Adide’s POV

After talking with Beata, she prepared afternoon tea for bme/b.

The ss container held homemade vani ice cream, its sweet scent mingled with fresh blueberries Beata bhad /bjust picked.

Our shadows on the basalt countertop were shattered by the loud crash of iron armor.

“Adide!” Ulrik’s howl made the starlight chandelier above tremble. “How long do you n to keep up

this farce?”

“Beata,” I said, watching the melting ice cream–a three–hourbor of love from Beata–slip down the counter, “clean

ss. Ulrik and I need to talk.”

Once Beata’s footsteps faded upstairs, I looked up at the Alpha, his hackles braised/b. “bWant /bto discuss Shaman Digby?”

Ulrik’s slit pupils burned crimson. “How dare you?”

up

the

I smirked, unleashing my wolf’s aura.

Why sh

I? Maybe the Tenar family should ask why the most reputable shaman, Digby, refused to treat Luna Rosemary. His contract clearly states–If the employer dishonors the healer, the contract may be voided.”

“Stop ying innocent!” Ulrik’s wolf w hovered inches from my nose.

“I know you lied to Digby to stop him from treating my mother–all to sabotage my bonding with Velda. But this petty ckmail

won’t work.”

He unleashed cedar pheromones, thick with Alpha aura. “Adide, I warned you–I won’t be threatened. You scheming she-

wolf!”

“If I’d known you were bthis /bmaniptive and cruel, I’d never have let you be Bloodmoon’s Luna. I must’ve been bblind/b.”

I lunged forward, my bnails /belongating into sharp points that pressed against his throat. The height difference forced me to look. up at him, my former mate.

But the pheromones released from my nds were bas /bcold bas /bice spikes piercing his pores. “If you bhate /bme so much, why won’t

you reject bme/b?”

Ulrik’s Adam’s apple bobbed, a suppressed wolfish howl caught in his throat–this question seemed to have never crossed his

mind.

“What?”

I enunciated each word clearly, “I said, since you hate bme /bthis much, why won’t you reject me? Because you can’t. You im: Velda’s your true mate, yet you won’t sever our bbond/b. The Moon Goddess forbids two mates–so why cling to me?”

+15 Bonus

Ulrik frozeb, /bat a loss for words.

“Name your reasonsb,/b” I pressed, “or I will. ‘Failure to nurture offspring‘ sounds good–or how about ‘endangering family health“? Your mother’s failing wolf spirit is tied to your poor choices.”

Ulrik’s chest heaved, cedar musk soured with sulfur–a sign his pheromones were fracturing

His fingers absently rubbed the Bloodmoon sigil on his sleeve, fresh blood seeping from palm abrasions.

“I won’t reject you,” he growled, Alpha rumbleced with exhaustion. “Ask for anything else, but leave my mother out of this.”

“Coward,” I said clearly.

“Rejecting me brings you no benefits–only risks. The Lycan King’s warriors respect my father’s legacy. You fear being branded heartless–and losing his loyalists.”

Ulrik’s face darkened.

I continued, “You want Velda to satisfy your wolf and your heart, yet demand a future too. But you can’t have it all. Frostfang may be weakened, but it stands on its own–without Bloodmoon’s charity.”

“You underestimate me and overrate yourself,” I said.

He crushed the sigil in his fist, metal edges carving deeper into his palm.

I’d struck a nerveb. /b

“You don’t bneed /bto lecture me. Velda band /bI bond by the Lycan King’s decree. Name your price–I’ll agree.”

“No price. I want nothing from you.”

Ulrik’s frustration red. “Honestly, Adide, I thought you’d understand. Your father and brothers were warriors–I thought you’d respect Velda.”

“bOne /bmate per wolf is the norm. Even with lovers bon /bthe bside/bb, /bno one bbonds /bwith btwo /bat once. Yet you n to mark another bshe- /b

wolf while our bond’s unbroken. Expect me to smile at bthat/b?”

Ulrik snarled, “Then don’t me me when I take this to Lycan Erasmus. Your defiance’s treason.”

“Feel free to try. You bcan /balso seek out Luna Rosemary,” I said coolly.

“You think I bdare /bnot?”

“Goodbye and good riddance.” I couldn’t care less.

“Don’t regret this!”

The door mmed so hard the wolf–head carvings shuddered, leaving bscorch /bmarks from his residual bpheromones/b.