Third Person’s POV
Trista looked up at Cassian, her voice crystal clear and cuttingly cold. “I’m only here today to give you a warning. In three days, at the Council of Elders‘ termination hearing, if you dare to show up late, I won’t just make sure you can’t hold your head up in LA–I’ll make sure that she–wolf you care about so much is branded as a ‘homewrecker‘ forever. It’ll be a stain she can never wash off, a reputation she’ll never outrun.”
With that, she turned and walked away. Her pace was brisk, devoid of any hesitation.
Cassian stood rooted to the spot. He didn’t chase after her.
His pheromones were pulled in tight, but the slight tremor in his fingertips betrayed the fact that he was anything but calm.
The door to the private room swung open, and Fred strolled out. He reached into Cassian’s suit pocket, snatched the pink diamond ring, and shoved it into Wynn’s hands. “Go. Give this to Trista. See if she’ll even take it.”
Wynn clutched the small box and chased after Trista, looking like she was fleeing a disaster.
Fred signaled the waiter to cut the upbeat background music, replacing it with something quieter but heavy with emotion.
As the lights dimmed, the atmosphere turned intimate and suffocating.
He grabbed Cassian by the arm and pulled him into an inconspicuous corner on the second floor. “I’m putting it plainly. If Trista takes that ring, it means there’s still hope. If she rejects it again, stop dragging your feet and just end your mating.”
Cassian leaned into the shadows, silent.
He looked like a wolf forced into dormancy, his spine ramrod straight. His gaze was locked onto the bottom of the stairs, his breathing suppressed to a ghost of a sound.
Downstairs, Wynn caught up with Trista and presented the pink diamond, cradling it in her palms with extreme care. “Trista, Cassian bought this a month before your birthday. He brought it tonight specifically for you. You two started fighting before he had a chance to give it to you. Please, take it. For the sake of growing up together, just give him one more chance, okay?”
Before Trista could refuse, Wynn shoved the ring into her hand and bolted, practically running away in a panic.
The pink diamond caught the light, refracting cold glints of fire.
Trista looked down; the brilliance made her eyes ache.
Through that piercing light, she saw a montage of old memories–twenty years of friendship, three years of a mating bond, countless nights standing side–by–side at pack galas. But she also saw herself being forced to stand at a distance, watching another she–wolf and their child occupy the space that belonged to her.
The lounge singer’s voice swelled at that moment, the final notes dragging out like a slow twist of a knife in the heart.
Trista leaned her back against the wall, tilted her head back, and closed her eyes. She listened for a few seconds, her grip on the ring tightening.
As the climax of the song faded, she opened her eyes.
She looked at the diamond in her palm, let out a steady breath, and simply opened her hand.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABEL
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: The Heartbroken Luna's Choice Banish Love