Chapter 31: Chapter 31

Chapter 31 Axel switched the call to speaker.

“Is my ex–wife with you?” Kane’s voice came through immediately, cold and harsh – Just like how he always spoke to me.

Axel shot me a quick glance. I nodded in response.

“Yeah, she’s right here next to me,” Axel replied.

“Is Selene really with you?” Kane demanded again, clearly not buying it. This time his voice was seething with anger.

His distrust made my blood boil. Did he think Axel was lying? What for? I just wanted to know why he was calling.

I cut in before Axel could respond, “What do you want, Alpha Kane?”

My sudden response caught him off guard. After a moment of silence, he finally spoke, “I’d watch that attitude if I were you two.

We haven’t completed the official rejection ceremony yet.”

I snatched the phone from Axel’s hand. “Rejection ceremony? Please. You never marked me, so drop it.”

“Like it or not, my name is still tied to yours. We need this ceremony for my pack’s sake.”

I clenched my fists at his choice of words – ‘like it or not.‘ I thought about how deeply I had loved him, and how blind he’d been to it. I remembered begging him not to bring up the mate bond. How could someone be so oblivious to another person’s love? From day one, all he wanted was to get rid of me.

“You’re such a piece of work!” I snapped.

“Cut the drama and come back to the Nightfall Pack.”

“Why should I care about some ceremony? Funny how you remember it after all these years,” I said, shaking my head. What a joke he was. Like some bad soap opera, the moment he thought I was moving on, he suddenly needed this ceremony.

“Don’t forget, you’re still the Pack Officer’s daughter. Show some respect for your father and our pack,” he said, like that meant something.

I let out a bitter laugh. “Don’t worry about my father, Alpha Kane. I’ll handle him my way.”

“Oh, I’ve seen how you handle things.”

His tone made me scowl. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Kane paused briefly. I knew he was probably taking a drag from his cigarette. I knew all his habits – he wasn’t just my ex–

husband, he was the man I once loved more than anyone.

“Why did you make that post?”

His question confused me. I looked at Axel.

“He means the post about his precious true mate,” Axel clarified loudly, making sure Kane heard him.

“Listen, Alpha Kane. Your girlfriend started it by leaking my conversation with my father.”

“Bullshit! She wouldn’t do that.”

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I rolled my eyes. “Right, because she’s your precious true mate.”

Axel chuckled from my chair, helping himself to my coffee mug.

“Hey! That’s my coffee,” I protested.

Axel just grinned at me. “Sharing is caring.”

A low growl came through the phone. “You two are completely shameless!”

That was it. I’d had enough of this man who’d wrecked my life. “You moved Ruby into our house while we were still married. And yeah, I signed those divorce papers first, but don’t act like you didn’t force my hand. Now you want to talk about respect? Where was your respect when you were with her?”

Kane went quiet. My heart was racing. He was trying to get under my skin, but I was done talking. “This is about the pack and the Luna position,” he muttered.

“Your pack stopped being my problem when I gave up the Luna position to Ruby!”

Axel gave me a thumbs up, taking another sip of my coffee.

He was clearly enjoying my takedown of my ex–husband, pleased that I was matching Kane’s cold tone.

Kane’s voice softened slightly, showing fatigue. “My father’s in the hospital. He’s sick. He’s refusing to take his medication unless he sees you.”

My chest tightened. Despite everything with Kane, his father had always been good to me during my marriage. Despite his stern personality, he’d always supported and respected me, even trying to correct his son’s treatment of me. The thought of him lying in a hospital bed stirred up complicated emotions. “At the pack hospital, right? I’ll come see him soon,” I said, then hung up before Kane could respond.

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