6

Zara knew better than anyone that chasing after Declan would only deepen his disgust toward her.

Yet because the one demanding it was Violeta Jordan, the former Luna of the Northern Pack and Declan’s mother, Zara had no choice but to comply.

The Moon Goddess knew if there was one rule every she-wolf married into a pack had to obey, it was this: never defy the Alpha’s mother openly.

Especially not when the mate bond was already fragile.

“Zara,” Violeta’s sharp voice echoed through the communicator, cutting straight into her ears, “it doesn’t matter where you came from or what methods you used to enter the Jordan Pack. Since you are now bound to Declan as his mate, you should understand your identity.”

Zara stood silently beneath the dim moonlight outside the pack grounds, her fingers tightening around the device.

Identity.

She almost laughed.

“It is already unacceptable that my son, the Alpha, disappears from the pack lands for three days,” Violeta continued coldly. “Now you vanish for three days as well. Do you think this is appropriate behavior for a Luna? Or have you forgotten that you are his mate?”

The words came like claws, sharp and relentless.

Violeta did not pause to listen. She never did.

For years, Zara had endured this. Lowered her head. Swallowed every insult. Reminded herself that endurance was the price of being Declan’s mate.

But now 

Now, with the reject ritual looming on the horizon, something inside her had finally gone silent.

She interrupted for the first time.

“You said it yourself,” Zara replied calmly, her voice steady in a way that surprised even her. “I am his mate, not his parent. Declan is your son, not mine. It is not my responsibility to discipline or guide him.”

There was a sharp intake of breath on the other end.

“What did you just say?” Violeta snapped, fury flaring instantly. “Have you lost your mind? How dare you speak to me in that tone!”

“I am only stating the truth,” Zara said quietly.

For a brief moment, silence fell.

Then Violeta laughed a low, scornful sound.

“Oh, I see,” she said mockingly. “So this is about jealousy.”

Her tone turned venomous.

“Marina has returned, hasn’t she? Declan has been spending time with her again, hasn’t he?”

Zara did not answer.

She didn’t need to.

Violeta already knew the truth. She merely wanted to force Zara to acknowledge it to taste the bitterness openly.

Taking Zara’s silence as confirmation, Violeta’s voice sharpened with triumph.

“I knew it. You’re upset because of Marina.”

She scoffed.

“Remember this clearly, Zara. I am Declan Jordan’s mother. I decide who stands beside him. If I want him to sever the mate bond with you tomorrow, you will pack your belongings and leave the Alpha residence without complaint.”

Her words struck with the authority of a former Luna who still believed the pack bent to her will.

“So before you speak to me again,” Violeta concluded coldly, “understand your position.”

Zara remained silent.

But this silence was different.

There was no trembling. No fear. No desperation to explain herself.

Feeling victorious, Violeta failed to notice how profoundly Zara had changed.

In truth, Violeta had never liked Marina.

Zara, though born to the Jordan bloodline, a family once respected in Nordigo, was gentle, compliant, and easy to control.

A Luna who knew how to bow her head.

Marina, on the other hand, was different.

Sharp. Intelligent. Successful. Educated abroad.

She came from a modest pack, yet carried herself with unwavering confidence. The kind of confidence that unsettled other women especially those who were accustomed to power.

Violeta had always sensed it.

Whenever Marina stood beside Declan, Violeta felt threatened.

That was why she had opposed their bond in the past with everything she had.

But then Zara appeared.

And on the night Declan was forced into the mating ceremony with her, he celebrated by disappearing for two entire days drinking, fighting, and making it abundantly clear how deeply he rejected the union.

From that moment on, Declan rarely returned to the pack house.

His laughter vanished.

His wolf grew restless.

As a mother, Violeta watched her son’s misery with a torn heart.

So when Marina returned when Declan stayed with her for three consecutive days and his aura finally softened Violeta wavered.

She was no longer willing to tear them apart.

And so, she turned her claws toward Zara instead.

“Zara,” Violeta said finally, her tone shifting into false benevolence, “as his mother, I am willing to support you.”

Zara knew better than to believe that lie.

“But you must remain vigilant,” Violeta continued. “If you fail to hold your position, don’t blame me when your status as Luna Jordan disappears.”

The call ended abruptly.

No chance to respond. No room for rebuttal.