Chapter 1

Three years ago, the Full Moon was supposed to be the night Kieran and I completed our mating ceremony.

He had scheduled it between a border patrol and a meeting with the elders, claiming it was "the most efficient arrangement."

The patrol took longer than expected.

By the time he reached the Moon Stone, the moon had already passed its highest point.

The priest explained the rule. The ceremony could only take place at the seasonal Moon Peak. If we missed it, we'd have to wait another three months.

During those three months, my mother fell ill. She had once served as the pack's Healer, and I'd grown up helping her copy out her herbal remedies.

She didn't live to see my wedding day.

In her final moments, she gripped my hand and whispered that she wished she could see me wear the moonstone ring.

Kieran knelt beside her bed all night.

"Serena, I swear I'll never let you miss another important moment. No matter what happens, I'll be there."

I believed him.

Why wouldn't I? In the first year after my wolf awakened, he ran every dawn patrol at my pace.

When the pack teased him, he called it endurance training. I was the only one who knew he never once checked his watch on those mornings.

My mother used to say the Moon Council wrote the Mate Code for wolves who forgot that a bond is a promise, not a leash.

Abandon your mate in childbirth, and the Council will free her. I laughed when she said it.

Kieran would never.

Tonight was the Blood Moon.

The elders always said births under a Blood Moon came fast and fierce.

At one in the morning, my water broke.

A full four weeks before my due date.

I reached for him through the mind-link. "Kieran, I'm in labor. Now."

He answered fast. "I'm at the infirmary. Valerie's gone into labor too."

Valerie wasn't due for another three days.

The Blood Moon sent us both into labor on the same night.

In Blackwood's infirmary, the two delivery rooms were separated by a single wall.

I was on the left. She was on the right.

A wolf's hearing is too sharp. I could hear every one of her cries, and Healer Thea's hushed voice out in the corridor.

"Alpha, a Blood Moon birth is too dangerous for both of them. We only have one dose of Moonveil Elixir left."

Moonveil.

Moonveil could slow labor, giving a mother more time to endure the dangers of a Blood Moon birth while protecting both her and her pup.

But the flower it was made from only bloomed on the snow peaks of the far North, once in a decade. That single vial was the pack's last reserve.

"The Luna's pup is four weeks early, and the heartbeat is dropping. She should—"

"How dilated is Serena?" Kieran cut her off.

"Seven centimeters. About an hour left."

"And Valerie?"

"Three centimeters. At this rate, eight to ten more hours."

The corridor fell silent for a second.

"Then give it to Valerie."

My nails dug into the edge of the bed.

"Kieran." I linked to him, my voice shaking. "Our pup's heartbeat is dropping."

"I heard."

His answer was calm, as if he were checking a ledger.

"Think about it, Serena. You're almost done. The elixir takes time to work, and using it on a labor that ends in an hour would be a waste. Valerie has ten hours ahead of her. That's where it can do the most good."

"It's simply a matter of efficiency."

Efficiency.

The pain was so bad I nearly cracked my teeth, and still I laughed.

"That's our child, Kieran."

"Don't be dramatic. You've always been good at enduring things. It's one hour. You can handle it better than anyone."

"And Valerie is carrying Marcus's only child. He died for me. I won't let his pup come to harm."

"And what about the one I'm carrying?"

He fell silent.

A full three seconds.

"Thea." His voice turned cold. "Alpha Command. Give Moonveil to Valerie."

No wolf can defy an Alpha Command.

"...Yes, Alpha."

Thea's voice broke into sobs.

Through the crack in the door, I watched them carry the silver-glowing vial into the room on the right.

Kieran didn't so much as glance at my door.

"Kieran," I said, scraping together the last of my strength. "You promised you'd be there for the moments that matter."

"I'll come, Serena."

His voice was already fading.

"Wait for me."

Wait.

He had handed me the very thing he hated most: waiting.

Then the mind-link went dead with a soft click.

He had shut the link.

I felt the mate bond grow cold, the chill spreading from my chest inch by inch.