"May I ask why you want to reject me?" I raised my head and looked at Hunter, who was putting on his clothes.

"You don't need to know about it."

In addition to the coldness in his eyes, Hunter looked a little impatient.

He added, "I won't exile you. You can still live here and I'll give you money every month and..."

“No.” Before he could finish his words, I interrupted him, and he looked quite shocked.

After all, this was the first time I had interrupted him. In the past, I did not and dared not do so.

"I don't want anything. I just want Willow."

I could feel the atmosphere becoming depressing and suffocating at once.

For a while, neither of us spoke. The dim night lights flickered slightly.

Willow was our daughter; she was more than two years old. But no one could sense her wolf.

Not even Hunter, her own father.

Rumors had it that she was cursed and forsaken by the moon god. And that was why she couldn’t have her own wolf.

They also made up horrible gossip about me, blaming me for bringing this ominous life into the world.

Hunter snorted, "Can you afford to raise her on your own?"

"This is my own business. You don't have to worry about it, Alpha Hunter. If you agree, I'll accept your rejection at once."

Since Hunter was going to reject me, he would be Alpha Hunter to me and nothing more.

Hunter stared at me as if he couldn’t believe I dared to talk to him this way.

His cold gaze made me shudder, but I raised my chin slightly and straightened my body.

“In fact, I’ve wanted this for a long time."

I managed to suppress the pain in my heart and pretended to sound casual. "Willow is not that important to you anyway. Let me take her away."

Hunter frowned and spoke after pausing for a moment, "You’ve wanted this for a long time?"

I pretended not to care about it and emphasized, "I only want Willow."

I could feel Hunter’s gaze boring into me, and finally, he just said, "Whatever. My decision is final and there’s no way you can change my mind."

He thought I did this just to change his mind?

I felt so shocked that the pain already numbed. Hunter walked closer to me, his huge figure looming over me.

The moment had finally come, and my whole body trembled in mixed feelings— heartache, desperation, humiliation, and… relief.

He stared at me, and I had never felt we were so far away from each other, although we were in the same room.

His eyes were icy cold, his voice steady and piercing, “I, Hunter Blackthorne, Alpha of the Blackthornes, reject you, Raven Mercer.”

For a second, I felt blank, like the deepest part of me was torn away. I fought not to stagger. My stomach lurched. I swallowed down bile.

The pain in my heart was so terrible; I thought I was going to die.

But not now. Not here.

I raised my head and met Hunter’s eyes, “I, Raven Mercer, accept your rejection.”

Hunter turned around and strode out of the room while I curled into the bed and sobbed in huge, heaving gasps for hours until I was spent and couldn’t cry anymore.

Reeling from the pain, I still couldn’t believe Hunter rejected me so easily and determinedly. He didn't even want his own daughter.