Page 20 of Luna's Forgotten Vow

I hadn't known he was half-breed, unable to heal himself when I stabbed the pen into his neck. And killed him.

It is why it was all buried. Why I let Alpha Nolan cover it up. It was either that or be executed. Because rogue or not, mistake or deliberate, it was forbidden to take a life.

The worst part was, I might have stabbed him in blind panic, but I watched him bleed out, reach out for me and ask for help as he gurgled and choked on his blood.

And I did nothing to help. I watched him die.

I don't tell Soren all of that, but I suspect he has filled in the blanks the way he always does. For a while, the only sound is the slow measured rhythm of his breaths. "Get some sleep, Seraphina."

I fall asleep counting every breath he takes, and my worry that I told him way more than he should know dissolves the next morning when I wake up on his side of his bed, a cup of fresh steaming coffee sitting on the nightstand atop a note.

"You talk in your sleep. And move. A lot.

If you wake up frightenedagain, come find me."

CHAPTER 7

SOREN

Patience always was my greatest virtue, but I fear it is running thin.

I brace my hands on the table, putting my temper on a leash as I level a frosty look at the bastard on the other side of the screen. "I gave you Tova. A marriage for the sake of peace, just like you demanded. I've held up my end of the bargain—opened my borders for trade, allowed safe passage. And now you want more?"

It's always the same with him. Nothing is ever enough. He takes and takes, always reaching beyond what he deserves. I should have known. Should have expected it. But all Tova had to do was bat her lashes, look up at me with those wide, pleading eyes, and I caved. Like a fool.

Ronan lifts his glass of whiskey, the red wolf insignia on his ring gleaming. "You know what I want, Soren. Cut the bullshit about peace. You traded Tova's life for Eric's. Surely it can't be that hard to trade a few more provinces. The North's big enough. You won't even notice the territory's gone?—"

"No," Eric snarls, shoving to his feet so fast the chair legs screech. His hands curl into fists, his chest rising and falling like a man barely keeping himself in check. "No more."

No more sacrifices. No more fucking concessions. If it wouldn't ignite a war that would tear our people apart, I'd rip Ronan's godsdamned throat out.

The bastard smiles, slow and knowing, like he's already won. "Tova's life must not mean much, then. I'm not above making her miserable to get what I want."

I've seen firsthand what Ronan is capable of. I know what he enjoys, what he'll do just to prove a point.

My jaw clenches as I run through every possibility my refusal or acceptance might lead to, and only one way out seems feasible. One I'm not ready to risk quite yet.

But Eric's gaze snaps to mine, his lips curling in disapproval when I say nothing still. He knows the leverage we have, knows we could easily flip the tables and swipe the smarmy smile off Ronan's face. Using Seraphina and the child in her womb would be more than effectual. We are territorial creatures, especially vicious when it comes to our pups.

It is the perfect chance to get back at him. To steal something of his. To ruin him completely.

Still, I think of Seraphina's eyes that night, wide with fear and the tears that rolled down her ivory skin as she shook uncontrollably. I think of her faint breaths and her parted lips as I watched her toss in my bed until she ended up rolling onto my chest and curling against me, humming contentedly.

I would be foolish to think it was anything but the bond between us that took control in her most subconscious state, when the barrier around her mind wasn't actively fighting it. I knew the last thing she wanted was my hands on her skin, but I'd threaded my fingers through her hair, anyway.

And she purred.

That sound had wrecked me. Had fucked me sideways.

I couldn't sleep after that.

Had bolted for the shower. Stood under the freezing cold for hours to shove the hunger back into a locked cage where it belonged. It did nothing to help and in the end, I ran from my home.

Because if I stayed? If I let myself linger in that bed, with her body pressed against mine and the scent of her drowning me?

I would've buried my teeth in her neck. I would've marked her. With or without her consent.

And that is a line I refuse to cross.

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