The Heartbroken Luna's Choice Banish Love novel Chapter 5

Trista's POV

Randolph handed me a dessert his friend had sent.

His tone was gentle but firm. "Cassian has done a lot for us these three years. If you two have issues, talk it out. Stop throwing tantrums. You know the state of the Silverlight Pack."

Ulva looked at me, her eyes a mix of pity and expectation. "Yes. You're a mature she-wolf now. Stop being childish. You're the Alpha and Luna of Ironthorn. Get pregnant soon. A pack heir will stabilize your mating bond."

I was silent. It wasn't that I didn't want a child. He didn't want one.

Once, when he was out patrolling the border, driving out rogues, I dumped all the silver-threaded herbal contraceptives from my nightstand.

He came back a week later. It was a Full Moon. The heat made him intense.

He sniffed my neck and chest. He clearly smelled that the herbs were gone. But he didn't stop the mating.

I thought he was giving his silent consent.

The next morning, however, he held a vial of Moon-shadow Blocker to my lips. He patiently, but firmly, made me swallow it.

After that, I stopped trying. I buried the word "child" somewhere much deeper.

Only now did I realize: He didn't refuse fatherhood. He just refused me as his kid's mother.

Footsteps outside interrupted my thoughts. The door opened just as I turned.

It wasn't Cassian. It was my younger brother, Attwater.

"What are you doing here?" I quickly rearranged my expression. I asked him.

He was training at the Shifter Academy, preparing for his Gamma exam.

"I got permission from my Shifting instructor." He smelled of the night wind. He gave me a huge hug.

He grinned brightly. "Trista, I just passed the Evening Primrose Ward and saw Alpha Cassian!"

My smile froze for a moment.

Ulva turned to me. "Did he come with you?"

"No." I kept my voice steady. "He's visiting a friend. I just stopped by."

I quickly put Attwater in my chair. Ignoring his questions, I rushed out of the healing room.

The Evening Primrose Ward at the Healing Center was eerily quiet. Evening primroses lined the hallway. The air smelled faintly of herbs.

I didn't dare ask where Cassian was. I just had to check door by door.

My fingertips traced the railing. The cold metal felt like a thin line tightening my throat. The further I went, the tighter my chest got.

Yet, I wasn't the one who made the mistake.

Soon, I stopped outside a partially closed door.

I smelled Cassian's scent there. My wolf fangs instinctively elongated. The sharp tips pricked my lips.

My wolf thrashed inside me. It wanted to project its scent, to drive the foreign scent out of my territory.

I closed my eyes. I counted to ten. I squeezed that explosive force tight, inch by inch, forcing it back into my bones.

Not here. I told myself.

I opened my eyes. I saw Cassian gently brush her hands away.

Then I noticed the light on her wrist—a circle of diamonds flashing a cold fire under the lamp.

My heart seized up. I instinctively raised my own left hand.

The two bracelets were identical.

The "It's beautiful" he complimented earlier wasn't about her hand. It was about the bracelet. It was about the woman he loved.

I felt the mating bond shiver a third time. Like wind rushing through a tiny tunnel.

Inside the room, Cassian's shoulders stiffened suddenly. He seemed to sense it.

I could almost see the invisible thread straightening between us. His senses were reaching out along that line.

He suddenly lifted his head and looked right toward my direction.

My heart rate jumped.