She-wolves swarmed around Fenris, closing in like a tide.
I seized the chance and slipped away with Briar.
She squeezed my palm. "You don't want him anymore, Seraphina?"
"Everyone says he's a great hero who won the Territory War. They're all fighting over him!"
"Why doesn't my sister want the great hero?"
I didn't know how to explain it to her.
Probably because when a great hero decides to betray you, he does it more ruthlessly than anyone else.
He doesn't just crush your heart.
And it would cost my entire family their lives.
A mating that ended in execution and ruin was one I could not afford.
And no longer wanted.
I hadn't even made it back to the Blackthorn den yet.
The news of my severed scent-bond courtship with Fenris Vargr had already swept through Aurelia.
The visitors lined up outside the Blackthorn residence, waiting to pay their respects to my father, were the first to catch the scent of it.
One by one, they picked up their gifts and left.
"Does the eldest daughter of Blackthorn still think they're the Blackthorns of old? Bonding into the Vargr bloodline was already above her station!"
"I only wanted to get close to the Alpha Commander through the Blackthorn pack. Otherwise, who'd bother warming up to a bloodline this faded?"
"Who does Seraphina Blackthorn think she is? All she has is a reputation as the finest Omega scholar in the capital. Other she-wolves would kill to be mated to the Alpha Commander, and she's been sitting on that courtship for years. Now she severs it in public? Who is she trying to impress?"
"The Alpha Commander earned his glory young. A territory grant is right around the corner. The Blackthorns are going to regret this until their guts turn green!"
...
I listened to all of it. My heart was still as dead water.
Briar's little face flushed scarlet with rage. "They look down on you, Sister. They look down on our whole family..."
I patted her head. "Briar, what other people think doesn't matter. What matters is that our family stays together, safe and sound."
Briar sniffled.
Then her eyes lit up.
"Father!"
She threw herself into our father's arms the moment he stepped through the gate, still wearing his Pack Council robes. The faint scent of old parchment and dried lavender clung to him, familiar and steadying.