8

“Zara, come out.”

Zara was in the middle of thinking about her future plans after the mate rejection when Declan’s anger-filled voice pierced through the door. His Alpha aura pressed heavily against the air around her. For a moment, Zara froze. Just as she was about to open the door, suddenly.

BANG!

The bedroom door was kicked open.

“Zara, you were the one who complained to my mother about Marina returning to the pack territory, weren’t you?” Declan stood before her with a dark expression, his Alpha eyes gleaming sharply as he demanded an answer.

Zara was stunned for a brief second, then merely responded with a bitter smile, offering no defense.

 What was the point of defending herself?

She had heard accusations like this far too many times.

Whenever a problem arose, whenever Marina was involved, Zara’s name was always the first to be suspected. In the past, she had tried to explain. She had tried to prove herself.

 But Declan never believed her without evidence and even when the evidence was placed directly in his hands, the outcome was always the same.

Zara still remembered that night clearly. With trembling hands, she had handed the proof to Declan and said with fragile hope,

 “Look this really wasn’t me.”

What was the Alpha’s reaction?

Declan only laughed coldly, his gaze filled with disdain.

 “So what if it wasn’t you? Zara, you should reflect on yourself. Why do you think I immediately suspected you?”

Those words had been carved into her memory ever since. She had given her heart and loyalty as Luna, yet all she received in return was suspicion and humiliation. If that was the case, what was left to say?

Zara remained silent.

Declan took that silence as an admission of guilt. The corner of his lips curled into a sneer, his conviction strengthening that Zara felt ashamed. He had briefly thought she had changed but it turned out her jealousy was still the same.

“You think complaining to my mother will help you?” he said coldly. “Zara, listen to me-”

Before he could finish, Zara interrupted him in a flat voice, “Declan, spare some time. Let’s settle this mate rejection.”

“Mate rejection?” Hearing the term again, Declan let out a soft, mocking laugh. “You think I believe you really want to sever this bond? You once chased after this mate bond with everything you had. And now you casually say you want to let it go?”

“Whether you believe it or not is your business,” Zara replied calmly. She did not expect his trust at all. With a slow movement, she handed him a document already signed.

 “This mate rejection contract was drafted by the pack’s legal adviser. I’ve signed the sections required of me. All that’s left is you.”

The words Declan was about to throw at her were instantly lodged in his throat.

He took the document hesitantly and flipped it open. His eyes skimmed page after page. It was real a contract to sever the mate bond. And on the final page was Zara’s signature, clear and unmistakable.

In the past, Declan had repeatedly pressured Zara to agree to this rejection. He had even threatened to drive her out of the pack. Yet Zara had always refused, always endured, as if that bond was the sole reason for her existence.

So why now was Zara the one initiating it?

Declan couldn’t understand.

What disturbed him even more was that as he stared at the document, he felt no relief at all. No sense of freedom. No victory. Instead, what surfaced was an unfamiliar anger hot, restless, and difficult to explain.

Zara lifted her head, watching Declan stand frozen for quite some time. This Alpha should have been happy. With this contract, Declan would no longer have to deal with her as Luna and could be with Marina without any bond standing in the way.

“If you don’t mind, just sign it,” Zara said, extending a silver pen a pen reserved for pack blood agreements.

Declan didn’t take it. He loosened his tie restlessly, his jaw tightening. “You’re serious?”

“Yes.” Zara nodded briefly.

Declan’s gaze bored into her face, as if trying to pierce through her skin in search of a lie. But all he found was calm an unfamiliar calm.

It wasn’t forced calm. It was the calm of someone who had truly let go.

That realization only made Declan’s anger flare hotter. He restrained his emotions, then lowered his head again to look at the document in his hand.

There was something that infuriated him. Something pressing heavily against his chest. And he was certain it wasn’t just because of the mate bond rejection.

Then his eyes stopped at one particular section.

The division of pack assets and Luna compensation.

“There’s a problem,” he said coldly.