---- Chapter 10 Damien POV: Two days. | had been waiting in the medical wing for two full days, expecting Elara to come crawling back, begging for my forgiveness. That's how it always worked. | would get angry, she would feel my displeasure through the bond, and she would immediately appear, her calming scent of vanilla and moonlight soothing the agitated wolf within me. But she hadn't come. | tried reaching out through our Mind-Link, the private channel reserved only for fated mates. Nothing. Just a cold, silent wall. She had blocked me. A knot of unease began to twist in my gut. This was not like her. This was... wrong. But | pushed the feeling down. My pride, my Alpha authority, wouldn't allow me to consider that | was the one who had miscalculated. She was just being stubborn. "Damien?" Lyra's soft voice pulled me from my thoughts. She came up behind me as | stared out the window, wrapping her arms around my waist. She rested her head against my back. ---- "Don't be sad," she whispered. "I know this is hard for you. If it's too much, | understand. | don't need to be Luna. As long as | have you, and our son is safe, that's all that matters." Her words were like a balm to my wounded ego. This was what a supportive partner was like. Understanding. Selfless. Not like Elara, with her sudden defiance and cold silence. | turned and pulled Lyra into my arms, burying my face in her hair. She smelled of wildflowers and something else, something sharp and exciting. "No," | said, my voice firm. "I'm going to do this. I'll arrange the rejection for tomorrow. | will make you my Luna." She looked up at me, her eyes wide with feigned worry. "But... what about Elara? What if she won't accept it?" | let out a confident laugh, the last of my unease vanishing. | was the Alpha. | was in control. "She's my Mate," | said, the words tasting like absolute certainty on my tongue. "The Moon Goddess herself bound her to me. She loves me more than anything. Trust me, Lyra. She can't leave me. She wouldn't know how."