Semua Bab Luna's Rejection: Draven's Dirty Secret : Bab 41 - Bab 50

BUTTERCUP "Send them in," I told the guard at the door. "Alone. No one else from the pack should enter."The messenger nodded and left. The neutral packs had come for me, not Draven. Kai stood near the window, his gaze fixed on the courtyard below. "Are you sure about this? They might try to use you. Or worse.""I have to do it," I said, forcing courage into my voice even as my stomach twisted violently. "If I keep standing behind all of you, nothing changes. I'll always be the thing that happened to Draven, never my own person.""That's not..." Draven started, stepping closer, his expression carefully controlled though I felt the fury coiled under it through our bond, hot and barely leashed. He stopped himself, then exhaled hard. "Fine. We'll be right outside.""They'll see that as weakness," Asher cut in sharply from his corner. "Hovering outside like guard dogs undermines everything she is about to say. Let her stand alone or don't pretend this is her choice at all."Draven's hea

ASHERAT THE PACK"We need to leave now." I turned to Buttercup as the message from Draven hit the bond against my mind. "Seraphina's father is moving, and the pack meeting can wait a short time. There is somewhere I must take you first."Buttercup's green eyes narrowed, searching mine. "Asher, what's wrong? Your bond feels heavier than usual like you're bracing for something."I kept my voice steady, though the weight in my chest pressed harder with every second. "The temple. The place where I first felt the call to protect you. I need to face something there. With you. Now, before I lose the nerve."Kai glanced over from the truck, his patience was growing thin. "Go. We'll hold the line until you return. Don't make us regret it."Draven's nod was clipped, his tone edged with warning. "Make it quick. Trouble is gathering, and I can't stall Seraphina's father forever."Lila spoke. "I'll keep watch from the outer path."We drove in silence, tension coiling tighter with every mile, unti

BUTTERCUP "The secondary bond is sealed," I said as we stood together in the quiet room after the pack meeting noise faded into memory. "I feel it through everything. Kai and Lila."Kai kept his arm around Lila, his thumb tracing slow circles against her shoulder. "Yeah. It feels solid. Different from the trinity, but strong like something just clicked into place that I didn't know was missing."Lila's gaze locked onto mine, hunting for cracks I might try to hide. "You okay with this, Buttercup? Really? Because I need the truth, not just something you're saying because the bonds force you to."Her tone caught me off guard, an edge I hadn't expected. I took a breath, letting the question settle before I answered it honestly. The jealousy was there, sharper now under her scrutiny, a splinter under calmer feelings I couldn't quite smooth over. Kai had always been the free one with me, unclaimed by anyone else in quite this way. Now his focus had another center, another gravity pulling

DRAVEN "The meeting starts now," I said, walking into the main hall with Buttercup, Kai, Asher, and Lila at my side. "The pack demands answers about the bonds, the pregnancy, and the safe place."The hall filled fast, tension crackling through the gathering crowd like static before a lightning strike. Elders claimed the front rows, their faces set in hard, unreadable lines. Warriors lined the walls. Seraphina's father stood with a bunch of traditionalists, their arms were crossed, his eyes burning with fury. Neutral observers from other packs watched from the back, murmuring among themselves.I stepped onto the platform, feeling the weight of every gaze settle on me. "Black Moon Pack. Listen well, because I won't repeat myself. Lila is pregnant. The child carries traits from all of us. Secondary mate bonds are real and accepted in this pack. The safe house idea stands. These are the new facts, and they aren't up for debate."An elder shot to his feet, his voice gravely from age. "Al

ROSE (The first resident)"Please. Just let me stay one night. I can't go back out there." My voice cracked as I stood inside the new wards, my arms wrapped tight around myself as if I could hold my own body together by force. Everything hurt. The empty place where the mate bond used to be burned like a hole, raw and endless, and I didn't know how to breathe around it, didn't know if I even wanted to.Buttercup stepped closer like she was approaching a wounded animal that might still bite. "You're safe here Rose. No one will force you out. Sit. Drink something. Talk if you want...Or don't."I shook my head. "Talking doesn't fix it. He broke the bond on purpose. In front of everyone. And said a human wasn't worth the risk. The magic ripped and I felt it tear. Now there's nothing left inside, and you all just stand there talking about tea."Kai hung back a little, his expression unreadable. "We have seen broken bonds before. They can heal differently and not the same. But it can't be em