The Heartbroken Luna's Choice Banish Love novel Chapter 182

Chapter 182

Trista’s POV

I lowered my eyes, shifting my gaze from the sharp lines of his face to the obsidian canes resting on the table.

They shimmered under the dim lights, humming with the ancient lunar magic of the Silverlight pack–my mother’s legacy, the last remnants of my bloodline.

Watching them, the final spark of warmth I had for the man sitting next to me flickered out for good.

I saw right through him. He was using my family’s dignity as a emotional game he had already lost.

al ng chip, playing a high–stakes

He wanted the “obedient Luna” back–the version of me that lived and breathed by his command.

A wave of self–derision washed over me, and my lips curled into a faint, bitter smile.

Spend enough time in this ice–cold Alpha villa, and I eventually mastered the art of faking submission while sharpening my knives in the dark. It was wolf survival 101.

I quickly recalibrated my pheromones, forcing back the violent urge to rip his throat out.

When I finally spoke, my voice was soft–dangerously soft–masking the bone–deep apathy beneath a veneer of compliance. “From now on, unless it’s an absolute emergency, I’ll make sure I’m home before the moon hits its peak. Please don’t worry.”

Cassian’s grip on my fingers tightened. His tone remained deep, unreadable. “I’m not trying to leash you by telling you to stay away from Isaiah. I’m doing it for your reputation–and for the honor of Ironthorn.”

I nodded, playing along with his logic like a good little mate.

But when it came to my core boundaries, my voice remained as hard as mid–winter ice. “Howard gave his word. Ironthorn will not interfere with my work at the Healing Institute. Period.”

“Academic contact during research hours is fine,” Cassian emphasized, his Alpha aura bleeding into the air around us. “But anything personal outside of that? It’s not happening. I won’t allow it.”

I looked up, meeting his eyes–eyes full of possessiveness and a mess of complicated flinching.

–

I weighed the pros and cons and decided to give him the “win” he craved for the sake of appearances. “Don‘ worry,” I said, giving him the respect a pack leader expects, “I haven’t forgotten who I am. I’m the Luna of Ironthorn. I’ll keep my behavior in check. I won’t let your reputation as my mate be dragged through the

mud.”

I saw the tension bleed out of his face. His brow smoothed over.

He looked at me, and for a split second, his voice softened into something almost pathetic–a hint of desperation he probably didn’t even realize he was showing. “Will you… keep cutting me off? Will you stop answering my calls?”

Jan

Chapter 182

I took a step forward, closing the gap between is,

15 Pears

I flattened my palm against his chest; I could feel the thrumming heat of his heart. I made my face look sincere, my voice dripping with a calculated, soft dependency.

“I promise. It won’t happen again.”

As our eyes locked, I felt his body temperature spike. It was a reaction I knew by heart–the proof that the mating bond was screaming in his blood.

I read the hunger in his gaze.

If this relationship had devolved into a trade of power and sex, then I was done pretending it was anything else.

Cassian held the resources and authority I needed, and the only thing I had left to trade was this skin–this hollowed–out intimacy.

I didn’t pull away. Instead, I let my wolf take the lead.

A second later, I withdrew my hand and gracefully slid onto his lap.

I looped my arms around his neck, pressing my body against his solid chest until there wasn’t an inch of air between us. I leaned in, my lips brushing his ear, my voice a low, seductive hum. “Hey, baby… that obsidian cane? Can I have it now?”

I pointedly avoided using the word “return.”

The mating bond snapped tight at the sound of that breathy “baby,” like a bowstring pulled to the breaking point. Whatever logic Cassian had left crumbled instantly.

His large hand clamped onto my waist, crushing me against him as his aggressive Alpha scent flooded my

senses.

He tilted my head back, his voice a gravelly wreck. “Kiss me.”

I didn’t hesitate. I leaned in with a practiced, effortless compliance, matching his rhythm.

Cassian kissed me like a man possessed, with a desperate, paranoid need to own every part of me.

His wolf was roaring in his mind, clawing at the bond, searching for a spark of the old Trista.

My wolf stayed curled in the dark, quiet and still. She felt the pull–the undeniable chemical attraction of her other half–but she didn’t engage.

The bond was a mess of chaotic static as we collided, but in that moment, the connection felt terrifyingly

real.

I felt his ragged breath and his thundering heart as he pinned me back against the sofa, taking everything he thought was his. I gave him exactly what he asked for, responding to him over and over again.

By the time the first grey light of dawn began to creep through the windows, I had nothing left. I drifted off into a dreamless sleep in the middle of that hollow, beautiful nightmare.

2/3