Alpha’s Regret After His Pregnant Luna Left novel Chapter 167

(Audrey’s POV)

I stared at Florian Stormhowl, his golden eyes gleaming in the hallway light. His words hung in the air between us.

“Form a temporary mate bond with me.”

For a moment, I thought I’d misheard him. But the serious expression on his usually playful face told me otherwise.

“Because of my eyes?” I asked with a laugh, remembering how he’d mentioned I sometimes resembled his missing intended mate. “You want to form a mate bond with me because I occasionally remind you of her?”

Florian pushed himself off the doorframe with lazy elegance, taking a few steps toward me. Not close enough to invade my space, but near enough that I could sense his Alpha presence-powerful yet deliberately restrained.

“Don’t flatter yourself,” he replied with his characteristic smirk. “I’m proposing a mutually beneficial arrangement.”

I crossed my arms, my wolf instinctively wary. “I’m listening.”

“It’s simple. I pretend to form a temporary mate bond with you to help you handle Arthur Moonstone, and in return, you accompany me to the Stormhowl Pack for the upcoming full moon celebration.”

“And why would you need me at your pack celebration?” I asked, suspicious of his true motives.

He shrugged, the gesture deceptively casual. “My pack elders have been… insistent about my social obligations. Having you there would appease them temporarily.”

I narrowed my eyes. “You want me to pretend to be your potential mate?”

“Think of it as a business arrangement,” Florian replied smoothly. “We both get what we need.”

“What makes you think I need help handling Arthur?” I challenged, my pride stinging at the implication.

Florian’s golden eyes darkened slightly as he glanced toward the elevator where Arthur had disappeared. “Based on what I just witnessed, you can’t handle him alone. Not when he’s desperate.”

As much as I hated to admit it, there was truth in his words. Arthur’s parting look had unsettled me deeply. The way he’d said “remember your answer” felt like a promise-or a threat.

“I’ll consider it,” I finally said, not willing to commit immediately.

Florian nodded, seemingly satisfied with my response. “Don’t take too long. Full moon is approaching.”

With that, he turned and walked back to his own territory house. I closed my door, leaning against it with a sigh. What had my life become that a fake mate bond with Florian Stormhowl seemed like a reasonable option?

—

The next day at Winter’s Remedy, chaos reigned-not in our healing practice, but in the wolf communities at large. The Moonstone Pack’s sudden loss of hunting territories had thrown every pack into a frenzy, each scrambling to claim benefits from the power vacuum.

“The Riverwind Pack has already approached the Northern Alliance about purchasing some of the former Moonstone territory,” Sarah reported as we finished our morning meeting with the staff.

After everyone else had left, Sarah lingered in my office, spinning lazily in the chair across from my desk.

“Has anyone approached you about buying the hunting grounds that Arthur forced you to take during your mate bond severance?” she asked suddenly.

I shook my head, setting down the healing formula I’d been reviewing. “No, strangely enough. I’d originally planned to return the territory access to Arthur when the opportunity arose.”

It felt wrong to profit from territory that had once belonged to his pack, even if he had transferred it to me as part of our severance agreement. The gesture had been meant to hurt at the time, forcing me to take something I hadn’t wanted.

“Has Arthur sold his own hunting grounds?” I asked, curious about his next move in this territorial chess game.

Sarah checked her pack device. “According to the forums, he was the first to sell. The Northern Alliance purchased his personal hunting grounds three days ago.”

I couldn’t hide my surprise. “He sold Moonstone territory?”

Despite our severed bond, I hadn’t believed Arthur would abandon his pack’s ancestral lands so easily. It went against everything I knew about him-his fierce protection of his pack, his sense of duty to maintain what generations of Moonstones had built.

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