Christina’s POV
What?!
"You’re not serious." I finally found my voice.
"I’m completely serious," he replied, as if he were announcing a quarterly financial report. "I’ve just returned from Europe. I’ve been Alpha of my pack for so ti now, but I still don’t have a Luna."
He stepped closer, his wolf’s energy radiating power that made Akira whimper inside .
"Unmated Alphas are considered volatile, aggressive. But with a mate and cubs?" A cold smile touched his lips. "People see us as grounded. Cautious. The council prefers their pack leaders... dosticated."
I fell silent.
Two days ago, I vowed I’d bring ho soone better than Niall.
Soone impressive enough to silence my parents.
Now, the universe had sent an answer—just with a thick layer of irony.
But I knew.
Marriage shouldn’t be like this.
I’d already lived through a loveless engagent once.
All it left was a house full of silence, hollow intimacy, and a slow, brutal erosion of my self-respect.
I opened my mouth to say no.
But at that mont, my phone rang.
The sharp ringtone cut through the quiet like a knife.
I glanced at the screen and felt like a bomb had exploded in my chest.
Franklin Vance.
My father.
The Alpha of The Crescent pack, whose word was absolute in our household.
I looked at his face, familiar yet distant, then back down at my phone.
And finally, I said the words,"I can’t accept."
I walked out of the hotel suite, the ringtone still shrieking.
I answered, not because I wanted to, but because I needed.
"Where the hell are you?" My father’s voice was angry."Your actions reflect on this entire pack. Do you understand the strategic liability you’ve created?"
Ah, there it was. Not "are you okay?" but "how have you damaged our investnt portfolio?"
"I’ll be there soon," I said coldly, hanging up before he could start calculating my depreciated daughter-value.
I gave the driver my parents’ address and collapsed into the backseat, like soone bracing for a public execution.
Okay. Let’s get this over with.
My neighbor, aka my one-night stand, was probably insane.
But I still had a drop of alcohol-induced courage left in my blood. The old Christina, desperate for pack approval, hadn’t crept back in yet. I had to move fast.
The pack house sat on the centre of The Crescent territory, in the kind of suburban enclave that didn’t welco anyone who couldn’t trace their bloodline back three generations.No human visitors. No rogues. Just an elegantly worded "pure blood only" policy.
At the wrought-iron gate, I took a deep breath. I felt like a boxer entering the ring. Shoulders squared, chin up, and emotional armor locked in place.
The mont I entered the living room, I could sense the ambush.
My father, High and mighty Alpha Franklin, sat alone in his leather chair, wearing the sa expression he probably used when commanding subordinate wolves.
Beside him, my mother, Caroline, with her perfect hair and perfectly aligned pearl necklace,
To their left, Niall sat on the sofa, all solemn and brooding, as if waiting for a pack tribunal to direct his next pose.
And on the right?
Beatrice, obviously.
All we were missing was a silver stake and an executioner.
This was a trial.
I was the defendant.
And the verdict had already been written.
Father struck first.
"What took you so long? This pack doesn’t run on your schedule." His voice was cold.
"Traffic," I lied.
If I told them I’d just escaped from a towel-clad Alpha proposing marriage, they’d have locked in silver chains.
"So? Why am I here?" My tone was iced over.
No one answered.
Not until Niall stood, a bandage still across his forehead.
The sight of him looking vaguely wounded brought a small, grim satisfaction.
"I had your things removed from my pack house," he said slowly, nudging a small suitcase with his foot. "Everything’s there."
I stared at it.
A single carry-on suitcase. Four years of engagent, and all I had to show for it was luggage small enough for the overhead compartnt on budget airlines.
Perfect taphor for my importance in his life.
Rage rose in my throat, but I swallowed it.
"Thanks," I said flatly. "That’s... thoughtful."
I snatched up the ridiculous little suitcase and turned to leave.
Co on. No one calls a full-blown family eting just to return a suitcase. I knew better. This was about humiliation. About putting in my place.
They were the real family.
I was always the outsider, tolerated only when they needed soone to bla.
"Wait," my father said.
I paused. Didn’t turn around.
He folded his arms and smiled.
"Now that Beatrice is back," he said, "and since you and Niall have broken up, we need to address the pack’s public position."
I gave a short, humorless laugh. Turned around slowly, letting the sarcasm drip from my lips.
"By all ans. Plan whatever you want. It’s not like you’ve ever asked for my opinion before."
"We used to ask," he shot back, "back when you were still the sensible daughter. The one with potential."
He stepped closer.
"You’re too emotional, Christina. Your insecurity drove you to paranoid—accusing Niall, trying to control him. You rejected your fated mate, and that’s what destroyed the relationship."
His words were blades.
Light in tone. Ruthless in effect.
"So this is on you. And you will announce it to the other packs. Tell them you fell for soone else. That’s why you rejected your mate bond."
I froze.
Sothing ripped open inside my chest, like they’d torn it apart with their bare hands.
I looked at them, all of them—my parents, Niall, Beatrice.
So calm and deliberate.
Like a script they’d rehearsed for weeks.
What had I done to deserve this?
Where had I gone so wrong?
I glanced at Niall, hoping for sothing. I didn’t know what exactly. A shred of decency? A mont of courage? But there was nothing. Just that entitled look staring back at , unapologetic and self-satisfied.
This was absolutely insane.
"No, I refuse to make that statent!" I exploded. "Niall and Beatrice’s affair caused unbearable pain, weakened my wolf. Akira and I can barely sense scents anymore. You both know that ans I’ll have difficulty bonding with any new mate."
I was ready to storm out.
But that’s when my father finally stood.
Like a judge preparing to read the sentence.
"You don’t have to worry about finding soone new," he said with absolute finality.
"We’ve already made arrangents. As long as you’re still part of this pack, you have value, don’t you?"
I stared at Franklin in fury.
In his mind, my value was marrying so Alpha to bring resources to the pack.
Fuck that! I had my own career to prove my worth.
"You’re absolutely right, Alpha Franklin. As long as I’m in this pack, I’m valuable—as your prized commodity to auction off." My voice was sweet as poison. "What a brilliant businessman you are, selling your own daughter. Too bad your best rchandise just quit."
And with that, I stord out.
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