Chapter 61: The Woman Beside Rowan

Dr. Evelyn Hart arrived at Lunaris the next morning carrying pastries.

"I come bearing diplomatic protection."

I took the box.

"Accepted."

She was tall, elegant, and visibly pregnant.

Her husband, Theo, came with her.

He shook Rowan's hand.

"I've been informed you're stealing my wife."

Rowan looked horrified.

Theo laughed.

"Relax."

Evelyn elbowed him.

"This is why I don't bring him anywhere."

The four of us sat in the archive courtyard while Rhea investigated the Council leak remotely.

I expected awkwardness.

There wasn't much.

Evelyn was direct.

"The meetings with Rowan concerned Moon Crown survivors."

I nodded.

"That part was classified."

"Yes."

She looked toward Rowan.

"We found evidence that some survivors developed unstable secondary mate responses after forced resonance procedures."

My stomach tightened.

"Rhea?"

"No."

Relief came first.

Then guilt because someone else still suffered.

"How many?"

"Seven confirmed."

Moon Crown had tried to manipulate compatibility.

Even though Helena failed to manufacture true fated bonds, the experiments had damaged wolves' ability to distinguish natural resonance.

Some experienced false mate sensations.

Others lost their wolf's response entirely.

"Can it be treated?"

"We don't know yet."

Evelyn rested a hand on her stomach.

"That's why the meetings were private. Survivors deserve confidentiality."

"So whoever leaked the schedule may know about the research."

"Possibly."

Rowan added, "Only three people besides us knew the exact subject."

Rhea appeared in the doorway.

"Four."

We looked at her.

She held up a tablet.

"Someone accessed the meeting files using Evelyn's deputy credentials."

Evelyn went pale.

"Daniel?"

"Daniel Price."

She shook her head.

"He's worked with me for five years."

"Credentials can be stolen," I said.

Rhea nodded.

"They were."

The login came from inside the Council building while Daniel was attending a conference in Silvercrest.

Security footage narrowed the suspects.

One person entered Evelyn's office during that window.

A junior administrative assistant named Celine Ward.

Rowan recognized the name.

"She transferred from the old Supreme Luna office."

The office had been dissolved when I declined the title.

Interesting.

Celine was brought in for questioning.

She was twenty-four.

Soft-spoken.

Terrified.

At first, she denied everything.

Then Rhea placed the access logs in front of her.

Celine started crying.

"I didn't know they'd publish classified information."

"Who are they?" Rowan asked.

She covered her face.

"The Heritage Council."

I had heard the name.

A private organization dedicated to "traditional Pack family structures."

Translation: they hated almost everything I represented.

They had recruited Celine after the Supreme Luna office closed.

She felt humiliated.

Her position had disappeared.

They told her I was responsible.

Technically, my decision had contributed.

But the Council had offered her reassignment.

She refused because the new role had less prestige.

"So you leaked Rowan's schedule?" I asked.

"They said they only wanted proof that the new system wasn't working."

"And the body-shaming campaign?"

Her face reddened.

"I didn't know about that."

I believed her.

That didn't excuse the leak.

Evelyn looked hurt more than angry.

"You exposed survivor meetings."

Celine cried harder.

"I didn't know."

"You didn't ask."

Silence.

That sentence landed.

Celine was suspended pending investigation.

The Heritage Council denied involvement.

Of course.

But financial records tied the PR firms to their donors.

The political fight expanded.

Traditionalists argued the Supreme Luna office had provided stability.

Reformers argued it had treated mates like extensions of male authority.

I was invited to debate.

I refused.

Then I changed my mind.

At the Council forum, the moderator asked whether I believed the title Supreme Luna should be abolished permanently.

"No."

Several people looked surprised.

"I think someone should be allowed to use it if they want it."

I paused.

"What I oppose is automatic identity."

The moderator frowned.

"Explain."

"If Rowan's mate wanted to serve as Supreme Luna, that could be meaningful work."

I looked at Rowan in the audience.

"But being his mate shouldn't erase whatever else she already is."

A traditionalist Alpha asked, "Doesn't separate authority create conflict inside the bond?"

"Sometimes."

"And that's healthy?"

"Conflict isn't automatically unhealthy."

I smiled.

"Rowan and I disagree constantly."

Rowan nodded dramatically.

People laughed.

"What matters is whether disagreement becomes domination."

After the forum, Evelyn found me.

"Good answer."

"Thanks."

She handed me another pastry.

"Peace offering from your romantic rival."

"You're taking this too well."

"I have three older sisters."

"Ah."

"Internet gossip can't hurt me."

Theo appeared.

"She cried for twenty minutes yesterday."

Evelyn glared.

"Traitor."

I laughed.

Watching them, I realized something.

A year ago, seeing a woman like Evelyn beside Rowan might have destroyed me.

Beautiful.

Accomplished.

Confident.

I would've compared every feature.

Every achievement.

Every inch of my body.

Now I simply liked her.

That felt like healing no one could photograph.

Evelyn later invited me to visit the ethics office without Rowan. I went. The staff showed me how survivor records were separated from political files and how participants could revoke research access. The systems weren't perfect, but they were built around a question Moon Crown had never asked: what does the person want? I left with three policy suggestions and another box of pastries. When Rowan complained that Evelyn liked me more than him, Theo informed him that everyone liked me more. Supreme Alpha authority apparently did not extend to controlling household insults.