Chapter 1

Silas came home after a night patrolling the territory. He smelled of fir, the scent I used to love.

"Watching those human soap operas again? Elena, you know how weak you are without a wolf. You need your rest."

"Mm. I know."

Silas gave me a searching look, surprised by my cool reply.

Any other time, I'd have gone straight to him, helped him out of his heavy battle coat, and soothed his restless nerves with my spiritual power.

Today, I stayed right where I was.

"Where's my calming tonic?" He seemed to notice something was off.

"Second shelf in the safe. Get it yourself."

I still didn't move. His golden-brown wolf eyes locked on me. For a moment, I thought I saw concern in them.

"What's wrong with you today? Are you sick?"

"I'm a little tired."

Silas's mouth twitched. "You spend all day in a climate-controlled penthouse. You don't patrol or fight. What could you possibly be tired from?"

He crossed to the safe in a few long strides and took out a vial of tonic himself.

The encrypted communicator on the table buzzed. A line of bright text appeared on the screen beside the sender's icon: a pure white spirit fox.

"Silas, it's gotten so cold at the northern outpost, and my old tailbone injury is aching. The snow wolf blanket you gave me doesn't seem warm enough."

Silas picked up the communicator. A rare tenderness flickered in his usually cold eyes.

His long fingers flew over the virtual keyboard.

"An official message from the Frost Moon clan?" I asked, eyeing the spirit fox icon.

He turned off the screen, his face blank again. "Yes, it's from Lilian. She's representing the Frost Moon envoys at the northern border today for the boundary stone handover. I'm going to escort her. It's on my way. Stay home and wait for me."

"Isn't she an honorary member of the Central Council? I thought she stayed at headquarters. Since when does a pure-blood princess do fieldwork?"

"The council sent her at the last minute. She doesn't have much experience, so they asked me to show her the ropes."

He had an answer for everything. I thought of the star charts. He'd refused to take me to the Alpha's forbidden grounds, then invited Lilian there himself.

"Silas."

He was pulling on his heavy combat boots and glanced up at me. "The patrol unit's waiting downstairs. Is there something else?"

"Do you remember what next Sunday is?"

"Next Sunday? Of course I remember. I'm going to the Far North Sanctuary for the Moon Goddess's frenzy rite. You're coming with me. Don't worry, I won't forget."

He only remembered his rite. He'd forgotten that next Sunday was also the seventh anniversary of our blood bond.

Seven years ago, on that very day, he'd been poisoned with dark wolfsbane while fighting for the pack. The poison ravaged his body, and he'd been cast out to die.

I took the savage backlash into my own wolfless body and used my heart's blood to build the only spirit beacon he had.

That night, he pressed his burning forehead against my neck and swore in a hoarse voice that once he sat on the Red Peak throne, every living thing in the North would bow to me. Now he'd forgotten.

"The side buckle on your gear bag is loose," I said, changing the subject.

He glanced down. "Got it. Get some rest, and stop being so weird all the time."

The blast door thudded shut, and the room went dead silent again.

I opened my terminal. The Elders' Council had received my application. I checked my ticket again. In ten days, I'd be gone.

Ten days was enough time to erase every trace of me from this territory.

My terminal buzzed. It was an encrypted call from my friend Cassiopeia Lane.

"Did you submit the application?"

"I did."

"If you've decided, don't look back. When are you going to tell Silas?"

"On the day I leave."

Cassiopeia's hologram fell silent for a moment. When she spoke again, she sounded furious on my behalf.

"Elena, you spent seven years using your own blood and strength to keep his wolfsbane in check. You turned him from a dying stray into the Alpha of Red Peak. And you're just going to let it go?"

"I don't want it anymore.

"Cassiopeia, have you ever seen the dawn from the top of East Cliff?"

"What?"

"It's magnificent. Golden light fills the whole sky. Too bad that place was never mine."