Chapter 12
A Broken Kitten Figurine, A Broken Unborn Pup Chapter 12
A Broken Kitten Figurine, A Broken Unborn Pup Chapter 12
The expected storm never broke.
Blake merely unbuttoned his heavy overcoat with a tired efficiency, issuing a flat directive without looking at me. “My mother is ill. We’re going to the ancestral estate tomorrow morning to visit her.”
Like Trinity, Elder Luna Paige had always treated me with genuine kindness.
I nodded smoothly. “Alright.”
Remembering the half-drafted contract sitting on my desk, I added, “Do you have a moment to review the dissolution paperwork? Let me know if there are any specific clauses you want to add—”
“I have an emergency online Council meeting right now,” he cut me off, casting a brief glance at his watch. “I’ll be locked in the study until dawn, and I’ll sleep in the guest suite when I’m done. Don’t wait up.”
He disappeared into the study before I could respond.
I didn’t bother chasing him. It would be cleaner to hand him the final, polished document once the lawyer finished formatting it.
The next morning brought a violent downpour.
The drive to the ancestral estate was conducted in absolute silence.
During dinner that evening, Blake dropped a sentence so casually it took my brain a full ten seconds to process the words.
“I intend to formally announce my mate bond with Tessa to the entire Stagford Pack next week, followed by a formal Luna Investiture Ceremony.”
He spoke with an airy indifference, as though he were simply announcing a minor adjustment to a patrol route.
Old Luna Paige beamed, nodding enthusiastically. “It’s about time. There is absolutely no reason for the Luna of the Stagford Pack to be kept in the shadows.”
My fork slipped, clattering against the porcelain plate.
My inner wolf didn’t offer a single spark of joy, despite having spent over a year praying for this exact moment.
When Blake first demanded we hide our connection, it had been entirely for Wendy’s sake.
Upon learning of our private contract, Wendy’s mental stability had fractured completely. She had spent weeks drowning herself in liquor at the northern bars before throwing her resignation letter onto the administrative desks.
She had screamed at Blake in a fit of rage, ‘If the pack finds out Alpha Blake chose a common she-wolf over his fated mate, I will become the ultimate laughingstock! I will not give anyone the satisfaction of mocking the Former Luna! I am leaving the Stagford Pack forever!’
Blake had wavered for days before finally approaching me, using the excuse that the pack’s infrastructure would collapse without Wendy’s administrative expertise.
Guilt had written itself all over his face back then as he held me tight, whispering, ‘This is just temporary, Tessa. The moment Wendy builds a new life and finds a new mate, I will shout our bond to the world.’
But Wendy had remained completely unattached.
And somewhere along the way, my inner wolf had simply stopped waiting to be claimed.
When we retired to our guest quarters that evening, I turned to him flatly. “Why the sudden change of heart? Why announce it now?”
He seated himself at the mahogany desk, opening a folder without looking up. “Weren’t you the one who always wanted it public?”
“Besides, once your status is official, scum like Peter won’t dare look at you. It’s a matter of protection.”
I rubbed my temples, a dull headache forming behind my eyes. “But we are about to legally dissolve our bond, Blake.”
Blake finally snapped his eyes to mine. “I have already given you what you wanted, Tessa.”
The look in his eyes was instantly recognizable. He genuinely believed I was throwing a childish tantrum to extract a prize. This grand public announcement was simply a magnificent golden ladder he was throwing down for me to climb down from. It was his warning that my little performance had reached its logical limit.
I looked at him, my expression entirely hollow. “I don’t want your charity. I want your signature on the dissolution papers. Announcing a marriage now will only make me look pathetic.”
He frowned, genuine confusion clouding his features. “Why would you say that?”
He truly had no concept of the reality I lived in.
I sighed, soft and tired, echoing the exact whispers I heard daily at the office. “Think about it, Blake. How deeply must you despise me?”
“The rumors of your rekindled romance with Wendy are tearing through the territory, yet you’ve never issued a single denial. When Peter degraded me in front of the entire department, you still chose the pack’s financial interests over my dignity.”
“If you announce our marriage now, everyone will see me as a pathetic secret you hid away, completely smothered by the shadow of the Former Luna. They won’t revere me; they will pity and mock me.”
“I refuse to be the pack’s joke, Blake.”
His voice dropped, stripped of all inflection. “So you truly believe I don’t love you?”
“Is there any evidence to the contrary?” I countered, letting out a small yawn. “But it doesn’t matter anymore. I don’t care. My only concern is when you will finally sign the paperwork.”
True to his usual strategy, he met my words with a wall of cold silence, refusing to engage further.
I stared at him for a long beat, quietly finalizing a secondary plan in my mind. If he refused to sign voluntarily, I would file an emergency petition with the Elder Council for a forced dissolution.
