Chapter 130
Trista’s POV
Cassian’s brow knitted together.
He didn’t back down; instead, he took a step inside.
Finished
As his foot crossed the threshold, the mangled bond in my chest gave a violent yank. My wolf felt cornered, snapping back with a feral resistance.
My emotions finally hit the breaking point. I lunged forward to snatch the cake from his hands, my voice rising to a shout. “I told you to take it and get out p>
Cassian set the cake down and, with a smooth motion, kicked the door shut behind him.
The heavy thud of the door sounded like my last exit being sealed off.
The next second, he clamped a hand over my wrist–his grip was restrained, yet it held that habitual, Alpha aura he used so effortlessly.
His gaze locked onto mine, trying to pierce through every layer of my rejection and armor.
“I fly halfway across the world to spend your birthday with you, and this is the attitude I get p>
My eyes were pinned to the matcha cake on the table.
That shade of green felt like a needle in my eye, making my stomach churn with bile. The fractured mating bond throbbed in rhythm with my heartbeat, feeling like a knuckle grinding repeatedly into an open wound.
The dam finally broke.
I wanted to flip the table, to hurl that box and his pathetic “compensation” out into the hallway.
But Cassian was faster.
He pulled me in, forcing me into a hard embrace that I couldn’t break.
In that instant, his Alpha aura crashed over me like a tidal wave.
His scent invaded my senses–heavy, cold, and carrying that sharp Ironthorn edge–forcing the scent gland on my neck to flare with heat.
The wolf inside me bristled in rebellion. Claws threatened to emerge beneath my skin as I struggled to pull away, nearly triggering a partial shift just to escape him.
We were pushed to the absolute limit.
I thrashed in his arms, my voice trembling but unbroken. “I don’t want you at my birthday ever again! I wouldn’t touch a cake from you if it were the last thing on earth p>
Cassian used one hand to cup the back of my neck, forcing me to look him in the eye.
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Chapter 130
46 %
Finished
The position of his hand was too familiar–it felt like the precursor to a marking–and the memory of it only made the pain sharper.
I heard my wolf let out a low, pathetic whimper. It was fighting him, yet it was still being dragged by that broken bond, tearing itself apart.
Cassian stared down at me, his voice a low vibration. “Trista, we’re mates, not enemies. How long are you going to keep this up p>
My eyes were blurred with tears.
I used every ounce of strength to make each word count. “The second you went behind my back to bake a blueberry cake for your precious mistress, you stopped being my mate. You can stop pretending you give a damn p>
We were too close.
His breath fanned across my cheek, but I only felt like I was suffocating.
His scent, which used to be my sanctuary, felt like a thousand needles reminding me that he’d given this same tenderness to someone else.
Cassian’s grip tightened.
The wolf inside him was surfacing. His voice was a hoarse rumble against my ear, thick with suppressed frustration. “From the moment I decided to mate with you, I was ready to go the distance. You are my mate. Always p>
He lightly patted my back to soothe me, the way one would calm a startled wolf. “I brought you a gift. Do you want to see it p>
He reached into his pocket with one hand. The moment he loosened his grip, my wolf saw a gap.
I shoved him off with everything I had, stumbling back, fleeing his territory.
I put a wide, definitive distance between us.
I constricted my own scent, yanking myself out of the pull of that mangled bond.
I looked at him, my gaze resolute. “Cassian, whether it’s a gift or a man, I only want what is clean, unique, and belongs solely to me p>
My throat was parched, but I forced the last words out. “I don’t want anything that has your name on it p>
Cassian’s hand froze inside his pocket.
He pulled his hand out empty and stood there like a statue. Silence descended like a sheet of ice.
After a long silence, he asked, “Tell me then. What is it going to take for you to let this go p>
I took two more steps back. “The lies you told me, that blueberry cake, your public displays of affection for her, Algernon… I will never let any of it go p>
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Chapter 130
Cassian’s eyes went dark.
Finishen
He stalked toward me, his voice dropping an octave. “Anything can be overcome if you’re willing”
“I’m not willing!” I practically screamed, my voice vibrating with the edge of a breakdown.
Exhaustion finally flickered in his eyes, like a man stretched so thin he was starting to crack.
He reached out for my hand, but I shoved him away in a fit of rage. “I’ve already submitted the evidence of your infidelity to the Council! If you dare miss that hearing next week, I’ll show you what it really looks like when I burn this down to the ground p>
Cassian’s brow furrowed, his voice turning cold. “You’re gathering evidence against me p>
I stared at him, refusing to let another tear fall. “If you sign those papers, that evidence never has to see the light of day p>
The air between us was a taut wire about to snap.
Cassian turned, picked up the birthday cake, and set it outside the door.
He shut the door and walked back, his voice low, as if he were manually holding his wolf back. “The cake is gone. Can you just sit down and talk to me for a minute p>
I turned my head away, expressionless. “There’s nothing to talk about. Get out p>
Cassian stared at me, his eyes a swirling storm of complex emotions. He reached out to tuck a stray hair behind my ear, and I recoiled in visceral disgust.
The next second, he grabbed my arm and violently hauled me back into his chest.
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Sara Lili
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.