Reclaiming My Broken Luna by Selene Souchon

Chapter 334: Crowned Alpha Alpha Theron's POV A long silence settled over the room after I asked the question, heavy and tense.

I kept my gaze fixed on Andros, waiting, hoping for a sign of remorse or an explanation.

But what I saw instead shookto my core. Andros looked back at me, and in that gaze, I saw a stranger.

The gentle son I thought I knew was gone, and in his place stood a man cold and unyielding.

Then he spoke, his voice sharper and louder than I had ever heard it, filled with a defiance that sent a chill through me.

"You want to know why I did it?" he snapped, his tone a mix of anger and something darker. "I did it for us, for this pack. I was doing you a favor by doing what you could never bring yourself to do." His words stunned me. Andros had never raised his voice to me, not once in all the years I'd known him.

Even when I was harsh or demanding - as I always was, he had always accepted it in silence, never challenging me.

But now, he stood before me, speaking without restraint, and I realized with a sinking feeling that I never really knew who my son was.

"You are doinga favor?" I shot back in disbelief. "Hiring someone to attack your sister and working with Giselle. In what way was that helpful to me?" "She's dangerous, father!" he interrupted, his voice rising, filled with conviction.

"We both had read the book and you know full well that the book is a hundred percent accurate. She'll beca killing machine if we don't stop her. And you-" he sneered, shaking his head in disdain.

"You'd never be able to do what was necessary. I know you could never bear to kill her, not even if she threatened everyone in this pack," he spoke straightforwardly without any hesitation.

My shock quickly turned into anger as his words strikes deeper, cutting away the image I had of him.

"You had read the book and this is the solution you have thought of?" I demanded, my voice hard. "Instead of protecting your sister and helping her get through with this, you thought killing her was the best solution." He laughed bitterly, meeting my gaze with an icy defiance. "Father, there's no cure! There's no other solution!" Andros yelled back.

"Someone had to do what you couldn't. I'm protecting this pack from the monster she's destined to become. I'm saving you from the burden of doing it yourself." I clenched my fists, feeling the fury surge within me. "Protecting this pack? You are not doing this for us, Andros. This is just your own selfish ambition. You're just foolingand yourself into thinking that you were doing this for someone other than you." His face remained calm, almost arrogant. "Think what you want," he replied coldly. "But when the tcomes, you'll realize I was right. I did this for us." I took a slow, steady breath, keeping my gaze hard as I looked at my son.

"Andros," I began, my voice colder and firmer than it had ever been. "You leaveno choice. I cannot pass down the title of Crowned Alpha to someone who thinks that betrayal and bloodshed are the answers. You've shownthat you lack the qualities of a true Alpha." Andros's eyes widened before narrowing, his face twisted in disbelief and anger.

"What are you saying?" he demanded, his voice almost a growl.

"Who else is fit to lead this pack if not me? Since I was a child, you drilled it intothat I was the future of this pack.

You trained me, molded- I sacrificed everything to meet your standards! I never had a worthwhile childhood like Asha who had always lived freely.

Since I was born, I was bound by my duty, my title, my future as the Alpha. You can't just take that away from me." I shook my head, the weight of disappointment settling heavily in my chest.

"You speak as though sacrifice alone makes you worthy. But being an Alpha isn't about fulfilling slifelong duty or following a path set out for you.

It's about putting the well-being of this pack and your family above everything else - above even yourself. And that... that is what you have shownyou lack.

You see only your ambition, only your fears. You would sacrifice your own sister to appease those fears, yet you claim to be protecting us?" His fists clenched, and he looked at me, his voice barely above a whisper

but filled with fury. "You're wrong. I did what was necessary! made the choice you were too weak to make." I looked at him, feeling the ache of betrayal sink deeper. "No, Andros. A true Alpha does not justify cruelty or betrayal in the nof strength.

A true Alpha protects his family, not out of duty, but because he values every life in his charge.

That is the mark of an Alpha-and that is something you simply do not have." My words seemed to strike him like a blow, and for a moment, he was silent.

Andros's anger flared, laced with desperation.

"If you don't believe I'm worthy to lead this Pack, then who do you think is?" he demanded, his voice rough and challenging. I lowered my gaze, silent in the face of his question.

"I am your only son," he pressed, his voice rising, "and you don't have any nephews or cousins to inherit your title.

Asha would have been perfect, but you kept her away lethacko m matters, never letting her learn or get involved. That only leaves... Astrid." My mouth stayed shut, unwilling to confirm his suspicions.