r. Elara stood on a dark, secluded terrace, letting the cool night air wash over her. The party w

la

rough the stone beneath her feet. It was a voi

have to tur

yker Bl

nd dark cedar, a scent that had once been her entire world. Now, it made her stomach clench with na

. "I heard you were back," he

formal title was

uld feel his frustration, his unease. He took

ay, too," he said, his voice

running his hands through it. In his large hands, he held a small, carved wooden box. His piercing go

was a cloak woven from shimmering silver wolf fur.

bubbled in her throat, b

low rumble. "But it was to protect Briar. She was so fragile, so

o hand her the box. A jolt, sharp and

ssive growl in her mind, not

hreatened to flicker within her, a p

aah

ia

ced by pure, undiluted panic. He dropped the box. The silver cloa

eady gone, a black-clad blur disappearing aro

cloak, now soiled with mud. A

Briar was collapsed on the ground, her breath coming in ragged, shallow gasps. A sheen of cold sw

es beside her, his f

wolf spirit... from when I saved you... the damage wa

command echoing through the silent garden. He gathered Briar

loak was in the dirt. The bond between them pulsed with a confusing mix of hope and pain. But Briar's gasp of his name shattered the moment, and his panic hardened into a fam

ustling leaves, all of it faded into a dull roar

er heart full of a terrible, wonderful secret. The Moon Goddess had sh

he, without a second thought, had performed the ancient, forbidden ritual. She

t Elara and uttered the words that had shattered her world. "I cannot accept you, Elara. Not while you stand accused of such dark magic. You are no mate of mine." He hadn't performed the formal rejection

ed from Ryker's agonized face to Briar's. And through the mask of pain, Elara saw it-

horrifying, shook

terrace, her steps even and measured. She knelt in the dirt and

ul thing to her chest, she wa