Something shifted in her expression—like she'd just confirmed a suspicion. Convinced now that I truly felt nothing for Fenris, the hostility in her eyes dimmed, her wolf settling.
The next second, she looped her arm through mine, her voice going deliberately soft. "You don't understand, Omega Ashvale. I really do depend on Fenris."
Her tone was light, almost breathy, but underneath it ran an unmistakable thread of smugness.
"This bond dissolution—Fenris handled almost everything for me. When my former mate's pack showed up at my lodging making a scene, howling threats and demanding tribute, Fenris summoned his Mooncourt Advocates in the middle of the night to drive them off. During the territory division, he pulled influence through the Duskmoor bloodline's connections to make sure I received the best possible outcome."
The more she talked, the brighter her eyes became, her wolf practically preening.
"Even my nightmare of a former mother-by-bond—Fenris silenced her with just a few commanding words."
Her voice dropped conspiratorially, a flush creeping across her pale cheeks.
"The truth is, I never bonded with my former mate because I loved him. I had no choice—pack politics demanded it. But looking back now, fate really is strange, isn't it? Fenris and I—we share no blood. We're not pack-siblings anymore either."
The message couldn't have been clearer if she'd howled it at the moon.
She'd only bonded with someone else because of what the packs might say. But now? Now there was nothing standing between her and Fenris.
I swirled the mead in my goblet, following her thread. "So what you're saying is... you have feelings for your pack-brother?"
Her face flushed crimson, her scent flooding with embarrassment and something deeper. She dropped her gaze, her voice shrinking to barely a whisper. "I don't know. It's just... I've always depended on him. Ever since we were pups."
A dreamy, nostalgic quality crept into her words.
"When I had a fever as a young pup, Fenris would stay up all night by my sleeping furs, keeping watch. When young wolves in the training grounds bullied me, he went straight to their dens and made them submit. Even when I experienced my first heat—" She let out a small, embarrassed laugh. "—Fenris was the one who ran to the healers' lodge to fetch me suppressants and cooling herbs."
I listened to all of it.
And felt nothing.