A Ceremony, A Ghost, And A Lost Wolf Pup Chapter 09

A Ceremony, A Ghost, And A Lost Wolf Pup Chapter 09

Of course, I didn’t actually mean to pull him off his throne.

For all his faults, he had always managed pack affairs well—aside from abusing his authority to interfere with our mate bond termination.

My real goal was much simpler—I just wanted him to come to me.

If you want someone to say yes to a small request, start with a much bigger one.

Once they turn that down, the smaller request suddenly sounds reasonable.

Sure enough, the very next day, Aaron came to see me.

“I saw the photos.”

“We don’t need to make this uglier than it already is.”

“You want the mate bond termination—I’ll agree to it.”

I nodded. “Fine. How are we dividing the assets?”

“The bank accounts and Moonstones are yours.”

“As for the company under my name, we’ll split the shares fifty-fifty.”

“No. I want fifty-one percent.”

He had no choice but to agree.

A week later, Aaron and I officially terminated our mate bond.

—

The day after receiving the shares, I sold forty-nine percent back to the company’s second-in-command.

From that moment on, the two of them checked each other’s power.

As for the two percent I kept—it was enough to tip the scales and seize control of the company anytime I wanted.

At any moment, I could reduce Aaron to nothing.

After that, Aaron never dared provoke me again.

Juliet, however, continued haunting my life.

She lashed out with baseless insults: [Diana, you’re shameless.]

[What gives you the right to take so much of Aaron’s money?]

I replied simply: [Aaron agreed to it.]

She was furious.

[Aaron only gave you that money out of guilt for the pup he lost—not because he has any feelings left for you.]

[This is all your fault. You used those photos of the pup to scare him.]

My final reply was brief.

[The cruel ones aren’t me—it’s the two of you.]

Then I blocked her. For good.

After that, I left the Stormridge Pack.

My mother chose to cut ties with me rather than accept that I had

—

ended a mate bond with my fated mate.

I smiled, letting it go.

I had never expected to change a woman who’d spent her entire life trapped inside those beliefs.

I moved to the SilverMoon Pack.

There, I bought a large villa deep in the forest. Life became peaceful.

When Luna Tina learned everything I’d been through, she cursed Aaron out and booted the Stormridge Pack from SilverMoon’s alliance network.

Without a powerful ally backing them, Stormridge suffered frequent rogue attacks.

I heard Aaron spent his days patrolling the borders, old wounds not yet healed before new ones were torn open.

Once upon a time, I would’ve worried myself sick over him.

That was exactly why I’d worked so hard to secure the SilverMoon alliance in the first place.

But now, none of it had anything to do with me.

One day, Brianna visited my villa and shared a secret.

“After you terminated the mate bond, Aaron called me.”

I raised an eyebrow.

“What did he want?”

—

Brianna rested her chin on her hand, thinking back.

“He said when he saw you lying in that bed, looking like you could die at any moment, he was truly scared.”

“He also said he wouldn’t contact you again, and he asked me to take good care of you.”

She snorted. “I told him to piss off and stay the hell away from us.”

Then she burst out laughing. I laughed along with her.

She was right.

Aaron and I no longer had anything to do with each other.

His life or death was none of my concern. As for Juliet…

“Juliet never became Aaron’s mate in the end,” Brianna said with a smirk. “Because anytime Aaron didn’t give in to her, she’d cut her wrists.”

“She drove him nearly insane.”

“He tried to get rid of her, but the very next day, she’d come crawling right back.”

I felt nothing. Not anger. Not satisfaction. Nothing at all.

“Then let them torment each other.”

I had completely lost interest in both of them.

Once, my wolf had been in so much pain because of them she could barely stand.

—

Now she was free. She had a new life.

As long as they stayed out of my life, I was content.

This time, I would find happiness on my own. For the rest of my life.