Chapter 7
Gunnar Tran, the Alpha of the Tran Pack, almost instinctively moved toward me, his broad shoulders tense, his usually commanding presence now tinged with panic. But I walked right past him into the healing den, leaving him outside. He reached for the door, his hand hovering as if he wanted to push it open, but he hesitated, likely worried he might wake Alaiya. He could only call out to me in a low voice, his alpha tone softened by desperation.
"Luna," he began, his voice strained, "it was just an accident, I swear on the Moon Goddess. This will never happen again! Monica, please open the door. Can we talk this through?"
It was absurd. Clearly, he was the one who had grown distant in our bond, the one who had let the cracks form between us. Now that I was ready to sever our mate bond, he was the one in a panic.
I was determined to seek a mate rejection and immediately contacted Jasper Hoffman, a Delta warrior and legal counsel, to ensure I got the best possible deal in the proceedings. What I didn’t expect was Gunnar’s willingness to compromise.
"Monica, does it have to come to this?" he asked, his voice heavy with regret.
He came to the healing den every day, and since I wouldn’t let him see Alaiya, he just sat outside on the bench, his powerful frame hunched in defeat. His presence, once so commanding, now seemed diminished, as if the weight of his actions had finally caught up to him.
"I know you’re worried about Gemma," he said, his tone pleading. "Can’t we stop this? I’ve already demoted her to Omega, and I promise I’ll never see her again. Besides, nothing inappropriate ever happened between us. Monica, can we not go through with the rejection?"
He wiped his face roughly, his calloused hands trembling slightly as he lowered himself to plead with me. We had been mates for years, had built a pack together, and knew each other too well.
Gunnar understood how stubborn I could be once I made up my mind, but he still didn’t grasp why I was pursuing this.
"Alpha," I said, my voice steady despite the turmoil inside me, "you still don’t understand why I want this rejection."
What mattered to me was Alaiya.
Perhaps once, Gunnar had been my first choice, but my daughter was the only one in this world with whom I shared an unbreakable bond. I could endure Gunnar’s emotional betrayal to give Alaiya a stable pack, but I could also leave him for her sake.
He was silent for a moment, his dark eyes searching mine as if trying to find a way to bridge the growing chasm between us. Then he pressed his lips together, his jaw tightening as he said, "But Monica, I’m Alaiya’s father. I love her just as much as you do. You can’t write me off for one mistake."
Seeing that I wasn’t convinced, Gunnar gritted his teeth, meeting my eyes with the intensity of a warrior facing a final stand.
"And are you sure you’ll win Alaiya’s custody battle against me, Luna?"
His words hung in the air, a challenge laced with desperation. But I stood firm, my resolve unshaken. For Alaiya, I would fight, even against the Alpha of my own pack.
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