<h4>Chapter 152: Pressure</h4>


    Callum’s POV


    The hall was loud. Too loud. The voices of the elders bounced off the walls as they argued with each other.


    Some spoke in favor of me. "He is still young. Twenty-nine is not too old. He is strong. Let him lead how he wants."


    But most were against me.


    "He refuses to marry!" one shouted, hitting his cane on the floor.


    "A pack without children has no future!" another barked.


    "His father had him when he was just neen."


    I groaned... again this same talk...paring my refusal to marry and bear children with my father’s choices.


    I sat still in the chair, my back straight, my hands tight on the arms of the seat. I didn’t move, didn’t answer, just listened. But inside, my wolf growled.


    "He is twenty-nine!" another added. "No Luna beside him. No children. If he dies tomorrow, what then? Who leads us?"


    Their words stung like knives, but I kept my face cold. They didn’t know. They didn’t understand.


    I can’t see myself in bed with another woman. Yes, Hailee said she was married. Yes, she said she had chosen someone else. But I didn’t believe it. Not fully. My heart wouldn’t let me. My wolf wouldn’t let me.


    I had searched. For ten years I searched. Across towns, across borders. Every whisper, every shadow, I followed. But she was gone. Like smoke.


    Still, I couldn’t stop wanting her. Couldn’t stop loving her. Even if it made me look like a fool in their eyes.


    One elder spoke louder than the rest. "I heard he has been searching for someone who is married. Is this not madness?"


    A growl slipped from my chest before I could stop it. The hall went quiet. Every eye turned to me.


    Slowly, I rose from my chair. My voice was low but sharp. "Enough."


    The silence in the hall was thick, every elder staring at me, waiting for me to speak. My wolf pressed against my chest, ready to tear into anyone who dared to speak her name again.


    I looked at them one by one, my voice loud and sharp. "This is final. I will only marry the one I choose. The one my heart and my beast have chosen. No one else."


    A few elders shifted, their mouths opening, ready to argue again, but I cut them off before the words coulde.


    "When I find her, I will make her my Luna. I will have children with her. Not before. Not with anyone else. That is my word."


    The hall buzzed with whispers, some in shock, some in anger. But I didn’t give them the chance to speak louder.


    I turned from the hall, my steps echoing against the stone floor. The weight of their stares burned into my back, but I didn’t slow. I didn’t look back.


    By the time I reached my chambers, the growl was still deep in my chest. The elders’ words still echoed in my ears, but I shoved them aside. I had spoken my truth. It was final.


    A maid slipped inside quietly, her head bowed. "Alpha," she said softly, cing a tray on the table. Steam rose from the cup. "Your coffee."


    I didn’t think twice. My throat was dry, and I needed the calm. I took the cup and drank deeply.


    At first, it was fine. Bitter. Hot. Familiar. But then...


    My head swam. My vision blurred. My body felt heavy, like lead sinking into the earth. I stumbled back, gripping the edge of the table.


    "What—" My voice slurred, my wolf thrashing inside me. Poison? No... not poison. A drug.


    The room spun as I copsed onto the bed.


    Through my hazy vision, I saw her. A woman. Not the maid who served me—no, someone else. She was already undressing, her naked skin shing under the dim light. Her lips curved in a sly smile as she crawled onto me.


    "Stop," I growled, but it came out broken, weak. My arms felt like stone as she straddled me, her hands tugging at my shirt, pulling it open.


    Her lips pressed against my chest. Her hips lowered, her entrance brushing against cock. She was about to sink herself down on my cock, to force herself onto me.


    Rage cut through the haze like fire. My wolf snapped, wing through the drug, burning it out of my system with pure fury.


    My eyes cleared. My strength returned.


    With a snarl, I grabbed her shoulders and shoved her off me with all my force. She flew across the room, hitting the stone wall with a sickening thud. Her body went limp as she crumpled to the floor, unconscious.


    My chest heaved, my fangs bared. My hands shook with fury.


    Who dared? Who sent her?


    The drug still pulsed faintly in my veins, but my rage was stronger. I stood, pulling my shirt back together, ring at the unconscious body.


    "Guards!" I roared, my furious voice shaking the room.


    Two guards burst in, eyes wide, confusion etched on their faces.


    My re sharpened. "Who allowed her inside?" I demanded, ready to punish them.


    The guards exchanged frantic looks before one stammered, trembling. "We have no idea, Alpha... we were guarding your door when your father summoned us."


    My father.


    Of course. Only he would dare such a stunt.


    I snarled, the sound ripping through the room. My wolf wed at me, furious. "Get this filth out of my sight," I ordered, pointing at the unconscious woman on the floor. "Lock her up. She doesn’t leave the dungeons until I say so."


    "Yes, Alpha!" They scrambled to obey, lifting her limp body and dragging her out of the chamber.


    I stormed from my chamber, my boots mming against the stone floor, guards rushing to keep up behind me. My wolf snarled inside, pushing me forward, hungering for confrontation.


    By the time I reached his private quarters, my hands were trembling with rage. I mmed the doors open.


    He was there—my father, sitting calmly by the fire, sipping wine as though nothing in the world had shifted.


    "You," I growled, my voice sharp with rage. "It was you."


    He raised his eyeszily, one brow arched. His lips curved in disappointment at the sight of me standing strong. "You should be thanking me, son. You’re twenty-nine, and still clinging to a ghost. It’s time someone gave you a little... push."


    I stepped closer, my chest heaving. "You tried to drug me. You tried to force a woman into my bed."


    He shrugged, unbothered. "And why not? An Alpha without a Luna is weak. The pack is restless. The elders lose faith. Do you think they’ll wait forever while you pine after a woman who abandoned you? You need an heir, Callum. I did what had to be done."


    My growl deepened, my hands curling into fists. "Don’t ever—ever—do this again. I don’t care if you are my father. Next time, I won’t stop myself from..." I held back my words and inhaled deeply, then turned around and left before I did something I would regret.