Chapter 62: Chapter 62: Doubts In Leadership

Estelle’s POV

I leaned against the doorframe, crossing my arms as I studied Benedict lounging in my chair. His casual arrogance was almost amusing.

“Everywhere?” I raised an eyebrow. “That must have been exhausting for you. Though asking Caleb to fetch me hardly qualifies as a thorough search.”

Benedict’s pen stopped spinning between his fingers. His smirk faltered slightly.

“But then again,” I continued, stepping into the office but not approaching the desk, “if something as simple as walking through the pack house is too much effort for you, it’s no wonder Father left Blackmoon to me instead.”

His jaw tightened. The pen snapped between his fingers.

“Careful, Estelle,” he said, his voice taking on a warning tone. “You might want to watch that sharp tongue of yours.”

I tilted my head, studying him. “Or what?”

Benedict stood slowly, making a show of rising from my chair. He brushed imaginary dust off his shirt and gestured toward the seat with mock gallantry.

“Your throne awaits, Luna,” he said, his tone dripping with sarcasm.

Instead of taking the bait, I walked to the couch and settled myself comfortably. Benedict remained standing behind the desk, his hands gripping the back of my chair. His knuckles were white.

“What do you want, Benedict?” I asked, examining my nails with deliberate boredom.

He forced a smile back onto his face, though it looked more like a grimace. “Always so direct. Fine. I’ve been receiving some concerning reports lately.”

“Oh?” I glanced up at him with mild interest.

“Certain sectors of our pack aren’t performing well,” he said, beginning to pace behind the desk. “The agricultural division, the patrol schedules, even some of the trade negotiations. The council has been asking me about these issues.”

I waited for him to continue. Benedict clearly expected a reaction, but I wasn’t going to give him one.

“Of course, I had to explain to them that I’m not actually in charge anymore,” he continued, his voice taking on that sing-song quality that meant he thought he was being clever. “That they’d have to take their concerns to our dear Luna Estelle.”

“How considerate of you,” I said flatly.

Benedict stopped pacing and leaned forward, placing his palms on the desk. “The thing is, Estelle, ruling a pack like this simply isn’t acceptable. Blackmoon is going into decline under your leadership.”

“Is it?”

“The pack members obviously have no trust in—”

“It’s been handled,” I cut him off, sitting up straighter on the couch.

“Oh?” Benedict blinked, slightly taken aback. But he quickly regained a lazy grin on his lips. “How so?”

“The agricultural team leadership will be removed from their positions, effective immediately.”

That certainly wiped the smile off his face for good. “You can’t be serious.”

I stood and walked to the window, looking out at the pack grounds. “They’ve shown the most resistance to my leadership. I don’t need incapable people taking up positions they’re clearly not suited for.”

“But you can’t just—”

“The sector has been underperforming because they’re more interested in staging a little rebellion than doing their jobs,” I continued, turning back to face him. “I’ve identified the problem, and I’m solving it.”

Benedict stared at me like I’d just announced I was burning the pack house down. “Estelle, you’re being rather impulsive, aren’t you? These are established pack members. Their families have been serving Blackmoon for generations, some of them taking on leadership positions before you were even born.”

“They are also people who are actively working against the pack’s interests,” I corrected. “Their history won’t put food on anyone’s table if they keep sabotaging crop yields.”

“The agricultural issues started the week after I announced the new farming initiatives that would’ve increased productivity by thirty percent,” I continued. “But of course, they won’t be the only team that will need a little reshuffling.”

Benedict remained silent, carefully watching me. I had no worries telling him about my plans—he would learn of them sooner or later anyway.

“Certain guards have been caught sleeping on duty. Blackmoon’s safety is my top priority. Reassigning those guards is a perfectly reasonable course of action,” I continued. “On top of that, I would probably also have to investigate how certain trade negotiations have hit snags.”

Benedict’s eyes narrowed. My gaze remained fixed on him, unflinching.

“I heard that certain parties were told that I wasn’t the ‘real’ authority in Blackmoon,” I said. “We wouldn’t want a misunderstanding like that, would we?”

Benedict took a deep breath to calm himself. Then, he smiled, raising his hands in the air in surrender.

“Alright then,” he said. “Go ahead with your little replacement plan, but don’t say I didn’t warn you. The council won’t stand for this.”

His eyes practically glittered with malice. He watched me like a predator would a prey.

“If you think that replacing the entire team will be your best course of action, then by all means. But if you are unable to yield results, more doubt will simply be cast on your leadership capabilities.”

“They won’t have any doubt if you and Helena vouched for me, to begin with,” I said, raising an eyebrow. “As far as I know, you two have done quite the thorough investigation of my history. You should know that raising a pack from the dead isn’t a problem for me, much less maintaining one that is already functioning.”

“Now, don’t say that. We’re family, aren’t we?” Benedict said with a crooked smile. “Why would we ever try to harm you? We simply want the best for Blackmoon.”

He strolled over to my side, lazily placing his arms over my shoulder. I watched him with a slight sneer, while his face remained gleeful. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

“Mother and I merely think that if you can gain the trust of the council through your own merits, they will have less reason to doubt you,” he said. “Won’t you agree?”