Rejected Seven Times, Now The Alpha Begs

"Luna, Alpha Ravyn sent you another separation agreement." Beta Corvine's voice shook despite his efforts to sound calm. He spoke carefully, as though the wrong word might make an already painful situation even worse.

He paused for a moment, then lowered his voice further before continuing, "He says he'll reconsider if you let Daisy become Co-Luna. He's even told the pack you'll give in sooner or later. He thinks your bond with him means you'll never go through with leaving him."

He stopped speaking, and neither of them broke the uncomfortable silence that followed.

Seraphine sat up in her hospital bed. She accepted the papers and signed her name with a steady hand. She didn't falter or stop to reconsider. She heard only the pen moving across the page.

She'd spent the past three months confined to that room. The spotless white walls had begun to feel oppressive. The monitors beeped at regular intervals, and the sharp smell of bleach never seemed to fade. Now she was holding yet another set of divorce papers.

He'd sent them to her seven times now.

The first had come before Ravyn transferred to the Grimroot Pack under suspicious circumstances. He'd told her to give him full control of the pack's money or agree to a separation.

He'd sent the second agreement on their seventh wedding anniversary. He'd wanted Daisy to return to the pack house, where they'd lived as children. Her mother had once worked as his family's nanny.

The third had arrived on Seraphine's birthday. Ravyn had wanted Daisy to look after their son, Bryan. According to him, that would allow Seraphine to "focus all her attention on running the pack."

On his own birthday, he'd sent the fourth agreement and appointed Daisy as his personal assistant.

The fifth had come after Daisy deliberately humiliated Seraphine in front of the whole pack. Ravyn had told her to put her pride aside and accept what had happened, or agree to end their marriage.

He'd spoiled Bryan's birthday with the sixth agreement. This time, he'd wanted Daisy to move into the Luna's suite. His excuse had been that Seraphine rarely slept there herself.

On each of those occasions, Seraphine had ripped up the papers in front of the Beta. She'd kept her expression calm, though every new demand had hurt her more than she'd allowed him to see.

She'd survived a chemical attack while protecting the pack, but it had left her body badly damaged. Even then, she'd been foolish enough to hope her husband would spare her some attention. She'd hoped he'd do something to show he cared. He could've come to see her. Even a little kindness would've meant something.

He'd sent another divorce agreement instead. Along with it had come his latest demand that she accept Daisy as Co-Luna. She'd finally reached the limit of what she could bear.

Seraphine understood then that their marriage had been over for a long time.

They'd failed to put things right six times. She'd wasted every one of those chances hoping things would change. She couldn't see anything left worth saving.

She'd decided to leave the pack. Her son would be going with her.

"Luna, why did you agree to it this time?" Corvine whispered. His eyes widened as he stared at her signature.

She lifted her head slowly and looked at him with a small smile that held no warmth.

"My mother used to say seven was the perfect number," she replied in an even voice. "But if you've tried six times to fix something and it's still broken, one more try won't make any difference."

Life had changed for their kind. Packs no longer kept to themselves in remote forests. Wolves lived alongside humans, took jobs in their companies, and established businesses of their own in major cities.

They weren't allowed to shift in public, so they'd learned to live within those limits. They still treated their full moon gatherings as sacred occasions, though, and kept them strictly within the pack.

Nowadays, Omegas, Betas, and Lunas made up most of those who remained on pack territory. They kept it safe and made sure life there ran smoothly.

Ravyn had risen to become one of New York's most influential men, but few people understood how much he owed Seraphine. She'd planned their moves, made difficult decisions without flinching, and used her rare abilities to help the pack reach the top.

In return, he'd given her little beyond cold indifference. He'd kept punishing her for a mistake made long ago, even though it hadn't been hers.

She'd stopped trying to get his attention. Waiting for him to notice her worth had gotten her nowhere. She no longer expected him to offer the affection she'd spent so long hoping for.

Her future would be with Bryan, just the two of them. Her son was the only reason she'd ever found any meaning in such an unhappy marriage.

Seraphine pushed aside the thin hospital blanket and lowered her bare feet onto the cold floor.

Corvine drew a quick breath in surprise.

"Luna, can you really walk again?"

The chemicals had nearly killed her. Even the pack's doctors had believed she'd never regain the use of her legs.

When she tried to stand, a sudden, stabbing pain traveled up her spine. She made herself take a step anyway. She'd spent two months unable to get out of bed, and even that pain reminded her that she'd survived. Now she was finally on her feet.

She gave a bitter smile at the thought but kept it to herself.

For two months, she'd been unable to move. She'd spent another month making painfully slow progress toward recovery. During that time, she'd had more than enough opportunity to think.

She'd reached one clear conclusion. Wanting their marriage to work couldn't repair everything that had gone wrong between them. No amount of determination on her part could do that.

Nobody had shown any real concern about whether she survived. She'd kept herself alive by relying on her own medical knowledge, without anyone else's help.

"Tell Ravyn he doesn't have to go with this Co-Luna thing," she responded at last, sounding as calm as before. "Once the divorce is final, Daisy will have the title to herself."

Corvine remained silent. Privately, though, he felt relieved that she was finally leaving the people who'd taken so much from her.

The pack had never had a stronger Luna than Seraphine. Her husband, however, had never given her the recognition she deserved.

Long ago, wolves had asked the Moon Goddess to free them from soul bonds they hadn't chosen. They'd wanted the same freedom humans had to leave a relationship. Eventually, she'd granted their wish.

That freedom had also made room for infidelity, attraction to other partners, and mating bonds that ended in heartbreak.

Ravyn had never cared much about what fate intended for them. He'd refused to accept their bond from the beginning. Without what had happened that night years ago, he wouldn't have married her at all.

Seraphine was nearing the medical wing's exit when she heard the muffled beat of party music coming from the main pack building.

"What are they celebrating out there?" she asked.

Corvine looked down at the floor before answering her, "It's the ceremony to appoint Daisy as Co-Luna. Alpha Ravyn's making it official. He invited other Alphas and specifically told them to leave their mates at home. He doesn't think you'd dare turn up."

She gave him a small, empty smile.

No Luna who respected her position would stand by and accept an insult like that.

Seraphine held tightly to the signed divorce papers and left the hospital without a backward glance. She hadn't even changed out of her plain white hospital gown.

Corvine hurriedly reached out to stop her, but she'd already stepped through the doorway.

With each step toward the main building, she could hear the music more clearly.

People around the pack grounds stopped what they were doing to stare. They watched her walk past as though they couldn't make sense of her being there.

She pushed open the ceremony hall's heavy doors, and the crowd abruptly went quiet. Then people began whispering to one another.

"Is that Luna Seraphine?"

"Is she really still alive?"

"How is she standing on her own?"

Alpha Ravyn stopped in the middle of a gesture on the raised stage. He looked as handsome as ever and carried himself with his usual confidence. He fixed his cold gaze on her, though his voice was gentle when he spoke.

"Sera, shouldn't you be resting? What are you doing out of the hospital?"

She knew that act all too well. He sounded concerned, but she couldn't find any sign of warmth in the way he looked at her.

"Is that really his wife?" a visiting Alpha asked quietly nearby. "She looks like she's in terrible shape."

Her hair had lost its shine, and her face was pale enough to alarm anyone who saw her. In her cheap cotton hospital gown, she looked painfully out of place among the ballroom's glittering decorations and well-dressed guests.

She paid no attention to the people watching her.

Ravyn hadn't even had time to step down from the platform before she walked straight up to him and pressed the papers firmly against his chest.

"You don't have to make Daisy Co-Luna," she replied clearly enough for everyone in the quiet hall to hear. "She can have the Luna title outright. I've signed the divorce papers."

This time, nobody spoke or whispered.

For the first time in a long while, Ravyn couldn't maintain the calm he'd always shown everyone.