Chapter 7

Adrian Stuart's POV

I stood in the stairwell, staring up toward the bedroom.

"You should tell Iris you'll always love her!" my wolf howled in my mind. But that kind of confession would only bring her pain. Better to keep my mouth shut.

The truth was, I had so many things I wanted to say to Iris. I wanted to ask her what exactly she'd seen at the victory celebration. We'd been separated by a sea of people, but even from across the room, I'd caught the devastated look on her face.

Before I could reach her, the Beta had pulled her away. After that, I didn't see her for the rest of the night. When she finally reappeared, she was wrapped in blood-soaked bandages, looking pale and heartbroken.

And ever since that night, she'd been avoiding me.

I had so much I wanted to explain to her. But every time I saw that ghostly pallor on her face, the words died in my throat.

Why had she refused to go to the hospital? In all the time I'd known her, she'd been the picture of a perfect Luna. She'd never been unreasonable about things like this.

Maybe she just didn't want to see me with Zoe?

But that didn't make sense.

Our bond had been nothing but a contract from the start. The Moon Goddess had never truly tied us together. My role had been simple: scare off the vultures circling her, help her pack find peace again.

Now, with my help, her territory was secure. No one dared threaten her anymore. Of course she could walk away from me without a second thought.

I should have known this all along. If it hadn't been for my mother's condition, she never would have stood by my side in the first place. This was just our sham marriage reaching its natural end.

"Good! Isn't this what we both wanted?" my wolf snarled in my head.

At the celebration, some of my men had made crude jokes about Zoe and me becoming mates. I didn't want Iris to hear that garbage, and I didn't want to embarrass Zoe either.

So I'd shut them down with excuses. I owed Zoe a debt—but not that kind of debt.

I'd explained as much to her, hoping she wouldn't take it the wrong way.

"Of course, I understand. You're just a reliable friend to me," Zoe had said.

"You should marry your true soulmate, not me. I don't want you sacrificing your happiness out of some misguided sense of gratitude."

To me, Zoe was one of my most important people. I'd do almost anything to make her happy.

That's why I'd allowed her to settle in my pack and enjoy the same privileges as my own family.

As for Iris—I knew she didn't love me. After all these years, our contract marriage had run its course. She deserved to pursue her own life. And if she ever needed me, I'd use every resource I had to help her. I'd bury these feelings and never let them interfere with her happiness.

But lately, something about Iris felt… off.

Even when she used to be indifferent to my opinions, she'd never avoided my gaze like this. What was she hiding?

With that thought, I headed toward the kitchen.

I needed to ask the staff what she'd eaten today.

The servants were huddled together, chatting. They were so absorbed in their gossip that they didn't even notice me approach.

"Who knows! I just broke one of her little ceramic trinkets and she went ballistic! No wonder the Alpha can't stand her!"

"Well, she got what she deserved. That made me feel better. Just wait—Zoe's coming back soon!"

So that was why Iris had been so upset that day.

Her father had been a great Alpha, one who'd led his pack through countless schemes and betrayals. But that greatness had come at a cost—he'd barely had time for his Luna and daughter.

From the moment I'd met Iris, she'd treasured that ceramic piece. To her, it represented all the love her father had to give.

And they'd just… smashed it?

"I think you all need to do some serious reflecting. Is this how you take care of the pack?" I cleared my throat.

Everyone froze. Then they all turned to face me at once, like they'd just seen the devil himself.

My head steward, Ryan, stepped forward, positioning himself between me and the maids. He looked like he was about to defend them, but I silenced him with a look.

"The way you've treated your Luna is no different from betraying the pack." I walked up to the two maids.

How had I let Iris endure this for so long?

"I'm giving you two options. Be exiled, or leave on your own. Which will it be?"

"We… we were just worried she was betraying you! Yes, that's it!" One of them looked up at me with tear-filled eyes.

I knew they were lying. They were slandering Iris to deflect punishment.

"You should know that slandering your Luna is also a serious offense." I let out a cold laugh.

"Alpha, we're not slandering her—she's definitely hiding something! The day you came back with Zoe, the Luna snuck out of the banquet hall before the setup was even finished. And she came back with some kind of medical report!" the maid continued desperately.

She was sick? What was wrong with her? And why hadn't she told me?

"Did you see what was on it?" I stared them down.

"We don't know the details." The other maid swallowed hard, then added carefully:

"The report was soaked with blood and torn to pieces. We couldn't read anything. We only found it by accident when we were cleaning her room. Why would she hide a simple medical checkup? Unless she had something to feel guilty about!"

But Iris had never told me any of this. I hadn't even known she'd gone to the hospital that day. If she'd just told me, I never would have let her go off alone to fight those rogues.

But now wasn't the time to dwell on that. What mattered was that I needed to see that report. Or at the very least, I deserved an explanation from Iris.

"Ryan, find it." I glanced over my shoulder at my steward, who was wearing an awkward smile.

"And before sunset today, I want both of these women gone from my pack. Permanently."