I tried to ask indirectly. I even told him that if he no longer wanted me as his mate, he needed to tell me outright.
But every single time, he'd shut me down, impatient, dismissive, evasive. And the one time I dared question whose pup Ravenna was really carrying, he got furious.
He kept reassuring me, over and over again, until I finally chose to trust him.
I told myself he was just being kind. That he hadn't fallen out of love with me.
But now, it was all so clear. Ravenna's pup had always been his.
They'd been sneaking around behind my back for Moon Goddess knows how long and I was nothing more than their cover story.
When Alaric mentioned rejecting our bond, I caught the way Ravenna's eyes narrowed slightly, a flicker of satisfaction slipping through her carefully composed expression.
"I never meant to take you from Selene," she said, her voice trembling ever so slightly. "It's just... if my intended mate hadn't broken things off, none of this would've happened. I needed to protect my dignity. And thank the Moon Goddess you were there, Alaric. I honestly don't know what I would've done, where I would've gone, after coming back to this territory without you."