Chapter 156: Why She Stopped Loving Him
Luna’s hand curled tight in her sleeve.
Elara slowly sat back.
Her fingers pressed lightly into the armrest.
"We were together the whole time. He even put Helena and me in the same chamber. Nothing happened."
Brandon said nothing.
His jaw locked as he looked away for a second.
He couldn’t tell Elara she was wrong.
Couldn’t tell their mother she was right either.
His fingers tapped once against the armrest, then stopped.
The King had already gotten to Elara.
And whatever happened between him and Helena—
He clearly didn’t want it dragged into the open.
"Brandon... I need both of you to speak to your father." Luna’s hands rested flat on her lap, fingers tense. "I want a bond severance. That’s all. I’m tired of this matebond."
Brandon looked at her for a moment, quiet.
His voice stayed calm. "So you never loved him."
His eyes stayed on her, steady.
"Because if you did... three days would feel too long to be away from your mate."
He looked away, jaw tightening.
"Now...two whole winters have passed without intimacy." His gaze cut back to her.
"What exactly is going on, Mother?"
A faint, bitter smile touched her lips. "I loved him." She exhaled slowly. "Until I saw who he really was... after six winters of living with him."
Her eyes lowered.
"After that, I knew it wouldn’t last."
Brandon leaned forward slightly. "What did you see?"
Her jaw tightened. "I’d rather not say."
He nodded once. "Alright... then at least speak to a matebond counselor."
"No." Her answer came fast.
"Mother, please." Brandon’s voice softened.
"Do it for us."
The chair shifted sharply.
Elara stood up in one quick motion, breath tight. She turned toward the door, steps already moving.
"Elara!"
Luna Alexandra’s voice cracked through the chamber.
Elara froze halfway out, shoulders stiff.
"What was that supposed to mean?"
Brandon’s hand lifted slightly. "Mother... calm down."
He glanced at Elara and tilted his head.
"Come back."
Elara stood there for a beat, then turned slowly. Her jaw was tight as she walked back and sank into her seat again.
"Brandon, this whole issue our mother keeps bringing up happened when I was just a winter old." Elara’s hands tightened at her sides. "Why can’t she forgive him and move on?"
"Father has apologized more than once, but she keeps holding it over him like nothing ever changed."
Luna’s head turned slowly. A faint, sharp smile touched her lips.
"Oh... so he told you his version?" Her voice stayed calm. "What exactly did he say?"
"Exactly what happened." Elara stepped forward, facing her fully.
Brandon’s gaze moved between them. "What happened?"
No one answered. The air just hung there, heavy.
His brow tightened. "Brandon... Do you see this? The King told her something that was supposed to stay between us—and now I’m the bad one?"
"What happened?" he asked again, slower this time.
Still nothing.
A long breath slipped from him. He reached for his device and straightened.
"Fine." He pushed to his feet. "If no one’s going to tell me, I’ll go hear it from him myself."
"Sit down."
Luna Alexandra pointed at the sofa without looking away.
She inhaled slowly, shoulders rising and falling once.
"Brandon... your father..."
"Loves pups," Elara cut in immediately.
She turned her head slightly, lips tight. "That’s what this is really about."
"Are you going to let me speak?"
Luna’s eyes snapped to her, sharp and immediate.
For a second, she didn’t move. Then her gaze hardened slightly as her fingers paused mid-gesture, the rest of the sentence she had been about to say dying on her lips.
"Brandon..." she continued anyway, turning her head just enough to break eye contact before she leaned back into her chair, voice steady but clipped. "Your father wanted four pups. I only wanted two."
"No, Mother." Elara snapped her head toward her. "You just wanted an heir."
Brandon lifted a hand slightly, quieting her without a word.
Luna’s eyes widened. A sharp laugh broke out of her.
"Oh, my goddess... So that’s what he told you?" She pushed up from the seat. "He lied to you."
"Mother, please...sit."
Brandon’s voice stayed calm.
She paused, then lowered herself back down, breath uneven.
"I got pregnant twenty winters ago... when Elara was just a winter old." Her fingers pressed into her palms. "At first... I didn’t want it. She was still so small. I cried. I even thought about ending it."
A shaky breath slipped out.
"But your father refused. He was excited... said we were having another pup. He told everyone...his moonallies."
She stared down for a moment.
"After a few weeks, I accepted it. I started to feel happy too." Her voice tightened, fingers curling faintly against her sleeve. "He told me to inform my moonallies... said it would make it real, make me commit."
Her head dipped once, a small, automatic nod.
"I did it." She swallowed. "I invited them. I told them."
Her hands trembled slightly.
"Three weeks later... I miscarried."
Silence dropped hard into the chamber.
"He changed after that." Her voice dropped to a thin, steady line. "He said I ended it... that I lied. After that, he stopped coming to me."
Her eyes drifted past them, unfocused.
"We lived in the same house like strangers." Her fingers curled slightly in her lap. "A whole winter... not once did he look at me."
Her jaw tightened.
"I learned how to be alone." A slow breath slipped out of her, shoulders rising slightly before settling again. "Stopped waiting.
Stopped loving him the way I did."
Her gaze drifted for a moment, unfocused.
The chamber held still with her.
"All that love..." her voice softened, almost breaking at the edge as her fingers pressed lightly into her palm. "I gave it to my pups instead."
"When he finally came back... he acted like nothing had changed."
A quiet, bitter exhale slipped out.
"But I wasn’t the same anymore."
"I stayed because I had no severance." Her gaze lowered. "But I’m done. I can’t live in something that feels empty."
Her fingers pressed briefly against her palm.
"A bond without love... isn’t a bond."
Silence settled again, heavy and still.
Brandon didn’t move. His eyes stayed lowered, quiet—no anger, no defense, just the weight of it sitting on his shoulders.
"I told him we needed to talk about something serious." She inhaled slowly. "He agreed."
Her head lifted slightly.
"I’m calling him in now... are you both ready?"
"Mother, you should bring a counselor in too."
Brandon leaned forward, elbows on his knees. "There’s nothing easy about telling a mate you’ve lived with for winters that you want a bond severance."
He shook his head slightly.
"There’ll be tears. Denial. Blame. Arguments." His voice lowered. "Are you ready for that?"
Luna Alexandra held his gaze for a moment, then leaned back slowly.
"Yes." Her fingers brushed the edge of her sleeve. "Because staying like this is already hurting more than the severance ever will."
Her eyes lowered briefly before lifting to him again.
"I cried enough winters waiting for him to choose me first."
Her fingers tightened briefly around her sleeve before falling still again. She didn’t look at Brandon.
A slow breath slipped out.
"I’m tired."
A pause hung between them, heavy.
"If he can’t choose me first..." her voice lowered, steady but worn, "then I won’t keep standing where I’m not chosen."
The word came firmly.
Brandon’s throat tightened. Elara was already wiping her face, silent tears sliding down as she stared at the floor.
He swallowed hard, then straightened.
"Call him."
Luna Alexandra reached for her device. Her thumb hovered over the screen for a moment before she pressed it.
"Come to my chambers. Now. The meeting I told you about."
A pause lingered on the line.
"...Alright."
The call ended.
The device landed softly on the table.
Without another word, she turned and walked toward her inner chamber, the fabric of her robe brushing the floor as she disappeared inside.
Brandon shifted closer to Elara. His arm slid around her shoulders, steady and quiet. He gave her upper arm a slow, grounding pat.
Elara exhaled shakily, wiping her cheeks with the back of her hand.
"I don’t like this," she whispered. "The way they’re drifting apart... she’s always in her chambers or duty hall. And he’s always buried in work, even before rise."
Her voice broke a little.
"I wish I could fix them."
Brandon’s hand stayed on her shoulder.
"I want that too." He let the words hang for a moment, eyes steady. "But they both deserve peace... even if we’re not together."
From inside the inner chamber, Luna’s voice drifted out, softer now, carrying through the silence.
"Thank you, Brandon... for saying that."
Her words lingered.
"We deserve to be happy."
A knock came from outside the chamber.
"The King will arrive in ten minutes."
Brandon stayed where he was, one arm resting against the chair.
"Then we wait."
His eyes shifted to the closed doors.
"He can explain it himself."
