Chapter 2

My father looked at me, torn. Under the bright lights, the silver in his hair stood out even more.

I met his eyes without wavering.

"Selene, are you certain?"

"I'm certain." My resolve only hardened.

He let out a long sigh.

"Go and rest. I'll send people out now and find someone suitable as fast as I can."

Something I had held down for years loosened a little in my chest.

"Thank you, Dad."

I turned to leave, then took one last look at how much my father had aged.

The next day, my father had a guard bring me files on every eligible young man in our pack and the neighboring smaller packs.

I looked at the guard and asked what instructions my father had given.

The guard kept his head down. "Selene, the Alpha says you may choose anyone on this list. Once you decide, he'll bring the man here and ask whether he's willing."

I understood what my father meant. A bond like this would work only if both people genuinely wanted it.

"Understood." I picked up the stack and started going through it, one file at a time.

One candidate after another stared up at me from the pages.

There was an arrogant rich boy, a born warrior of remarkable strength, and a scholar who had devoted his life to books.

One after another I read them, and one after another I set them aside.

At last, one file held my attention.

Name: Rowan Hale. Age: twenty.

Alpha of a small pack. All he had left at home was his mother and a little over a dozen packmates. To support her and the rest of them, he worked day and night keeping the pack fed.

The file said he was steady and capable, plain-spoken and courteous, and that he had once declared he would love one woman his whole life.

He was a block of stone: no interest in talking to people, and no notice at all for anyone who tried to chat him up.

He was broad-shouldered and powerfully built, with an air of blunt integrity.

I tapped my finger against his file over and over.

"This one."

I handed the file to the guard.

"Yes! I'll have him here today."

"Go. And hurry back," I said quietly.

The guard left.

At noon, my father called me back for lunch.

At the table, after a long silence, he finally spoke.

"Eat. We'll talk after."

"All right." I said nothing more.

The dishes slowly emptied, and the meal came to an end.

"So it's him? That young Alpha?" My father wiped his mouth, his face grave.

"It's him. He seems right for me." My voice was calm and certain.

"This is for the rest of your life. Don't you want to look at a few more?"

"What if he ends up treating you badly too?" my father asked sternly.

I smiled faintly. "Could anyone treat me worse than Damian did?"

"Don't try to talk me out of it, Dad. I trust my own judgment."

My father's voice went a little hoarse. "All right. We'll do it your way. Just remember to come see me once in a while."

Then he took a black wooden box carved with a wolf out of his coat and lifted two dark brown gems from inside it.

"I bought these from a witch. Consider them a gift for you and your mate. If Damian ever comes after you, these stones can raise a shield and bring you straight back here.

"Go on. Rowan Hale, wasn't it? He should be arriving soon. I've already made the arrangements for the bonding ceremony."

I started toward the door and heard my father murmur something behind me.

"I hope the day never comes when you have to use them..."

I paused for half a second but kept walking. My determination to leave Damian was stronger than I had realized.

Once I was outside, the guard found me and handed me a slip of paper.

"Selene, Rowan asked you to read this and send back your answer. Then he'll decide whether to meet," the guard said respectfully.

I looked at him, surprised, and took the paper.

It read: If all you want is to escape Damian, then there is no point in us meeting. What I want is a love that lasts a lifetime.

The message gave me pause.

When Damian and I first met, he treated me well. He used to say, "Once we're grown, let's be mates for life. We'll hold the bonding ceremony and join our hearts. No matter how far apart we are, we'll be able to speak mind to mind. You'll be my Luna, and we'll never be separated."

"Selene, I love you," he had said.

I thought the love I had dreamed of had arrived. What came first instead was his suffocating control, his impossible demands, and his constant punishment.

I stared at the paper for a long time, and then I wrote slowly.

Escaping Damian is only part of it. More than that, I want a love of my own, one that lasts a lifetime and never ends.

"Go. Take this to him, and tell him I'll be waiting on the north side of the city tomorrow."

The guard answered and left.

I watched the sun going down and murmured, "Maybe I really have found the one I've been looking for."