploit those differences.”
The rage that floods through me is so intense, it takes every ounce of my control not to shift right here in my father’s study and go after those bastards. The thought of them getting their hands on Astra, using her power for their own twisted purposes, makes something primal and violent roar in my chest.
“Not if I have anything to say about it,” I snarl.
“It’ll take more than words,” the King says quietly. “If the Council has indeed discovered what she is, they won’t waste time with prolonged negotiations. They’ll act decisively once they’re certain.”
Luna meows softly from the desk, as if sensing the gravity of our conversation. My father absently reaches out to stroke her fur, his expression troubled.
“We need to be very careful how we proceed,” he continues. “If the Council realizes we know about Astra’s bloodline, they’ll move against us immediately. No more political maneuvering, no more careful dialogs. They’ll come for her with everything they have.”
“Then, we need to move first.”
“Perhaps.” My father’s eyes meet mine, and I see the weight of kingship in them—the burden of making decisions that could save or damn us all. “But we also need to know exactly what we’re dealing with. What power does she possess? How do we help her access it? And most importantly, can she control it?”
The questions dangle in front of me like a challenge, each one more daunting than the last. Because the truth is, we don’t know what Astra is capable of. We don’t know if her mother’s magical suppression can be reversed, or what will happen if it is.
All we do know is that somewhere inside the woman I love lies a power so dangerous that an entire Council spent generations trying to erase it from existence.
And now, they want to use her as their weapon.
“I won’t let them have her,” I say, my tone deadly.
“I know.” My father’s expression softens slightly. “But Lucian, you need to understand—if Astra truly is Eclipse Born, then this isn’t only about protecting your mate. This is about the fate of our entire kingdom.”
The weight of his words settles over me like a shroud. Because he’s right. If the Council gets their hands on Astra, ifthey find a way to weaponize whatever power flows through her veins, then everything we’ve built, everything we’ve protected, could crumble.
Luna jumps down from the desk and pads over to me, winding around my legs with a soft purr. I reach down to scratch behind her ears, drawing comfort from her warmth against my legs.
“What do we do?” I ask finally.
My father’s smile is quick and treacherous—the expression of a king who has spent decades outmaneuvering his enemies.
