"How did you get so thin? Your wolf... I can barely sense her."
Raven only cried harder, pressing her face into his palm.
"These five years... I've thought about you every single day. Your scent haunts my dreams..."
Kael pulled out a territory credit seal and pressed it into her palm.
"Stop being stubborn. If you need anything—anything at all—come to me. The pack will provide."
"Kael, you're all I care about." Her voice trembled with practiced vulnerability. "I tried to forget your scent. I really did. But I couldn't..."
She tilted her face up to his, eyes glistening in the moonlight.
"What about you? Don't you think about me at all? Don't you remember how we used to be?"
The wind whipped her dark hair across her face.
Kael stared at her for three long heartbeats. I could see his chest rising and falling, could imagine the war happening behind those storm-gray eyes.
Then his head dipped down, and he kissed her.
His fingers tangled in her hair. Her arms wound around his neck. A soft whimper escaped her throat—or maybe it was a sound of triumph.
Five years ago, I would have stormed over there and raked my claws across both their faces, let my wolf tear through with all the fury of a betrayed mate.
But now? I simply turned and walked away, my footsteps silent on the frozen ground.
I wouldn't make a scene at my sire's burial grounds. Alaric Ashvale deserved peace, even in death. He had given everything—his territory, his resources, his very life—to secure this bond. The least I could do was let him rest without my howls of grief disturbing his spirit.
When Kael returned, he was holding a Protective Talisman Pendant, the moonstone still warm from being clutched in his fist.
My father had gotten them blessed by the pack shaman himself—one for Kael, one for me. Tokens of protection. Symbols of the bond between our bloodlines.
I handed him the warm cider, keeping my expression smooth as still water.
"Why are your ears so red?"
"Got too cold out there." He rubbed them sheepishly, ducking his head in that boyish way that used to make my heart race. "Sorry for making you wait."
I couldn't tell if his apology was just guilt over the delay—or something else entirely. His scent gave nothing away. He'd learned to mask it well over the years.
"When you went back for it, was anyone else at the burial grounds?"
His eyes darted away, finding sudden interest in the carriage window.