He blinked, clearly caught off guard. After all my desperate clinging before, all my pleas to the pack elders, he hadn't expected me to let go so easily.
But relief washed over his face almost immediately, his shoulders dropping as tension left his frame.
"Should've accepted this sooner. Don't worry—Raven's still young in her wolf years. She's not cut out to raise another female's pup. The child stays with you."
For six moons, he'd done everything to force this bond rejection. Cut off my share of the pack's hunting grounds. Refused to speak to me through our mental link. Moved tribute and territory claims beyond my reach. Every cruel trick an Alpha could use against his unwanted mate.
And now, at our daughter's birthday moot, he said this in front of witnesses.
Fine. If he wanted to cast us out so badly, I'd grant his wish.
I just hoped that when the truth came out, he wouldn't regret it enough to want to die.
——
Alaric took the blood-marked scroll, barely able to contain the smile tugging at his lips. He was already sending a mental summons to the pack elders before the blood had dried.
"Yes, it's done. She's accepted the rejection."