The Heartbroken Luna's Choice Banish Love novel Chapter 287

Third Person's POV

"The luxury house, the driver, the nanny—was all of that a 'misunderstanding' too? Claiming that kid as your son—another mistake? Cassian, do you really think every wound Trista suffered every time you ran to that woman can just be wiped away by calling it a 'misunderstanding'?"

Fred stared him down, relentless. "With all these 'misunderstandings' piling up, did you ever once stop for Trista's sake? Did someone have a gun to your head forcing you to do this? This isn't a mistake, Cassian. It was a choice you made willingly. Whether you admit it or not, you chose that woman and personally shoved away the mate who loved you most."

Looking at Cassian's pathetic, half-dead state, Fred stood up to leave. He threw one last warning over his shoulder, "You two grew up together. You've got decades of history. Stop pushing her, man. Don't make her end up hating your guts."

After Fred left, Cassian didn't move.

He lay on the sofa, eyes fixed hollowly on the ceiling. The corners of his eyes slowly reddened, and his body trembled as he fought to suppress the violent, volatile instincts of his wolf.

The next morning, outside the healing center, Trista had just stepped out of her car when she ran right into Cassian.

He was holding a bag of takeout breakfast, dressed in a sharp, high-end business suit. He still looked every bit the prestigious Ironthorn Alpha, but he couldn't hide the bone-deep exhaustion in his eyes.

Trista stopped in her tracks as he approached.

Cassian looked at her with a flicker of hesitation, his voice cautious. "I bought those Eggs Benedict you like."

Trista gave him a cold look. She took the paper bag and, without even opening it, turned and dropped it straight into the trash can.

Cassian's face went livid, but he forced down the rising Alpha rage. He didn't snap.

"Is there anything else?" Trista asked.

Cassian checked his watch, explaining himself with desperate urgency. "Trista, you have to believe me. I only went to see her to handle some leftover issues. I didn't hug her—she fell into me."

Trista looked at him with total indifference. She didn't even have the energy to listen. "Cassian, you two have a child together. Do you really think these explanations mean anything anymore?"

A sense of profound powerlessness washed over Cassian, as if his strength and his legendary need for control had been sucked out of him all at once.

He softened his voice. "The child happened six years ago. We weren't even mated then. I didn't even know he existed when I committed to you. Are you really going to destroy our entire mating bond over one child?"

To keep Trista from leaving and to protect the secret of the boy's real parentage, this was the only lie Cassian could tell.

Trista didn't budge. "The kid happened before us, fine. But what about after? Ever since Samantha brought him back to LA, have you two given me even one day of peace?"

The pack members traded looks. This was the first time they had ever seen their cold-blooded leader look this frayed and distracted.

No one dared to make a sound, terrified that the terrifying pressure radiating from him would explode.

Cassian rubbed his temples, feeling the dull ache of a damaged mating bond. "Gamma," he rasped, "you're in charge of the territory negotiations. Handle it."

He shoved his chair back and stood up, leaving the room in a cloud of cold pine scent.

The second he was gone, the tension in the room broke.

One of the scouts caught Humphrey at the door, his voice a low whisper. "Humphrey, what's going on with Alpha Cassian? I can hear his wolf howling. It sounds like it's in mourning."

Humphrey wasn't about to leak Cassian's private life. He gathered the files and ducked out.

When he opened the heavy wooden door to the office, Cassian was staring at his phone, looking like a man waiting for a miracle.

Humphrey carefully set down the territory reports. "Alpha Cassian, Alaina sent a message. She wants you to bring Luna Trista back to the estate this weekend. Apparently, some of the high elders want to see her."