Ch. I Refuse to Be Your Luna 30 I Refuse to Be Your Luna 30

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Lady Josephine had never made me feel like I had to earn her affection.

She simply loved me.

I walked through the entrance, greeting the attendants as I passed, and headed toward her private suite. By the time I reached the door, I was already smiling.

I pushed it open.

“Flourish?”

“Grandma.”

I crossed the room and hugged her before she had fully opened her arms.

“My beautiful girl,” she said warmly.

“You say that every time you see me.”

“Because it’s true every time I see you.”

She pinched my cheek before narrowing her eyes.

“Why are you here?”

I pulled back. “What kind of question is that?”

“The kind that needs answering. You were here four days ago.”

I froze.

Her smile widened.

“You visit me almost every week, darling. Why are you acting like a spoiled pup who hasn’t seen her grandmother in months?”

Heat rushed into my face. “I am not spoiled.”

“You absolutely are.”

I dropped into the chair beside her, and she laughed. Then her expression softened.

“Tell me what’s wrong.”

I looked down at my hands.

She always knew.

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No matter how carefully I tried to hide something, Lady Josephine somehow found it.

I took a slow breath. “Harold and I are separating. I’m ending things.”

Her knitting needles stopped.

“What?”

She stared at me, concern immediately replacing her amusement.

“Did he hurt you?”

“No.”

“Did he bully you?”

“No.”

“Did he threaten you?”

I smiled faintly. “No, Grandma. I promise.”

I reached for her hand.

She studied my face for several seconds before asking quietly, “Then why?”

The question was harder than I expected.

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How could I explain six years of disappointment? How could I explain what it felt like to spend years waiting for someone to choose you until being second became normal?

“I just think it’s time,” I said. “I think we’ll both be happier apart.”

Lady Josephine squeezed my

hand.

For a moment, she said nothing. Then she gave me a sad smile.

“You know, the only reason that betrothal existed in the first place was because your mother and Harold’s mother wouldn’t stop talking about it. Those two women were impossible.”

I smiled despite myself.

She leaned back.

“When

your mother passed, I thought the arrangement would disappear. Then everyone kept pushing it.”

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Her expression became serious.

“Sometimes families become so obsessed with preserving traditions that they forget the wolves involved are actual people.”

I stared at her.

The words reminded me of Damian. Before I could say anything, someone knocked.

An attendant stepped inside. “My Lady, an Alpha from the Virel family is here asking to see you.”

I sighed immediately.

Of course.

Harold.

My patience disappeared. “Tell him she’s unavailable.”

The attendant blinked.

My grandmother looked amused. “Flourish-”

“No.”

A deep voice came from the doorway.

“And what exactly makes you think I would listen?”

My entire body froze.

My wolf went completely still.

I slowly turned toward the entrance.

Damian stood there.

For one second, I just stood numb.

He looked exactly as he had yesterday; tall, broad, composed, and annoyingly handsome. Yet unlike yesterday, his attention wasn’t on me.

It was on my grandmother.

“What are you doing here?” I blurted.

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He finally looked at me.

His expression remained calm. “I came to visit my favorite grandmother.”

My grandmother gasped. “Favorite?”

Damian crossed the room and kissed her forehead. “My favorite.”

Josephine practically glowed.

I stared at them.

Traitor.

Absolute traitor.

“You haven’t visited in years,” she scolded.

“I’ve been busy.”

“You always say that.”

“I’ve always been busy.”

She smacked his arm, and he laughed. My wolf shifted uneasily at the sound.

I hated that.

They continued talking about Stormbridge, his travels, his parents, and wolves I had never heard of. I sat quietly, listening while Damian spoke to my grandmother as though the tension between us didn’t exist.

That somehow bothered me more than if he had been rude.

Why was my wolf whining?

Why did watching him smile at someone else bother me?

I forced myself to look away. Eventually, Damian checked his watch and stood up.

He hugged my grandmother despite her complaints that he was leaving too soon.

Then he turned toward me. My wolf immediately stilled.

His expression was polite.

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Nothing more.

“Lady Flourish.”

I hated how formal it sounded.

“Alpha Damian.”

Something flickered across his eyes.

Then it disappeared.

“Goodbye.” and he walked out.

I stared at the doorway long after he was gone.

Only when my phone began ringing did I finally move.

Cheryl.

I answered immediately.

“Cheryl?”

Her voice was tense.

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“Lady Flourish, we have a problem. There’s been an emergency summons from the council of elders.”

My stomach tightened.

“They’re demanding an immediate hearing. Every territory representative is already gathering in the conference hall.”

“What’s this about?”

There was a pause.

Then Cheryl inhaled sharply.

“Someone is petitioning the council to strip your claim to F–Tech’s territorial charter.”

I sat upright.

“What?”

“If it goes through, they’ll have grounds to challenge your bloodline’s right to the land itself.”

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The words sent a cold sensation through me.

My wolf immediately became alert.

“What?”

“We don’t know who it is yet.”

I was already reaching for my bag.

“I’m coming.”

The call ended.

Across from me, my grandmother’s expression had changed.

“Flourish?”

I stood.

“Someone is trying to take my birthright.”

My wolf growled inside my head.

And for the first time that morning, I wasn’t thinking about Damian anymore.

I was thinking about whoever had decided to come after my bloodline.

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