The Rejected Luna (Avery and Kaden) novel Chapter 69

**Between Then and Now by Mark Twain**

**Chapter 13**

As the first rays of dawn broke through the window, Audrey stirred from her slumber. The sterile scent of the hospital room filled her senses, but her mind was clouded with worry. She had insisted that Liam go into the ward alone, a decision rooted in both fear and hope.

Time seemed to stretch infinitely as Chloe sat in the waiting area, her fingers tapping nervously against the plastic chair. Each tick of the clock echoed in her mind, amplifying her anxiety. She was trapped in a whirlwind of thoughts, desperately crafting justifications for the web of lies she had spun.

When Liam finally emerged from the ward, his expression was grim, and Chloe’s heart plummeted. She felt a cold knot form in her stomach at the sight of him.

“Dad, how is mom?” she managed to ask, her voice trembling slightly, betraying her inner turmoil.

Liam’s face was ashen, his eyes piercing as they bore into hers.

“Don’t call me that,” he replied sharply, his tone laced with a contempt that sliced through her. “Do you think we’re idiots?”

Chloe had witnessed Liam’s fury before, but the intensity of his anger made her recoil. The bravado she had felt moments earlier, when she had argued with Audrey, evaporated like mist in the morning sun. Tears threatened to spill from her eyes as she struggled to maintain her composure.

Alpha Liam was not a man who toyed with words; when he spoke, he meant every syllable.

“It’s not like that,” she pleaded, her voice barely a whisper. “I truly care about both you and mom.”

But her words fell flat, like stones dropped into a deep well, never to be heard.

“We’ve shared a home for so long, and now I will ensure you leave with some semblance of dignity,” he stated coldly, his resolve unyielding. “From this moment on, you are no longer a member of the Bloodmoon Pack, and you are no longer our daughter.”

His expression was devoid of any warmth, and Chloe felt the weight of his declaration crush her spirit.

Her heart plummeted, and she could no longer contain the tears that flowed freely down her cheeks. As a child, her tears had always softened her parents’ hearts, but now… now it felt like a distant memory.

“Dad, how can you do this to me?” she sobbed, panic clawing at her chest.

The fear of leaving this home, of being cast out from the pack, enveloped her like a suffocating shroud.

For years, she had basked in the comfort of Tessa’s true identity, living a life that felt secure. The thought of losing everything was an unbearable weight pressing down on her.

Yet, she remained oblivious to the truth: the Liam who had once showered her with affection now regarded her with disdain.

The love that had once flourished between them had withered, replaced by a bitter animosity, and he could barely stand to look at her.

“Don’t ever let me see you again,” he commanded, his voice firm and final, sealing her fate.

Barely ten minutes had passed when the news of Chloe’s expulsion from the pack spread like wildfire.

Alpha Liam convened a pack meeting, his voice ringing out with authority as he declared Chloe a rogue, severing all ties to the Bloodmoon Pack.

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