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Chapter 2

Author: Penelope
Someone knocked at seven the next morning.

Through the window I saw Caleb, still in his patrol jacket, with two crates of dirty plates at his boots.

I opened the door but stayed in the doorway.

“Morning,” he said, stifling a yawn. “Adrian said you might have time to wash these. We're having a cookout by the watchtower tonight. We'll need the dishes back.”

Grease coated the plates. Dried sauce clung to the rims.

“Whoever ate off them can wash them.”

Caleb sighed. “Rowan, don't make this harder. We spent half the night trying to calm Mia down. She thought she'd ruined the celebration for the border reopening. She was crying for hours.”

“Why was she crying?”

“Because you frightened her.”

I almost laughed.

They had asked me to give up my seat in my own home, then taken the dinner I'd cooked somewhere else. Yet Mia was the one everyone was comforting.

Caleb pushed the crates an inch closer. “I've got to go.”

“Where?”

“To help Mia choose meat at the market. She's never shopped in a pack village. The traders might overcharge her.”

“Good. Take these with you. She can learn to wash a plate while she's learning the prices.”

Caleb's composed expression cracked.

“Rowan, we've known you since we were pups. We've always worked things out. Can't we get through tonight first and talk about this when everyone's had some rest?”

“So that's what you've been counting on?” I asked. “That whatever you ask of me, I'll eventually forgive it?”

He opened his mouth. I closed the door before he found a reply.

Ten minutes later, Adrian called.

“Did you have to send Caleb away like that?” His tone was controlled, but there was an edge beneath it. “He was doing me a favour.”

“He brought back the dishes you used and asked me to clean them.”

“They're dishes, Rowan. Not a blood oath.”

“Then you can wash them.”

A beat passed.

“Where did you put the camp chairs and the grill? Jace is coming for them.”

I went to the storeroom. Everything stacked there belonged to me: the canvas shelter, the folding chairs, the lanterns, the heavy iron grill I'd carried home from the autumn market.

Last month I'd asked the three of them to camp beside Moonfall Lake. Adrian had been too busy with Alpha duties. Caleb needed rest after patrol. Jace had said sleeping in the woods was what we did in wolf form anyway, so why pay for a tent?

Now Mia wanted to see the lanterns floating above the lake, and suddenly everyone was free.

“No,” I said.

Adrian went quiet. “No?”

“My equipment isn't available.”

“It's been sitting there unused. We only need it for one night. Mia's never seen the moon lantern festival.”

“Then take her and buy what you need.”

“Rowan.” His patience thinned. “You've made your point.”

“Have I?”

He exhaled. “She has no family. No pack history. We have a responsibility to make her feel she belongs.”

Mia was afraid of walking alone after dark, so Adrian escorted her home. Mia couldn't stomach certain foods, so Caleb memorised every ingredient she avoided. Mia had a bad day training, so Jace abandoned patrol to cheer her up.

When I came down with fever after a border skirmish, the three of them sent a basket of medicine and told me I was strong enough to manage.

I was strong. That had never meant I wanted to be alone.

“I hope you have a good evening,” I said, and ended the call.

I spent the morning listing my camping gear on the pack trading board. The grill sold to a young patrol wolf within the hour. The shelter and lanterns followed soon after.

By noon, the storeroom looked almost empty.

Jace arrived to find me tying the last parcel with twine. He had always been charming when he wanted something: quick smile, quicker mouth, no patience for consequences.

“You'd rather sell this to strangers than lend it to us?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because strangers pay for what they take.”

His smile vanished.

Before he could answer, a message appeared from the cottage's owner, Mrs Hart.

Your lease ends next week. Are we still renewing for another two years?

I had rented this place because it was a short walk from Adrian's residence. For three years I'd travelled nearly two hours each day to serve at the southern infirmary, convinced that once the bonding ceremony happened, all the inconvenience would be worth it.

My fingers moved without hesitation.

I won't be renewing. Thank you for letting me stay.

Two days and a morning remained before the academy's final confirmation deadline.
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