Underwater: The Silent Luna novel Chapter 85

Chapter 85

Ashley could not wait to get back into the room with Joseph.

The door had barely shut behind them before the smile she had worn all evening cracked and fell away. The anger she had swallowed at the dining table surged back with full force, hot and violent in her chest. Every step from the hall to the bedroom had felt like torture, her mind replaying Amber’s words again and again.

Active Luna.

For Meadow.

Joseph loosened his jacket and turned toward her just as she spun around, her eyes blazing.

“Say it,” he said quietly, already knowing she was furious. “Whatever it is, say it.”

Ashley folded her arms tightly over her chest, pacing the room once before she stopped in front of him. “It’s just that… I don’t understand why everyone keeps trying to undermine you.”

Joseph frowned. “Undermine me? What are you talking about?”

“Ever since the accident, you have held this pack together,” she pressed on. “Everyone knows it. You run everything. You’re the one they see. You’re the one they follow. And now they want to make Ethan’s wife Luna.”

Her voice cracked. “What will happen to me? You are Alpha, why can’t I be Luna?”

Joseph’s eyebrows pulled together in confusion. “And how does that relate to me being undermined? Ashley, this sounds more about you than about me.”

The words struck her harder than he realised.

She burst into tears.

Raw, ugly sobs tore out of her chest as she sank onto the edge of the bed, her hands shaking as she covered her face. All the humiliation, jealousy, and fear she had held back since dinner poured out at once.

“I can’t play second fiddle to her, Joseph,” she cried. “My mate will be Alpha and another woman will be Luna. People will laugh at me. They’ll label me a fool. They’ll say I aimed too high and lost. Why are you allowing this?”

Joseph exhaled slowly and sat beside her, though he did not touch her.

“I am not allowing anything,” he said gently. “Ethan is still the Alpha of this pack, Ashley. I am not active. I am only helping him. I am more like an extension of him than anything else.”

She shook her head violently. “But everyone sees you. Everyone comes to you.”

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Chapter 85

“That doesn’t change the truth,” he replied calmly. “And haven’t you noticed something else?”

She sniffed, looking at him through blurred vision.

“He has consummated his marriage,” Joseph said softly. “That means he has accepted Meadow as his mate. Naturally, she would become Luna, unless Ethan steps down, which he won’t. And even if he tried, I would not allow it.”

Ashley’s chest rose sharply. “Why?”

“Because I don’t want to be Alpha either,” he answered quietly.

The words stunned her.

“I want a quiet life, Ashley. One without wars, without pack politics, without endless negotiations and bloodshed. I want a simple

life.”

His gaze drifted to the window, distant and heavy.

“Leading ruined my family. It got our father killed. And I believe it was the reason behind that accident too. I can’t prove it, but I feel it in my bones. We have never had peace. Always watching our backs. Always waiting for the next enemy.”

Ashley stared at him, stunned into silence.

“I am sure Ethan isn’t thrilled that Mother is pushing the Luna role onto Meadow,” Joseph continued. “But someone has to carry it. And Meadow is stronger than you think. I advise you not to worry about things that will never concern you.”

The words landed cold and final.

Ashley’s tears slowed, but the devastation inside her deepened.

“Once we get married,” Joseph went on, “I want to move us out of the mansion. I want a small country home on the outskirts of town, like Keith and Elaine. I envy their peace.”

Her heart clenched painfully.

“I want to spend every moment with you,” he said, his voice lowering, “And when our children come, I want to be present. I want to raise them with my own hands. I want to watch them grow.”

He bowed his head slightly.

“My father was Alpha and never had time for us. He never had time for Mother either. They made it work somehow, but I don’t want that life. Let Ethan and his wife handle the pack. You should be happy about this.”

Ashley said nothing.

She couldn’t.

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Chapter 85

Every word he spoke felt like another door slamming shut on the future she had imagined. While he spoke of quiet homes and/ children and peace, she saw only whispers behind her back. Pitying looks. A lifetime of standing behind Meadow’s shadow.

Joseph rose from the bed and headed toward the bathroom.

“I need to freshen up,” he said.

The door closed behind him.

Silence filled the room.

Ashley sat frozen on the edge of the mattress, her hands limp in her lap. The mirror across the room reflected a woman she barely recognised, eyes swollen, cheeks flushed, lips trembling with rage she was no longer trying to hide.

You should be happy, he had said.

A bitter laugh tore out of her throat.

Happy?

When everything she had ever wanted had just been handed to someone else?

Her hands slowly moved to her stomach.

Her fingers pressed lightly against the slight curve beneath the fabric of her dress.

The truth settled heavily in her chest.

She regretted it.

She regretted everything.

Not because she didn’t want Joseph, but because she had never stopped to ask Joseph what he wanted. She had assumed. Just as she had assumed he would one day become Alpha. She had built her entire future on that assumption.

A sharp, bitter realisation took hold.

Every girl in the pack thought Joseph was Alpha.

He was the one they saw at meetings.

The one giving orders.

The one making decisions.

If she had known the truth from the beginning, if she had known it was Ethan, she would have chased him instead. She would have

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Chapter 85

played the game differently.

Now the mute of the pack had her dream position handed to her like a gift.

And Ashley would not let it stand.

Her tears dried.

Her breathing slowed.

Her mind hardened with cold resolve.

Something has to happen, she thought.

Something that would make Meadow unworthy.

Something that would strip that crown from her head before she ever truly wore it.

Her fingers curled into a fist over her stomach.

The regret turned to something darker.

I made the wrong move.

Joseph wanted peace.

Meadow wanted duty.

And Ashley wanted power.

She lifted her head, her eyes gleaming with dangerous intent.

She would not be the woman they pitied.

She would not be the Luna who never was.

If the pack would not give her what she deserved…

She would take it.

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