Chapter 4

The night of the wedding.

We entered the suite prepared for us. Rowan settled onto the couch, and I walked over calmly.

"Let's have a drink to celebrate our marriage."

I picked up the bottle and poured two glasses of dark red wine.

The room was quiet for a long time, and we drank.

[Do you really have no regrets, even if our marriage never becomes more than mutual courtesy?]

I said nothing aloud. I kept sipping my wine, speaking to him through the bond.

A moment later, Rowan's deep voice sounded inside my mind.

[I don't know what life between us will be like. But we're already mates who will never be parted, aren't we?]

"It's been a long day. Let's turn in early," he said after finishing his wine.

I watched his back as he left, pressed my lips together and said quietly, "Thank you, Rowan."

After the lights went out I looked at the bright crescent moon outside the window, and a peace I had never known rose up in me. I thought about the days ahead and found myself smiling.

I could have a life of my own now.

After the wedding, we went to Rowan's home to visit his mother, Nell Hale. She fussed over me endlessly. For two days, she checked on my every comfort, offered me the best of everything she had, and told me every embarrassing story from Rowan's childhood.

That evening, Nell called me outside, took both my hands in hers, and said, "Selene, Rowan can be a little slow and stubborn. I can also see that there's still some distance between you two."

She paused.

"Our small pack can't compare with yours, and I won't pry into what the two of you have decided. It's only..."

Her face turned sad. "It's only that I don't have much time left, and Rowan is the one I can't stop worrying about. I hope you'll look after him. And I promise you, he will never let you down... he's a good boy."

"Don't worry, Nell. In the few days I've spent here, I've found the life I always wanted. Rowan and I will stay together for the rest of our lives," I told her, meaning every word.

That night, Nell seemed relieved, and we talked until the moon was high. At last, she broke off with an apologetic smile.

"Selene, I'm sorry. Listen to me go on. We should get some rest."

The day after that.

Rowan and I set out to visit the larger pack territories on our honeymoon.

He took me out to the grasslands for a picnic, took me up a mountain to look out over everything, took me walking on the beach at night.

In the end, we returned to the street where we had started and tried every food and attraction we had missed.

I was so happy in those days. It felt like I had found out what freedom was actually for.

Rowan treated me with unfailing courtesy. He took care of me and respected every choice I made.

At last, at dusk, the two of us were walking down a noisy street.

We looked into each other's eyes, warmth shining in both.

Through the bond, I spoke softly.

[Rowan, thank you.]

He patted my shoulder. "You don't have to thank me."

When the trip ended, we returned to Nell's, and I found myself wishing the days could go on like that forever.

Then one day one of my father's guards came looking for me.

"Selene, we have trouble. Damian sent men to collect you. The Alpha is holding them up for now, but they'll be here later this evening."

My heart jumped into my throat. So the day had come after all.

A flicker of panic rose in me. I had no idea how to face Damian.

Rowan came over, rested a hand on my shoulder, and spoke in his deep voice.

"Don't worry. You and I signed a bond that can't be broken. There's nothing he can do to separate us."

That loosened something in me, and I took a deep breath.

"All right, Rowan. I'll handle what comes next myself."

Nell watched me, worried. "Selene, don't be afraid. We'll help you too."

I shook my head. "I only have this life because of you and Rowan."

"I can't drag either of you any further into this. I'll deal with it myself."

Then I went out to the courtyard to wait for Garrick Shaw, the Blackwood Beta.

Garrick arrived that afternoon, and the moment he saw me, he dropped to his knees.

"Selene, Damian needs you. He led a counterattack against the Greywolf Pack, and their Alpha badly wounded him. We carried him home to recover.

"But our priests say the wounds are too deep. He may... he may not last much longer.

"Before he lost consciousness, all he wanted was for you to come and see him. I've already begged your father, and he said the choice is entirely yours."

Then Garrick bent forward and drove his forehead into the ground with a heavy thud.

My mind went blank.

He had pure Alpha blood and staggering strength. Even his father had struggled to defeat him.

A man like that, wounded past healing?

Before I could think it through, Garrick pressed himself to the ground again and shouted.

"Selene, you were the love of his life. Even unconscious he keeps saying your name.

"He said, 'I'm sorry, Selene.'

"I'm begging you, come back with me and see him one last time!"