The Heartbroken Luna's Choice Banish Love novel Chapter 289

Third Person's POV

Cassian felt a sharp pain in his shoulder as Howard exerted a ruthless amount of aura. He gritted his teeth, letting his wolf's grip sink into his flesh without backing down an inch.

Veronica stepped in, releasing a soothing scent of pine needles to cut through the suffocating tension. "Dad, Wilmot, enough. Since Cassian and Trista have an understanding, stop meddling in their mating. It's their business."

She looked at them, looking exhausted. "I finally made it back from Europe; I don't want to spend my trip breathing in nothing but gunpowder."

Under Veronica's mediation, Howard's crushing presence finally faded.

After dinner, a cool breeze drifted through the garden. Veronica signaled for Cassian to follow her.

"Alaina told me everything," Veronica said, turning to face him under the moonlight.

"Don't get mad at me for meddling, Cassian, but I want you to be the one to end this. Cut the mating."

Cassian's pupils constricted. He looked at his aunt—who had always been Trista's biggest supporter—in total disbelief. "Auntie, you know better than anyone how much she's sacrificed for this pack. Why are you telling me to let go?"

"Because I love her, and I don't want to watch her wither away," Veronica sighed, her eyes full of pity.

"You and Samantha have a kid. That's a blood tie that can never be broken. Trista loved you with everything she had, and now she's stuck with a fractured mating bond. How many times does she have to be betrayed before she breaks? How much can she take and still be your Luna?"

Cassian felt like lead was sitting in his chest. That mating bond throbbed with a dull ache.

"I promise, I won't let her suffer like that again," he rasped.

"How can you guarantee that?" Veronica pressed. "Can you turn back time? Can you make that rogue's child disappear? Can you erase the scandals currently tearing through L.A., or the scars you've personally carved into her soul?"

Cassian stood frozen, his throat too dry to make a sound.

"You're the one who broke the oath, Cassian. You don't have the right to refuse her when she chooses to reject you."

Veronica patted his shoulder, her voice turning icy. "The worst mistake Trista ever made was giving her heart to you. If you have any shred of a wolf's conscience left, give her back her freedom."

Cassian stood in the darkness for a long time after she left.

Guilt followed him like a shadow, but he refused to accept her rejection.

He stubbornly believed that if his parents could survive a near-betrayal back in the day, so could he.

Besides, that pup wasn't his.

Trista's face was like ice, her voice flat. "Auntie, this is the child Cassian brought back."

Samantha sauntered over with a fake, flattering smile. "Auntie, it's an honor to finally meet you."

Veronica's expression turned to frost. Her tone was polite but distant. "Do I know you?"

"Cassian talks about you all the time. I've seen pictures," Samantha said, trying to bridge the gap with blatant flattery.

"You have that pureblood, aristocratic aura. There's no one else like you in L.A."

"Miss Fernandez," Veronica interrupted, her voice booming with authority. "Let's not pretend we're family. If you know who I am, you should know the rules: low-tier mutts have no business shouting in front of a rightful Luna."

She turned back to Trista, gave her a few final instructions, and didn't give Samantha a second glance as she walked straight to her car.

Samantha stood frozen, her nails digging into her palms.

She turned her venom toward Trista. "It was you, wasn't it? You purposely talked trash about me to her so she'd cut Cassian and my son off!"

Trista didn't even have the energy to explain. She gave her a bored look and walked away, her silhouette cold and final in the morning sun.