Ch. I Refuse to Be Your Luna 312 I Refuse to Be Your Luna 312

Chapter 312 The Wolves Who Remembered

Lady Flourish POV

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The three representatives arrived after midnight in vehicles with their pack markings covered.

By then we had moved to the main estate, which had been cleared of unnecessary staff. Only Damian, Rhys, Callum, Eugene, and a small group of guards remained with me.

I waited in the conference room while security checked each visitor. I could hear their wolves moving restlessly beneath their human forms as they approached the building.

When the doors opened, three older wolves walked in. The first was a woman with silver hair and a dark coat.

The second was a broad–shouldered man with a cane. The third was a smaller woman whose eyes stayed fixed on me.

None of them bowed at first. Then my wolf stirred, and all three lowered their heads.

I hadn’t spoken. I hadn’t even moved. The reaction was instinctive. Their wolves recognized something mine carried, and their bodies responded before their minds could stop them. It made me uncomfortable.

“Please,” I said. “You don’t have to do that.”

The man with the cane slowly lifted his head. “Our wolves disagree.”

I glanced at Damian. He was watching the elders carefully, but he didn’t interfere.

The silver–haired woman introduced herself as Elder Maelin of Northvale. The man was Elder Corren of Mooncrest, and the smaller woman was Elder Sera of Hollow Ridge.

“We received the activation signal,” Maelin said.

“You sent one of the messages.”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

She looked at me for several seconds. “Because our ancestors made an oath.”

Corren leaned his cane against a chair before sitting. “Generations ago, our packs swore loyalty

to the First Alpha bloodline. Not to a territory or a particular ruler. To the blood itself.”

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I folded my arms. “And now you think I am that blood.”

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“We don’t think,” Sera said. “We can smell it.”

My wolf stirred again. I had grown used to people talking about my bloodline as if it were a weapon or a title, something that gave me authority over everyone around me. I didn’t want that.

“If you came here expecting me to command you, you came for the wrong reason,” I said. “I have no intention of commanding anyone.”

Maelin’s expression shifted slightly, but Corren spoke first. “You are the heir.”

“That doesn’t make you my soldiers.”

Silence followed. I could feel the guards behind me watching the elders, and the elders watching me.

“I’ve seen what happens when people believe blood gives them the right to control others,” I continued. “My family made decisions in my name without asking me. Other people have used the First Alpha bloodline for their own purposes. I won’t repeat that.”

Sera studied me. “What would you do instead?”

“If your pack needs help, ask. If you don’t want my help, say so. If you disagree with me, you can walk away.”

Corren leaned back. “And if Voss attacks?”

“Then I’ll help if I can. But you won’t owe me obedience because I did.”

Maelin exchanged a glance with the other two elders. The tension in the room eased. It wasn’t trust, not yet, but something had changed.

“Our ancestors did not describe the heir as someone who demanded loyalty,” Maelin said. “They described her as someone who protected the right to choose.”

I hadn’t expected that. “Then perhaps they understood something my family forgot.”

The elders told us how their packs had kept hidden routes and emergency shelters, and how the old bloodline signals had been silent for decades.

Maelin explained that the oath had once been renewed whenever a recognized heir appeared. Their elders had feared the bloodline was being used to influence pack decisions, and several families had withdrawn their support.

“We were told the heir’s authority could be challenged only by another member of the

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Chapter 312 The Wolves Who Remembered

bloodline,” Corren said.

:

I remembered the records Rhys had recovered. “The second vessel.”

The three elders went quiet. Sera’s eyes narrowed. “You know about that?”

“We found records.”

“Then you know more than we expected.”

I looked at Damian. His expression had hardened, but he stayed silent.

“Did the second vessel have anything to do with the network?” I asked.

Maelin shook her head. “Not directly.”

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The answer didn’t make me feel better. She explained that the old packs had been warned to keep their distance from bloodline disputes. After that warning, their communication channels were shut down and the network went dormant.

Until tonight.

At one point, Sera’s wolf lowered her head again without warning. Sera looked embarrassed. “I apologize.”

“You don’t have to.”

“She is responding to your blood.”

“I know.”

Eventually the elders left to go over the network’s security channels with Rhys, Callum, and Eugene. Damian stayed behind with me and waited until the doors closed.

“You handled that well.”

“I hated almost every second of it.”

He smiled faintly. “You looked like you belonged there.”

“That is not helping.”

“It wasn’t meant to.”

I gave him a look. He stepped closer. “You’ve spent weeks trying not to become someone people follow.”

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“Because I don’t want to become another person who thinks authority gives them the right to control everyone.”

“You didn’t.” He took my hand. “They followed you anyway.”

I looked toward the closed doors. “That’s what scares me. What if I become exactly what I’m afraid of?”

“Then I’ll tell you.”

“You promise?”

“I promise.” His thumb moved across my knuckles. “You’re becoming someone people choose to follow. That’s different from forcing them to.”

Before we could continue, the door opened. Elder Maelin came back alone, and her expression had changed.

“There’s something you need to know.”

Damian released my hand. “What?” I asked.

Maelin closed the door behind her. “Our pack stopped answering the First Alpha bloodline decades ago.”

“Why?”

She looked straight at me. “Because of your sister.”

My wolf went completely silent.

“My sister?”

Maelin nodded. “Your sister was the reason we stopped answering the First Alpha bloodline.”

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