Chapter 4

The Moon Goddess's altar stood at the highest point of the estate.

The wind flung snow against the stone steps. I held on to the edge of the altar and slowly lowered myself to my knees.

I set the moonstone down in front of me.

Seven years ago, when Alric put it on me himself, he had told the whole Frostmoon pack that he would always protect his Luna.

That night, he took 99 lashes for me.

The whip tore open his back. I threw my arms around him and begged him to stop trying to be so strong.

He just wiped my tears away with his bloody hand.

"Don't be scared.

"As long as I'm Alpha of the Frostmoon pack, no one will ever send you away."

I finally understood. He'd kept me as his Luna, but abandoned me long ago.

I pulled the petition I'd already prepared to leave the pack from inside my cloak and pressed my thumbprint onto it with a trembling hand.

Little by little, the moonlight crept across the altar.

The hour was up.

Alric never appeared at the bottom of the steps.

Greta came running up through the snow, took off her cloak, and wrapped it around me.

"Luna, Freya suddenly came down with a high fever. The Alpha and Yvette are both with her."

She held my arm, her voice growing softer.

"The Alpha ordered you to wait. He'll come get you once the pup's fever breaks."

I glanced back at the long flight of steps.

"Did he say how much longer?"

Greta shook her head, fighting back tears.

I pushed myself up against the altar and handed her the petition and the moonstone together.

"Give these to him at dawn."

"Where are you going?"

"To see the sea."

Greta clung to my sleeve.

"You're in no condition to travel! Please, wait for the Alpha. Let him take you to the sea!"

"I've waited long enough."

I pried her fingers loose.

"Greta, this is the last order I'll ever give you as your Luna.

"Go back."

Halvor, the guard at the east gate, stopped me.

"No one leaves the territory on a full moon night without the Alpha's permission."

I took the Luna seal from my belt and pressed it against his spear.

"I'm still the Luna of the Frostmoon pack.

"Open the gate."

Halvor hesitated, then dropped to one knee and ordered the heavy iron gate pulled open.

I took a light carriage from the stables and drove it myself.

The wheels rolled over the snow and through the sleeping valley.

I didn't look back.

Just before dawn, the wind finally carried a faint, unfamiliar tang of salt.

The carriage crested the last hill, and in the distance, waves were rolling toward the shore, one after another.

The sea wind tugged my cloak open and lifted the weight that had been crushing my chest for days.

I held on to the carriage shaft as I climbed down, then picked my way across the frosted rocks toward that endless blue.

A wave rushed up and soaked the toes of my shoes.

Deep inside me, the white wolf who had been sleeping for so long slowly lifted her head.

I smiled at her. "We're here."

She got unsteadily to her feet and took one step forward with me.

A sudden pain stabbed through my chest.

I collapsed onto the sand. The blood I coughed up was quickly washed away by the sea.

Another wave rolled over the backs of my hands, then retreated.

I used every bit of strength I had left to raise my head.

The sea really was wide.

So wide that no wall could hold it, and no one could order it to stop.

I lay on the wet sand, listening to the waves, and slowly closed my eyes.

This time, I would never have to wait for Alric again.

Back at the estate, Freya's fever had just broken.

Alric had just taken a bowl of medicine from the healer when a sudden, tearing pain shot through his chest.

The bowl slipped from his fingers and shattered on the floor.

He doubled over, clutching his chest.

The mate bond that had connected them since the night of their bonding had suddenly snapped.

Inside him, his wolf let out a long, agonized howl.

"Sigrid..."

Alric shot to his feet, pushed Yvette aside as she tried to help him, and bolted out of the room.

The Moon Goddess's altar was empty.

All that remained were two shallow dents where Sigrid had knelt. Fresh snow was already filling them.

Greta was huddled at the bottom of the steps, clutching the moonstone and sobbing so hard her whole body shook.

"The Luna's gone."

Alric hauled her to her feet.

"Where did she go?"

"She said she was going to see the sea."

The guards dragged Halvor over from the east gate.

"The Luna ordered us to open the gate. She had her seal. We didn't dare disobey."

"She's still injured, and you let her leave all by herself?!"

Alric's roar woke the whole estate.

Halvor pressed his forehead to the ground and didn't dare answer.

Alric let go of Greta, steadied his shaking hands, and sent an order through the pack link to every wolf in Frostmoon.

"Seal every mountain pass.

"Everyone, move out. Search the eastern coast.

"Bring the Luna home!"

Howl after howl rose into the snowy night.

Alric shifted into his black wolf and was the first one out the east gate.

All that was left on the snow were two wheel tracks, already blurring in the wind.

He followed the faint trace of her scent out of the territory, tumbled down a steep slope, and scrambled back up again.

The hollow in his chest never filled.

As daylight broke through the clouds, Leif, a pack warrior, came racing back from the coast.

He shifted back into human form in front of Alric and dropped hard to his knees in the snow.

"Alpha..."

Alric shifted back into human form and grabbed him by the shoulders.

"You found her?"

Leif was shaking all over and couldn't bring himself to look up.

"The Luna...

"She's dead!"