The Balcony

"Don't come any closer."

My back hit the cold stone railing. Behind me, the night sky. In front of me, Rhys Blackthorne, breathing hard, as if he had taken the stairs three at a time.

"I'm not," he said. "Look."

He lifted his hands, palms open. He stood a full five steps away.

It did not help. Thea was pacing inside me, whining, pulling toward him like a rope tied around my ribs.

"Why did you follow me?" I asked.

"Because you ran out of the hall like it was on fire."

"It was!" I pressed my fingers to my temples. "Everyone heard that. Every wolf in that room heard my wolf."

"They heard a bond," Rhys said. "They don't know whose."

"That is supposed to make me feel better?"

"No." He let out a rough breath. "It's supposed to keep you from panicking."

"I'm not panicking."

"Your hands are shaking."

I looked down. They were. I hid them behind my back.

"Fine. Maybe I'm panicking a little." I turned away and stared at the dark forest beyond the garden walls. "Tell me it's a mistake. Tell me wolves get this wrong sometimes."

Silence.

"Rhys."

"I can't," he said quietly.

My stomach dropped. "Why not?"

"Because I felt you before I opened the door." His voice was low, almost angry. "I stood outside in the rain for ten minutes. I almost turned around and went back to the border. Something kept pulling me in. I thought it was guilt about missing the wedding."

"And now?"

"Now I know it was you."

The wind moved through the garden. A small gold lantern swung in a servant's hand somewhere below. Ordinary things, on an ordinary night. And I was standing in the middle of the worst moment of my life.

"Two years," I said slowly. "You stayed away from home for two years. Why?"

His shoulders tensed. "Cain is Alpha. I did not want to stand in his shadow. The border gave me something to do."

"That's not the whole answer."

"It's the one I'm giving."

I let it go. I had bigger problems.

"I got married today," I said. My voice cracked on the last word.

"I know. I watched your vows from the back of the hall."

"You were there?"

"I was late. I wasn't absent."

I laughed, but it came out wet. "That's the worst part. You watched me promise myself to your brother, and the whole time..."

"The whole time you were mine," he said, so softly I almost missed it.

My heart slammed against my ribs.

He closed his eyes. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

"No. You shouldn't have."

"It's true, though."

"I don't care about the truth!" I snapped. "I care about my people. My pack is alive because of this marriage. If it falls apart, they have nothing. Do you understand that?"

"Selene."

"Don't say my name like that."

"Like what?"

"Like it's the only word you know."

He took one step forward. I held up my hand.

"Stop."

He stopped.

"I am not here for love," I said, forcing each word out. "This was a deal. I signed it. Your brother signed it. I will keep my promise. So whatever this is..." I waved a hand between us. "...it does not matter."

"It matters to my wolf."

"Then tell your wolf to sit down."

A tiny, tired smile touched his mouth. "Is that what you tell yours?"

"Every five seconds."

"Does it work?"

"No."

He nodded slowly. "Mine either."

For a moment we just looked at each other. Moonlight fell across his face. Sharp jaw. Tired eyes. A thin scar through his left eyebrow. The gold in his gaze had softened into amber.

He looked like a man who had just lost something he never knew he had.

"Listen to me," Rhys said. "I will never touch my brother's wife."

The words landed like a slap. They were exactly what I needed to hear. They were also the most painful thing anyone had ever said to me.

"Good," I said. "Because I would never let you."

"Then we understand each other."

"Perfectly."

"Good."

"Great."

Neither of us moved.

"I'll ask Cain to send me back to the border tomorrow," Rhys said. "It will be easier for both of us."

"No." It came out too fast. I swallowed. "He will ask why. You just came home. If you leave the morning after his wedding, people will talk."

"So what do we do?"

"We act normal."

"Normal." He almost smiled. "You make it sound easy."

"I make it sound necessary."

The wind pushed a loose strand of hair across my face. Before I could fix it, Rhys's hand rose. Pure instinct, I think. His fingers stopped an inch from my cheek.

An inch.

Heat pulsed between his skin and mine. I felt every bit of it. Thea went completely silent, as if she was holding her breath.

His hand trembled in the air.

"Rhys," I whispered.

"I know," he said. "I know."

But he did not move away. And neither did I.

A deep voice cut through the night like a blade.

"Selene."

Rhys's hand dropped. We both turned.

Cain stood in the balcony doorway. His face was unreadable. His eyes moved slowly from his brother to me, and back again.

"Now," he said.