Chapter 1

The Full Moon Celebration was still underway when I left the banquet hall alone.

Members of the Blood Moon Pack crowded around the wine table, waiting for the moon to reach its highest point. Rowan stood in line while Celine rested nearby with his formal coat across her lap.

As my car pulled away, I looked back. A server passed too close to Celine, and Rowan raised an arm around her shoulders, shielding her from the crowd.

He returned to the Alpha House at one in the morning and frowned when he found me beside the dying fire.

“Why are you still awake?”

“I was waiting for you.”

His hand paused on his coat. “I told you to go home without me.”

Moon-laurel wine stained his cuff and scented his collar.

“When did the celebration end?”

“Around eleven.”

“And after that?”

“Celine’s old back injury started hurting, so I took her home.”

We had not completed the permanent mark, but six years together had taught me his expressions. Rowan was not hiding where he had been. He simply thought no explanation was necessary.

“A guard could have escorted her.”

“She only recently returned to the pack, and she did not want a stranger driving her home.” He poured himself some water. “Elara, are you really interrogating me over this?”

I took a narrow gold ribbon from my purse and laid it on the table. Two open crescents had been embroidered into it. One belonged to me. Rowan was supposed to close the other with a knot of his own.

“You promised to meet me at the Moon Well for our pre-bonding blessing.”

He stared at the ribbon before recognition reached his face.

“I forgot. I’m sorry.”

Tonight was the first full moon of winter, the one night when unmarked couples could receive the priests’ blessing. I had collected our number before sunset and waited in the cold for nearly two hours.

The priest called our number three times. Each time, the couples in the courtyard looked at the empty place beside me. Eventually, the moon lamps went dark and the gates closed.

Rowan took a black card from his wallet and set it over the ribbon.

“Ask the priests to arrange another blessing. Pay whatever donation they require.”

“The next winter blessing is a year from now.”

“Then we can do it after the bonding ceremony.” He lifted his glass. “It will not affect the permanent mark.”

This was how Rowan handled forgotten promises. He offered jewelry or money, then expected me to accept the apology quietly.

I left the card untouched.

“My mother received her blessing at the Moon Well. Before she died, she asked me to return when I found the man I wanted beside me for life.”

His fingers tightened around the glass.

Six years ago, during our first snowfall together, Rowan had waited outside the Moon Well with me. He checked the time repeatedly, but stayed until we reached the priest.

That night had convinced me he would stop for me whenever something mattered enough.

“After the bonding ceremony, I’ll take you back,” he said.

Snow was already falling beyond the windows. I did not remind him that the Moon Well would remain closed until the following winter.

“Will you arrive on time for our ceremony next week?”

He looked confused. “Our allied packs have accepted the invitations, and the council and priests will be there. I am the Alpha. How could I miss it?”

“All right.”

I picked up the ribbon, but Rowan stopped me before I reached the stairs.

“Elara, Celine is my assistant. Her injury affects her wolf, and the hall was crowded. I only wanted to make sure she got home safely.”

“I know.”

“Then why are you angry?”

I turned back. “If I had wanted the moon-laurel wine, would you have waited twenty minutes for me?”

After a brief silence, he set down his glass.

“That comparison is meaningless.”

“You’re right.”

In the bedroom, I slipped the unfinished ribbon into my mother’s recipe journal. It opened to her moonflower pudding, where her handwriting overlapped with the notes I had added for our bonding feast. The edges of the page had softened from being handled so often.