The Alpha's Fated Outcast Rise Of The Moonsinger novel Chapter 405

Lenny

"I cannot deny that having children was the best thing that ever happened to me. To say the truth, it's the best decision I've ever made," I said, as I faced Cassidy in the empty corridor. "Fatherhood has a way of grounding anyone. Cass, I won't call my kids regrets, but you pushed me into this situation in the first place."

She let out a bitter laugh. "That's because you were too cowardly to reject me properly, and let's end this charade. How many times do I have to tell you that I cannot love you, regardless of the mate bond or not? Your mother was a witch, and I want pure-blood Lycans. I will not dirty my bloodline with traces of wizardry or whatever supernatural contamination runs in your veins."

"That's unfair, Cassidy." I shook my head, feeling years of suppressed pain rising to the surface. "What you're doing to me, what you've done to me all these years—do you know how much I suffered every time you ran around after Ramsey, begging to be loved, while I was always right there, ready to love you?"

"And so the cycle continued," She said with a devious smile that made my heart break all over again. "The person I want doesn't want me, so the person who wants me will never get me either. I'd rather marry Caius than accept our bond. Please do yourself a favour and let's break it once and for all. It's been long overdue."

I stared at her for several long seconds, feeling the years of hope crumbling inside me. "Doesn't it matter that I love you?" My voice came out as a whisper. "I love you, Cassidy. I never stopped loving you. All these years, I waited..."

"You waited while warming the beds of other women and making babies," she shot back. "You didn't learn anything from your friend, did you? Ramsey is devoted to Lyla, completely devoted to her."

"Are you going to compare me with him again?"

"Yes!" she nodded. "For what it's worth, Ramsey knows how to love a woman and prove he loves her. All the years he looked for Lyla… yeah, he had a few indiscretions, but he didn't stop searching. Despite every attempt I made to get him to make me pregnant, he deflated them. Ramsey understands loyalty."

"And I don't?" I asked.

"Yes, you don't, Lenny. You confess you love me, but where is this love? If a woman walked past you naked, you'd fill her up with your seed without hesitating."

The accusation stung because there was truth in it, but not the whole truth. "That's not—"

"I already have a high chance of ending up bitter like my mother," she continued. "And now that everything's changed, now that I'm at Ramsey's mercy, I don't want to misuse my second chance. Caius doesn't come with burdens. He'll treat me well, and I'll learn to love him."

My eyes filled with tears as I stared at her. "You don't mean that, Cass. You don't even like the guy."

"Likeness? Love? They're all illusions," she said with a coldness that chilled me to the bone. "I will do my duty as his mate. I will bear his children and take care of the home. I will endure the sex, and I will—"

"Enough!" I reached out and grabbed her hand desperately. "Please don't do this. Please don't throw your life away on some misguided notion of duty."

Gently but firmly, she extricated her hand from mine. "It's for the best, Lenny. I don't want to be a wicked stepmother. I've seen your children—they're so beautiful and bright and cheeky, just like their father. Their mothers have somehow cultivated great friendships with each other, and that's because they think you'll never settle down, that no woman can ever truly own you. They've made peace with that arrangement."

She paused, as her tone grew softer. "If I came into the picture, you'd have to deal with jealous women fighting over you. I'd become a bitter mate and a wicked stepmother. People would see even more reasons to hate me than they already do. I'll give you time to think about everything I've said, and you'll realise that we shouldn't be together."

"Cassidy—"

"No matter how much we try not to talk about it, mate bonds do not translate to perfect pairs. The Moon Goddess is flawed." 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

"Don't say that," I said slowly, "That's a taboo."

"But it's true," she scoffed. "She pairs the wrong people together and makes the right people yearn for each other for the rest of their lives. It's the biggest joke ever made. I hate mate bonds."

"Just give me a chance," I pleaded, "Let me prove to you that there's nothing to worry about. I can change, I can be better—"

Cassidy smiled, but there was no warmth in it. "I'll be waiting for you to come find me when you're ready to reject me properly. Make it official, Lenny. Set us both free."

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