Chapter 6: Chapter 6

Chapter 0006 +25 BONUS Noah stared back at me, as though he could not comprehend what I had just told him. Scott’s gaze alternated between the two of us, his expression remaining neutral.

“Explain,” Noah said simply.

I glanced at Scott, looking for some support, but he subtly shook his head. Now was not the time for us to reveal our alliance, which meant that I was on my own, for the time being.

“Tell me, Noah,” I began, “do you think there is any need for our marriage to exist?”

Noah did not respond.

I sighed and tucked my hair behind my ear. I glanced away, gathering my courage, then turned my attention back to him.

I’m tired of this marriage. It’s all show and no substance.”

Noah gaped, momentarily at a loss for words.

“All show and no substance?” he asked, raising his hands at his side. “Are you jealous of Zoe?”

“Noah, this is not just about Zoe-”

“We both rejected each other,” Noah pressed on, as though I had not spoken. “Whether Zoe had come back or not, it would not have affected our marriage.”

“You aren’t listening to me,” I insisted. “Zoe is only a small part of the problem. Our marriage means nothing.”

“It means something to our people,” he argued. “They look to us as a pillar of strength. It also means something to the Alpha Council.”

“It doesn’t mean anything to me, not anymore.”

Noah looked as though I had struck him in the face.

“Where have you gotten these absurd ideas from?”

I opened my mouth and then snapped it firmly shut. I couldn’t tell him what had actually happened He would think I was insane.

I also would not tell him about my pregnancy, not yet. That would only make things more complicated, and he might try and force me to stay if he discovered that I was carrying his heir. He would not take my child from me.

“I’ve been thinking about it for some time,” I lied. “I just knew that you were keeping something from me, and that was the last straw.”

Noah arched his brow at me.

I “What have I been keeping from you?” he asked.

“Don’t act like you don’t know.”

+25 BONUS Chapter 0006 “I don’t know.”

I rolled my eyes. If he wasn’t going to admit it now, then there was no point in confronting him about it any further.

Noah shook his head.

“Whatever you think I have been keeping from you, I can’t and won’t let you divorce me.”

I crossed my arms over my chest and tilted my head at him.

“You won’t let me?”

“No, I won’t, nor can I with the complex interests of the Pack to consider.”

I knew that he would bring that up, but I was not going to allow him to guilt me out of my decision.

“That’s not my problem-

“Of course, it’s your problem. You’re the Nightcrest Pack’s Luna. You might not have all the same duties that I do, but you are just as responsible for the well-being of the Pack as I am.”

He stepped closer to me and waggled his finger at my face.

“And don’t forget, you initiated this marriage. You have no right to take it away.”

I frowned, and my brows furrowed. I jumped to my feet and got in his face.

“I did not ‘initiate’ anything,” I said. “As you have pointed out many times, it was a politically arranged marriage. Even if I did initiate it, that gives me all the more right to end it whenever I want to.”

“Not with all of our obligations.”

Noah snapped his fingers at Scott, who handed him a color-coded folder with his calendar of upcoming events.

au “Homeless fundraiser at the Moon Goddess temple, the Alpha golf tournament, the opening ceremony of Nightcrest University,”

he listed, snapping the folder shut, “all of which involve us attending together. That’s not to mention our application to host the Lunar Festival.”

For a moment, I thought that I saw desperation flicker in Noah’s eyes.

“I cannot be without a Luna when the Alpha Council comes to review us.”

7