The Heartbroken Luna's Choice Banish Love novel Chapter 51

**TITLE: Where Soft Light Shines Darkness Fades From Tired Hearts by Evan Holt Crane**

**Chapter 51**

In the dimly lit study of the Ironthorn house, a solitary wall lamp cast a soft glow, illuminating the otherwise shadowed room.

Cassian entered, clad in his pajamas, the remnants of the cool night air still clinging to his skin after a refreshing shower. As he stepped further inside, his gaze was drawn to the stack of papers that lay ominously in the center of the desk, a stark contrast against the dark wood.

There it was—the Moon Goddess Rejection Protocol, its weight accentuated by a Werewolf Bloodline Certification resting atop it. The parchment felt ancient, its edges curling slightly as if time itself had left its mark. The deep crimson wolf-head stamp seemed to glow with an intensity that rivaled even the oppressive darkness surrounding him.

He halted, a sudden tightness gripping his throat as he reached for the certification.

His fingertips brushed over the paper, and he could feel the faint, dried creases—evidence of tears that had once soaked the parchment.

Trista’s scent lingered in the air, faint yet unmistakable, and his wolf instinctively recognized it, the trace hitting him like a physical blow to the chest.

He placed the parchment back down with a sense of dread and sank into the chair, the weight of the moment pressing down on him.

In his mind’s eye, he could see her—standing resolutely over the desk, spreading the certification before him. Her knuckles were white, the tension in her body palpable as she fought to suppress her pheromones, forcing them back into her very bones.

The more he envisioned her in that moment, the tighter the invisible thread behind his sternum pulled, igniting a dull ache that spread through him.

Turning to the last page of the Rejection Protocol, he spotted the addendum she had penned in her own hand.

The words were few, yet they bore the weight of three years filled with silence and unyielding dignity.

She had declared her willingness to relinquish the vast majority of her financial allocation as part of the Lub Ironthorn Pack, reserving only enough for her parents’ treatment and future care. The moment he acknowledged the end of their mating relationship before the Elder Council Stone Circle and completed the termination ritual, she would forfeit all further claims to any of it.

Cassian’s eyes lingered on those lines, a sharp pain slicing through his throat as if it had been cut by a blade.

In a desperate bid for freedom from him, she was prepared to sell Luna Ulva’s Moon Goddess-blessed obsidian staff—a family heirloom that every auction house coveted, its runes intricately tied to ancient Alpha bloodlines.

He suddenly grasped the reality: she wasn’t testing him; she was meticulously planning her life after leaving him behind.

A deep breath filled his chest, but it did little to quell the rising tide of anxiety within him. With a swift motion, he closed the protocol and looked away, inhaling deeply as if to ground himself.

Moments later, he found himself at the liquor cabinet, pouring a generous measure of silver-leaf whiskey into a glass, the amber liquid swirling like a storm contained within the crystal.

The study remained shrouded in silence, the only sound breaking through being the sharp clink of ice against glass.

He began to pace, whiskey in hand, his thoughts racing. The floor beneath him was covered with a detailed map of the pack territory, and the walls displayed the latest patrol routes. These once-familiar lines now felt like ropes, binding him to a fate he no longer wished to accept.

His gaze flickered back to the Bloodline Certification, its presence a constant reminder of his failure to protect the bond he had sworn to uphold.

He had pledged before the Elder Council Stone Circle to safeguard their mating bond, yet for the sake of Samantha and her son, he had repeatedly postponed that vow, convincing himself, “I’ll just handle this for a while.”

Now, in a cruel twist of fate, she was ready to sever every tie—her bloodline inheritance, her Luna identity—everything that had once defined her.

The clock ticked closer to midnight, and the outside world was draped in sparse lights. The faint hum of the border barrier echoed in the distance, a reminder of the boundaries he had once sworn to protect.

Rubbing his temples in frustration, he lowered the sound suppression on the study’s ward and reached out through the Mind-Link to his beta, Humphrey. “For the next few days, keep a vigilant eye on the Luna’s schedule. Monitor any contact with jewelry auction houses or appraisal agencies. If she takes anything for valuation, alert me immediately.”

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