Ch. I Refuse to Be Your Luna 287 I Refuse to Be Your Luna 287

Chapter 287 What Phina Is Hiding

Alpha Harold POV

I stared at the screen.

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Finished

Phina had called more times than I could count. There were messages too, each one shorter than the last.

‘Harold, please answer me.

Please.

I need to speak to you.’

I stepped out of the tribunal chamber before calling her. The corridor was almost empty now, and the guards were clearing the last of the council members from the building.

She answered on the first ring.

“Harold?”

Her voice was tight.

“What happened?”

“Nothing happened.”

“That isn’t what your messages said.”

She was quiet for a few seconds.

“Where are you?”

“Stonehedge.”

“I know. I meant when are you coming to see me?”

The question caught me off guard.

“Overseas?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

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Chapter 287 What Phina Is Hiding

“I want to see you.”

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Finished

There was something strange about the way she said it. My wolf lifted his head.

“Something is wrong,” she said.

I ignored her.

“Phina, you know I’ve been busy.”

“I know.”

“And after today, I have a lot to deal with here.”

“I know that too.”

Her voice softened.

“Harold, when can you come?”

I leaned against the wall.

“Next week, maybe.”

“Which day?”

“I don’t know yet.”

“Just come next week.”

I closed my eyes for a moment.

“I’ll visit.”

“Promise?”

“Yes.”

She breathed out.

“Thank you.”

The call ended soon after.

I looked at my phone for several seconds.

“She knows something,” my wolf said.

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Chapter 287 What Phina Is Hiding

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“She always knows how to make a simple conversation difficult.”

That wasn’t an answer, and I knew it.

Still, I told myself Phina was probably lonely. She had been overseas for months, and I had barely made time for her. The strange tone in her voice could have been anything.

I returned to my office and worked until late.

By the time I left the pack headquarters, the grounds were quiet. Security wolves were changing shifts near the main gate, and the boundary wards hummed faintly whenever someone passed through them.

I drove home alone.

The house felt different after the tribunal.

I showered, changed, and sat on the edge of my bed with my phone beside me. I had planned to answer a few messages, but I found myself staring at the ceiling instead.

Then her name came into my mind.

Flourish.

I sat up.

I hadn’t been thinking about her. At least, I hadn’t meant to.

Her name still came without permission sometimes. It happened when I was tired, when I passed somewhere familiar, or when I remembered something I had not intended to remember.

I hated that it still happened.

“She isn’t yours,” my wolf said quietly.

“I know.”

I reached for my phone and opened a random message, forcing myself to read it.

It didn’t help.

I put the phone down and went to sleep.

The next morning, I woke before my alarm.

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Chapter 287 What Phina Is Hiding

:

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For a few seconds I didn’t remember the tribunal. Then everything returned: Lydia being sentenced, Selene fighting the guards, Flourish standing near the council seats without saying a word.

I got out of bed and went downstairs.

My breakfast sat untouched while I checked the day’s schedule. Two council meetings had been moved, three security reports needed my approval, and Magnus wanted me in his office before

noon.

It was enough work to keep my mind occupied.

It didn’t.

When Phina’s name appeared again on my phone, I almost ignored it.

‘Have you decided when you’re coming?’

I typed a reply, erased it, then tried again.

‘I’ll confirm after I speak to Magnus.’

Her answer came quickly.

‘Please don’t cancel.

I frowned.

‘I wasn’t planning to cancel.’

Before I could ask what she was worried about, another message appeared.

‘I really need you here.’

I put the phone down.

My wolf remained quiet for a moment.

“Something is wrong.”

“I know.”

I finished my coffee and went to the office.

By midday, I had convinced myself that the visit was a responsibility I had neglected. Phina was far away, she wanted to see me, and I had finally agreed to go.

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Chapter 287 What Phina Is Hiding

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Still, when I opened the travel calendar and saw the empty space for the following week, I felt the same reluctance I’d felt the night before.

I booked nothing.

I would decide later.

The day moved on without giving me much room to think. Magnus kept me in meetings longer than expected, and by evening I had signed enough council documents to make my hand ache.

When I finally returned home, another message from Phina was waiting.

I miss you.

I stared at it.

There was a time when those words would have pulled at me immediately. I would have called her back, asked when she wanted me there, and started checking flights before she could finish explaining why.

This time, I left the message unanswered for several minutes.

I couldn’t understand why the idea of seeing her made me feel tired before the trip had even begun.

My wolf shifted under my skin.

“Don’t ignore this.”

“I don’t know what this is.”

He went quiet again.

I opened the travel calendar.

Next week was still mostly clear.

I selected a date, then stopped before confirming anything. My finger hovered over the screen while I thought about the tribunal, about Flourish, about the way her name had entered my mind the night before without invitation.

I locked the phone instead. Phina could wait until morning.

I told myself that was all it was.

Then I went upstairs, leaving the phone on the kitchen counter.

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Chapter 287 What Phina Is Hiding

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It buzzed once before I reached the stairs.

I didn’t turn around.

What I didn’t know that night was what Phina had already done.

She had a paternity test in her possession, and the result had given her the answer she wanted. The child was mine.

She had also been counting the weeks carefully. Her doctor had warned her that she could not keep delaying decisions about the pregnancy, and Phina had decided that my visit was her opportunity.

She did not need months from me. She had decided that one night would be enough.

Before I had even chosen a date, she had checked the flights, selected a hotel, and booked a room for the week I had promised to visit.

She knew I had not confirmed the exact day. She booked it anyway.

Her plan was simple. Get me there, keep me close, and make sure the timing supported the story she intended to tell me.

She sent another message before going to bed.

I’ll be waiting for you.

She had no intention of letting the opportunity pass her again.

This time, she intended to make sure.

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I Refuse To Be Your Luna