Chapter 2

Ruby was asleep by the time Lucas came home that night. I was sitting in the living room when I caught the faint scent of blackberries and wet ferns on him. Blair had smelled exactly like that in my consulting room.

He'd changed his jacket and washed his face. He'd forgotten that our mating marks made me especially sensitive to his scent, including everything he'd brought home on his skin.

"Why are you still up?" He dropped his car keys into the tray by the door and opened his arms. I picked up my mug before he could reach me.

He hesitated, then noticed the medical patch on my neck. "What happened to your mark?"

"A little irritation."

Maeve had told me to apply the herbal treatment underneath it to soothe my wolf. Ever since I'd watched those videos, she'd been curled deep inside me, refusing to respond to Lucas's scent. When he reached to peel the patch back, I leaned away. "The treatment needs more time. You can look tomorrow."

I handed him a silver-gray gift box. Inside were our mating bracelets. Mine had been cut open and laid on top of the notice terminating our bond. The notice wasn't in effect yet, but my signature was already on it.

"For me?" He accepted it with a smile.

"Don't open it until next Tuesday morning. Promise?"

He laughed and put it in the drawer on his side of the wardrobe. "All right. Guess I'll have to step up the surprise I've got planned for Friday."

"It wasn't Friday. We mated five years ago today."

His smile faltered. "It's the fifteenth?" He checked his phone, then looked up at me. "Shit. I had the eighteenth in my head. The border patrols have been—"

"It's fine. I didn't make a big dinner either."

He took my hand before I could pull it away. "Erin, come on. Let me make it up to you. We could go out to the lake. The nanny's here with Ruby. You used to love watching the mist come off the water in the morning."

I had loved it. Back then, he'd shift and run circles around me, pressing his warm fur against my legs. Eventually, there had always been another border problem or another meeting. I couldn't remember the last time he'd put down his phone just to spend time with me.

I nodded as though his belated attention were enough. Maeve couldn't get here for seven days, my wolf needed time to settle, and Ruby's travel paperwork wasn't finished. I couldn't let him catch on before we were ready to leave.

We were almost at the lake when Lucas reached to adjust the heater. I went looking for his charging cable in the center console and touched an earring tucked out of sight: a silver fox's tail with a small purple stone at the tip. Blair had been wearing its match that afternoon.

I put it back without a word. The lights along the lakeside running trail had just come on. Lucas zipped up my workout jacket and walked beside me for half a lap. When we passed a patrol member out for an early run, he grinned. "I'm spending the morning with my Luna. The border reports can wait."

"Finally giving us a break, Alpha?" The man nodded at me. "Good to know somebody can keep him in line, Luna."

My wolf drew farther into herself. Lucas's phone rang, and he checked the caller before kissing my hair. "Two minutes. Border business."

Once he'd walked away, I went back to the car for my scarf. His work phone lit up on the seat. A message from a synced conversation appeared on the screen, followed by the rest of the exchange.

[You said tomorrow night was mine. Still on? Don't ditch me again. Your little fox will get cranky.]

[Tomorrow, once I've gotten Erin home. The rooftop suite you booked.]

[I bought that short skirt you like. You're not leaving early this time.]

[No demands that kill the mood. We agreed this was just for fun.]

That last message was Lucas's. I turned the phone facedown where I'd found it. Before I'd caught my breath, he opened the car door and put a hand on my shoulder. "What are you doing back here? I thought you'd taken off for a run without me."

The blackberry scent rose from his collar. My wolf gave a muffled whine, my chest tightened, and my fingers began to go numb. When he said my name, I pushed his hand away and crouched beside the open door, bracing myself against it.

He dropped to his knees to hold me. Tomorrow, he would take me home and go straight to her. Even while making up for our anniversary, he already knew when his time with me would end.