Chapter 9
5 Points
Bella stood at the window of Tristan’s private. estate, holding a cup of coffee that had gone. cold, as dawn quietly ascended the sky.
Outside, the meticulously manicured gardens. sprawled for miles, serene and beautiful, a
stark contrast to the chaotic world she had left
behind.
She hadn’t planned to take Robert with her-
not at first. But that morning, standing at the doorway, suitcase in hand and heart shattered yet resolute, she saw the boy in the hallway -clutching his teddy bear, wide-eyed and perplexed, watching her.
Perhaps she should have left him then, should have slammed the door and never looked back.
But she couldn’t. Not after everything they did to her, not after how they used Robert’s existence to control her every move, every
breath. She couldn’t. So she took him, but
never to hurt him.
Robert thrived much better in Tristan’s estate
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than in that cold stone house. She ensured he
had food, warmth, safety. Each day, he played with the other pups from the orphanage down. the mountain-hide and seek, building castles out of blocks, innocent in his belief that it was a magical adventure with Miss Bella and her
“friends.”
Each night, she sat by his bedside, watched as he drifted to sleep, guilt pressing down on her heart like a stone. This-this was what they
made sure she never felt, she thought. This was what they stole from her-the chance to cradle
her own pup, to see her baby safe.
So for days, she let them panic, made them feel that same bone-chilling fear she had felt when
they tore her life apart in the pack hospital hallway, stealing her pup. But she never laid a hand on Robert, never yelled at him. Each morning, she prepared his snacks, planned his day, ensuring he never wished to return.
Gradually, she began to sense Robert growing fond of her, unlike before when he threw salt in her face. And finally, after days, she decided to send him back.
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The driver ferried Robert to the gates of the Blackstone Pack’s Alpha manor, a small backpack slung over his shoulder, a small box
in his hand.
Inside, Jason and Bianca were still living in the hell they had created for themselves, each hour more suffocating than the last.
Since sunrise, Bianca had been pacing the room, her hair disheveled, eyes swollen. Jason was huddled by the phone, repeatedly dialing the Pack Alliance enforcers.
Suddenly, a knock came, startling them both.
Beta’s voice trembled as the door opened a crack. “Alpha. It’s… it’s Robert.”
Bianca nearly collapsed as she lunged to the foyer, dropping to her knees, hugging Robert tightly, kissing his face, inspecting each finger as if he might vanish in a blink.
“Baby! Are you okay? Did she hurt you? Did she say anything to you?!” Her voice was frantic, trembling with worry.
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Robert blinked, oblivious. “I went on a trip with some pups,” he said proudly. “Miss Bella gave me cookies and toys.”
“Bella?” Bianca’s voice was sharp as a blade.
“Did she force you to go with her? Did she hurt.
you?”
Robert frowned. “No. She was nice. She said
you guys told her to take me. Wasn’t it a trip?”
Bianca was close to breaking down. “No! Never! You must never go near that bitch again, do you hear me? She’s an intruder! She’s evil! Do you
understand?!”
Robert looked confused at the box in his hand.
“But… she gave me this gift. She said she
couldn’t come back with me. She’s not as bad
as you said… I think I started to like her…”
Alpha Jason snatched the box from Robert’s
hand and tore it open. Inside was a neatly written letter from Bella.
“You should be grateful I didn’t kill your pup as you did mine. Be more careful next time. Goodbye. Don’t ever appear before me again.
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Enjoy your little family.”
Jason’s hand crushed the letter into a tight ball, his gaze dark.
“Where is she?!” he barked at Robert. “Where
did she take you? Who was with you?!”
Robert stepped back in fear, his lips trembling. “I… I don’t know. I just played with some pups
Jason smashed his fist into the wall. “Useless!
Can’t you remember anything?! You-”
“Stop!” Bianca shouted, pulling Robert behind
her. “He’s a pup, Jason! He’s our son; don’t
scare him!”
“He’s as worthless as Bella!” Jason roared,
chest heaving. “He could have told us her
whereabouts! He-”
“So what?!” Bianca screamed, her voice quaking. “She’s gone! She’s not with us anymore! Isn’t this what you wanted? Isn’t this better? She should be punished for this, but at least she’s gone-now we can be happy, just
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us.”
Jason’s eyes flickered. “No,” he whispered. “I won’t allow it. She can’t just leave so easily. She can’t just break the mate bond like it’s nothing.”
Bianca’s jaw dropped slightly. “What do you mean? Are you saying-” Her eyes glinted with a cold suspicion. “Are you saying you still love
her?”
Jason’s lips parted, and the truth almost slipped out. But he caught it, replacing it with
venom.
“No. She needs to pay. That’s all. She can’t win.
I won’t let her humiliate me.”
Bianca’s wolf twisted in her mind, somewhere between a roar and a whimper. “Are you sure this is all you want, Jason? Really?”
He glared at her. “Of course. I don’t want her as my mate anymore, You’re the one I want.”
She stepped closer, her eyes coaxing softness, “Then prove it. Marry me. Now.”
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Jason stared at her-the turmoil she created,
the phantom mate, the mistress wanting to wear the Luna crown. His fist clenched Bella’s
letter until his knuckles turned white.
