Chapter 6 Chapter 0006
•CASSANDRA•
“Let’s go home, Luna,” Kira said softly when she found me still standing at the podium long after the hall was empty.
People whispered as they left—quiet, pitying murmurs I tried not to hear. Mason had ended the annual meeting earlier than usual, barely looking at me as he walked out with Nadia at his side.
Her smile had been bright. His face had been unreadable. And mine had been frozen in place like stone.
I swallowed the tightness in my throat. I refused to let anyone see me break. If I cried now, the she-wolves who already doubted me would think their judgment had been right all along.
“Thank you, Kira,” I finally answered, forcing my voice to stay steady. “Is Rowan asleep?”
“Yes,” she nodded. “He’s sleeping.”
A small warmth flickered in my chest. My son—my precious Rowan—he was everything I had.
Even if my heart had been shattered tonight, even if my mate had humiliated me in front of the entire pack, my pup was safe.
He was my purpose.
If the Moon Goddess allowed it, I would take him back home with me to the Goldenmane Court, where I was loved. Where I belonged.
My uncle, the Alpha, had raised my brother and me after our parents died in a rogue attack years ago.
He and his wife never treated me like a burden. I had been their daughter in every way that mattered.
If I walked through those gates with Rowan in my arms tomorrow, I knew they would welcome us without question.
When we reached the pack house, I sent Kira to her room, insisting I needed a moment alone.
She hesitated since she always sensed when I wasn’t okay, but she finally nodded and left.
Silence filled the corridor as I walked upstairs. I headed toward our room, rehearsing what I would say to Mason.
'Mason, why did you take the chancellorship from me? Why humiliate me like that? Why give my project to her?'
I had poured everything into that medical school. I spent sleepless nights, and hours spent at the construction site.
Being chancellor was my dream. Teaching young wolves medicine was my passion, but he gave it away without considering everything I had done for the school.
My hand stilled on the doorknob.
‘What’s that sound?’ Lyra whispered inside my mind, her voice trembling.
I froze. My fingers hovered above the doorknob, and the faint sound of voices slipped through the crack at the bottom of the door. A man's voice and a woman's voice. Soft and intimate.
No, it couldn’t be.
I pushed the door open just enough to see inside, praying I was imagining things.
But one look was enough.
Mason was on our bed with Nadia. Their bodies were tangled together under the sheets, his hands on her skin, her breath falling against his neck.
The same man who had publicly declared her more competent than me only hours earlier was now giving himself to her completely, without a single ounce of shame.
Something inside me tore so violently that I couldn’t breathe. Lyra snarled, her rage mixing with my heartbreak, her blue eyes pushing into my vision.
Before they could see me, I closed the door quietly and forced myself to walk away.
My legs carried me downstairs, though I couldn’t feel anything beneath me. Everything was numb except for the sharp, unbearable pain inside my chest.
The next morning after spending the night in the guest room, I went to the backyard porch to clear my mind.
I sat down on the bench and masked the mate bond. It was something I had never done before.
My hands were trembling, but I clasped them together and whispered silently to the moon goddess.
'Please forgive him on my behalf… because I won’t be able to.'
I didn’t know how long I had stayed like that. Minutes, maybe hours—the morning seemed to move with a strange heaviness. Eventually, footsteps sounded from the door.
Mason.
When he entered the porch, he stopped as soon as he saw me.
His shirt was on, but the fresh bite mark on his collarbone was still visible, and Nadia’s scent clung to him like a cruel reminder of what he had done.
He walked closer, his expression unreadable.
“Cassandra,” he said.
I turned my head slightly, keeping my voice calm even though my throat felt tight. “Not now. I don’t think I’m ready to hear anything from you tonight.”
“No,” he replied, taking another step. “We need to talk.”
I let out a shaky breath. “About what happened at the meeting? Or about what I just walked in on?”
He didn’t flinch. Didn’t apologize. That hurt more than anything.
“I’m done hiding how I feel,” Mason answered. “I’ve been trying to make this work for years, but the truth is… something in me kept pulling away, no matter how hard I tried to ignore it.”
My heart tightened painfully.
He continued, “Nadia and I—what we have feels real to me in ways I can’t explain. I’ve been fighting it for a long time, but today made everything clear. I don’t want to keep pretending that this marriage is working for me.”
I felt my breath catch. The room felt too small, pressing in on me.
“Mason,” I whispered. “We could’ve talked about whatever you feel. You didn’t have to humiliate me publicly. You didn’t have to—”
He cut me off, eyes dark. “I’m choosing a future that feels right to me. Nadia understands me in ways you never did.”
My stomach twisted at the cruelty of his words, his tone so cold it felt like a deliberate blow.
“How long?” I asked softly. “How long has this been going on?”
He looked away. His silence was answer enough.
A trembling sigh escaped me.
Mason reached into his jacket and then pulled out a brown envelope. He placed it on the table between us without looking at me.
A cold weight settled in my chest before he even spoke.
“I think it’s best if we end this before things get worse,” he said, his voice flat and emotionless. “I want a clean break.”
I stared at the envelope, my heartbeat loud in my ears.
“What is this?”
He took a step back. “Divorce papers.”