A Bitter Confrontation

Maeve's POV

Gideon’s whisper shattered the last fragile remnants of my pride. Unable to maintain my facade of cool indifference, a surge of raw anger boiled over.

"How dare you?" I spat out, my voice dripping with venom. "From the second I became Luna of the Iron Fang Pack, I have faithfully fulfilled my duties. I poured my blood and sweat into taking care of this pack, nurturing our people, and managing our resources. I was never the one who messed around with some pathetic rogue and destroyed our sacred mate bond! I am worth a thousand times more than you will ever be!"

Gideon’s eyes glinted with a dark hatred as he countered my defense. He stepped closer, his gaze turning to ice, casting a shadow over my face. He maliciously attacked my worth. "Oh, really?" he mocked. "You have failed to provide the Iron Fang Pack with an heir. You gave us nothing. How do you possess the nerve to claim you are worth your salt?"

His brutal accusation lodged like a suffocating lump in my throat, threatening to choke me with unshed tears. We were not fated mates. That made conception difficult, a struggle we faced every single month. But I had been pregnant. I had carried our child in my womb. During a horrific accident, Gideon chose to stay by Sadie's side, ignoring my desperate cries for help. I was trapped under the debris, bleeding out on the cold ground while calling his name. I miscarried our baby alone in the dark.

Now he had the audacity to weaponize my deepest trauma against me.

"You are a total letdown, Gideon," I gritted out. Disgust radiated from my core.

Before Gideon could form a response, Sadie stepped forward into the fray. She placed a comforting hand on his broad shoulder. Her voice dripped with fake sweetness as she urged him to forget about the unpleasantness. "Please, Alpha. Let it go. You still have me. And you have my boy, Jace. We will always be right here with you."

The speed at which Gideon softened made my stomach churn. Right in front of my eyes, he bent down and planted a tender kiss on Sadie's golden hair.

A sharp physical pain tore through my chest, radiating from the broken bond. My wolf howled in pure agony. I fought through the cold sweat breaking out across my forehead, forcing myself to stand tall and keep my voice steady. Clinging to my resolve, I declared that we needed to divorce as soon as possible.

"As you wish," Gideon scoffed. "I will make Sadie my Luna."

"If you love her so much, let's march straight to the Council of Elders and perform the official rejection ceremony immediately," I suggested. I knew that severing the mate bond would weaken my already dying wolf, Nyx, but the emotional torture of remaining tied to him was unbearable. Every second I spent in his presence felt like swallowing shattered glass. I needed out today.

Gideon snapped back, his Alpha authority flaring as his jaw clenched tight. "You don't get to call the shots here, Maeve. You will wait."

Unfazed, I taunted his hesitation. "Do you seriously want to keep Sadie labeled as a homewrecker? Show me just how deep your supposed love for her truly goes."

Although Sadie tried to feign a patient demeanor, murmuring that she could wait and rubbing his arm to soothe his temper, Gideon locked his furious eyes with mine. He marched over, closing the distance in two long strides. His large hand clamped down hard on my fragile arm, bruising the skin. He began dragging me forward with brute force, uncaring whether my trembling body could even keep up with his rapid pace. I stumbled over roots and rocks, struggling to maintain my balance as he hauled me toward our destination.

He leaned in, his breath hot against my ear, and whispered a dark warning. "Don't regret this."

"I never will," I promised him with certainty.

As we stumbled toward the Council of Elders, the tense silence was shattered by the frantic buzzing of my phone. I fumbled it out of my pocket with my free hand and managed to answer it.

The hospital doctor's panicked voice blasted through the speaker. "Maeve! It's your father, Arthur. He suffered a sudden emotional blow. His condition worsened."

"What?" Panic seized my heart.

"He is back in a coma and has been rushed into emergency care!"

"I will be right there!" I screamed into the receiver. I hung up the phone and turned to sprint away.

But Gideon's iron grip stopped me dead in my tracks. He accused me of playing him, his fingers digging into my skin. He sneered, his eyes filled with contempt. "Your emergency is nothing but a lame lie to halt the ceremony."

"Let me go!" I pleaded, frantic to reason with his stubborn mind. "My dad is literally fighting for his life in the ER right now! Every second counts!"

Gideon merely shrugged his broad shoulders, a gesture devoid of any empathy. A twisted smile spread across his handsome face. He sadistically noted, "Being in emergency care means he isn't dead yet. He has doctors working on him. Why are you in such a rush?"

His blatant disgust puzzled me. I stared at him, stunned into silence. Gideon used to hold profound respect for my dad. They used to get along perfectly.

In that chilling moment, a horrific realization slammed into my mind.

Two years ago, Gideon had severed his lucrative partnership with my father's company. That single move catalyzed the rapid decline and ultimate ruin of my Frost Moon Pack. Our pack had never once clashed with the Iron Fang Pack. Yet, he pulled the plug without warning.

He was the mastermind behind my family's total destruction. He orchestrated the financial ruin of my father's pack, bankrupting us from the inside out. Even though I couldn't fathom the motive behind his targeted hatred, the truth was obvious in his cruel eyes.

Pushing the terrifying revelation aside, I focused on the immediate crisis. I didn't have time to confront him or unpack his betrayal. Not while my father's life hung in the balance.

I ripped my arm out of his loosened grip. "I have to leave right now," I stated firmly, demanding he wait at the Council. "Wait right there. I will be back soon to finish this."

I turned my back on my mate and left in a desperate hurry, sprinting down the path to save my father.