na in a way I hated. "I was blessed by the Moon Goddess her

uld stand there in his war-stained cloak, still smelling of smoke and

me this pack nearly starved because the hunting grounds ran dry. When you were away I protected the weak ones. I made sure the training ran on schedu

ddess gave me a pack to lead. She gave me you to stand beside me while I led it. But sh

s of telling myself that whatever cracks were forming between us could be mended if I was patient enough, loyal enough, good

aid. "You're just g

lmost like the man I had fallen for, which made it so much worse. "How exactly do you propose I take care of

h another woman raise the family that should have been mine, or leave with nothing after three years of

open before h

l getting used to wearing. She looked between the two of us, and there was nothing shy in her expression at all, nothing that

d out slow. "I didn't realize b

had been simmering under my ribs all

ly when it comes to how you've already inserted yourself into running this pack. Giving orders to the kitchen staff. R

ow circles over her belly like she was soot

Since apparently you couldn't manage

ery cold, the kind of calm that comes right befo

d quietly, "what I'm actu

anything else, told me everything I needed to know about where I stood in his eyes now. He wasn't going to defend me. He wasn't going

waiting for

obes, and I looked at both of them, Marcus with his tired eyes and Lyra with her hand still resting sm

worry, Marcus. I'll g

the shape of it. Good. Let him wonder. Let him spend the coming weeks turning that sentence over in his head, waiti

wn dragging petals across the floor with every step, and

I said, "you are go

nd I didn't lo