❝I, Maxwell, Alpha of Greenhill Pack, reject you, Innes, as my mate and Luna.❞
Maxwell's words struck like a blow. He rejected her before she could even finish speaking.
Innes choked, sharp pain spreading through her chest. It felt as if her soul had been shattered. Her body turned numb from the pain, and blood spilled from her mouth. Max looked at her with trembling eyes, but his expression remained cold. He shouldn't pity a liar. Maybe that was why the Werewolf God had punished her—leaving her barren, unable to give him a child.
All these years, she had been childless, making him feel like an incompetent Alpha.
Max was a stubborn man. With the mate bond broken and Innes looking so vulnerable, it would have been satisfying—if only it wasn't affecting him, too.
He felt the pain deep in his soul, but his strong mentality didn't allow him to show any reaction.
It was almost as if he had no heart, as if pain was his medicine.
"You are no longer my Luna. You should leave the pack," Max spat out his final words.
Innes clenched her fists. It wasn't out of hate—she couldn't hate Max. He simply misunderstood her. All she needed to do was clear up that misunderstanding. But her mind was still tangled in a storm of emotions—uncertainty, sadness, pain. Rage hadn't settled in yet.
"Max, listen to me," Innes bit her lip and trembled as she pushed herself up from the ground, clutching her belly, which throbbed in pain. She was hurting. Everything in her body ached.
It felt as if the severed mate bond had affected her child.
No—it had affected her child.
Innes couldn't help but rub her belly in concern.
Max's eyes narrowed as he watched her. The way she held her stomach made something twist inside him, but he quickly frowned. It was just another one of Innes' acts—an attempt to appear weak.
What could possibly be in her belly for her to be so concerned?
It was just a little fall to the ground, yet she acted as if her whole world had been taken from her.
Innes still held her belly and looked up at Max, then she said, "Max, I'm pregnant. It is our child."
Her lips couldn't help but stretch into a smile even in this condition. Yes, she was pregnant with their child, so he shouldn't be like this—so cold to her.
Max's expressionless face darkened as he stared at her more deeply upon hearing her words.
Pregnant?
"What do you mean that you are pregnant?" Max's voice was cold, his mind refusing to believe her—or rather, he was still processing her words.
"Max, don't believe her," Gloria clung to Max's arm as a gesture of possession and said to him.
The moment he heard her words, Max no longer gave Innes any kindness.
"You are very funny, Innes."
Max took a step toward her but stopped when Gloria clung tighter to him.
"Just at the moment I reject you as my mate, you suddenly claim to be pregnant?" Max scoffed, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
But even as Innes' arms trembled, she stood firm.
He didn't believe her.
It was already clear.
"Max, I'm pregnant with our child! Why would I lie about something so important? You should be rational. If you think I'm lying, then call the pack doctor. Let him test me, and you will find out the truth!"
This was the most Innes had ever spoken in her entire obedient life. It was the first time she had dared to raise her voice.
"The pack doctor?" Max let out a cold chuckle. "You've been my Luna for ten years, Innes. The pack doctor is your person. He could easily lie to me and back you up."
Max felt Innes was wasting his time. This conversation should end here.
He would give her no chance to explain herself.
That was her greatest sin—lying to him.
She was just like that woman…
"Max, you don't trust me. I know you don't believe me right now, so I will have to do this."
As Innes spoke, Max raised a brow, wondering what she was about to do.
And before his eyes, Innes brought out a silver dagger.
A silver dagger? His heart curled for a moment.
Silver was harmful to werewolves. Werewolves were like immortals; they couldn't be hurt like humans.
One of the few objects that could cut through their skin was silver.
Innes brought her wrist forward and slashed the dagger across it.
Pale, delicate white skin split open, red blood spilling from the wound.
Innes did it swiftly. As blood dripped from her wrist, she brought out her necklace—something she had always cherished, something Max had given her. It was a clamping necklace, shaped like a seashell, designed to store any substance—be it dust or liquid.
So, she let the drops of her blood spill onto the necklace. Once enough had fallen, she closed it.
Innes only looked at Max with sad eyes.
She stepped closer to him, wanting to be near him—only if he would let her.
But right now, he seemed to belong to that strange woman, Gloria.
"Max, I know that you don't trust me. Since you don't trust me, here is my blood. I personally hand it over to you. You can go to any doctor you want and give them my blood. They will tell you if I'm pregnant or if I'm lying."
Max had not yet reacted. He didn't move. His eyes were locked on her bleeding wrist.
He barely heard her words when she took his wrist and dropped the necklace into his hand.
She loved that necklace very much.
"What is the meaning of all this? I won't take it!" Max suddenly roared, throwing the necklace away, making the blood spill onto the floor.
Innes looked down at the necklace on the floor, then clenched her fists and nodded.
"Is that it, Max? Is that it? I don't understand you. I don't know you anymore."
Why was Max so different?
She had asked herself repeatedly, but she still couldn't find the answer.
He had told her that she lied to him.
She did not lie to him!
Did he never love her?!
"I don't want to see you in this pack anymore, Luna." Max turned his back, not wanting to look at her face any longer. In the process, Gloria was forced to stop clinging to him.
Ines chuckled. "Correction, Alpha." She wiped her tears with the back of her hand. "It's Ines. Just Ines. I'm not your Luna anymore."
Ines clenched her fists and forced the words out, as if she were nonchalant about her terrible situation.
She was hurting in every way—her soul aching from the broken mate bond, her stomach twisting in pain as if her child could sense that it had lost all connection to its father.
"If you are done speaking, Ines, you can get out. Emily, come take the Luna out."
This was him driving her away.
Emily, at the sound of her name, hearing the power call from the Alpha, rushed in and knelt down, sensing the strange atmosphere.