I called for a transport and rushed to the feast hall. There he stood, one arm supporting Selene, both of them laughing graciously as pack members showered them with praise and congratulations.
When Selene spotted me, guilt flickered across her face—but beneath it lay a smug satisfaction, as if she had expected this all along.
She released Dorian Frostclaw from her embrace and strode toward me.
"I knew you wouldn't be able to stay away. But today is an important occasion for the pup, so don't—"
I didn't give her the chance to finish. I lunged past her and drove my fist straight into Dorian's face.
"Remember your place as the rut-partner on the side. Don't be like your mother—that old bond-breaker who loved stealing what belonged to others."
As I spoke, I pulled out the ceremonial blade I'd hidden beneath my cloak and sliced through the formal tunic he wore.
The fabric tore with a sharp ripping sound, accompanied by his shrill scream. I shredded the garment completely.
"If you have nothing to wear, then go bare-furred. My mother made this with her own hands. You're nothing but a side-bond, and I'd rather destroy it than let you wear it!"
The gathering descended into chaos. Matriarch Aurelia Valeheart, who always placed pack honor above all else, remained strangely still and made no move to intervene.
Selene Valeheart draped the ruined scraps over his shoulders and glared at me with fury burning in her golden eyes.
"How can you be so vicious? In front of all these wolves, where is he supposed to put his dignity? It was just borrowing a garment for the ceremony. Did you really need to be this petty?"
Looking at her inability to distinguish right from wrong, I let out a cold laugh. My blade rose and fell again, cutting away every fastening from the traditional bond-robe she wore—the one my mother had stitched with her own hands.
"You've forgotten the oath you swore to my mother—that you would never betray me for as long as you lived. It doesn't matter. I haven't forgotten. What lies between us is like this robe now—severed completely, all bonds broken!"
"I wish your little family a hundred years of happiness together."
With those words, I walked out through the stunned crowd.
The First Moon Feast did not go well after that. Dorian Frostclaw fainted from the shock, and Selene rushed him to the Healer's Den.