Adrian reached Moonvale’s border town during the full moon market.Silver lanterns hung over the streets, and stalls selling herbs, roasted meat, and handmade charms lined the road. Young wolves darted through the crowd while the air carried the scent of pine, wet earth, and warm cider.He saw me almost at once.I stood outside the herb shop with several bundles of moonmoss flowers in my arms, speaking to the man beside me. The man shielded me from the crowd with casual ease, one hand holding a gray-white pup by the collar as if he had stood beside me like this many times before.Adrian stopped walking.For months, he had imagined this moment. He had thought I might cry, hate him, curse him, or refuse to look at him. He had never imagined I would stand calmly on another pack’s street, looking as if I had truly stepped out of his world.“Elena,” he called, his voice rough.I turned.For one breath, he waited for recognition, for pain, for even the faintest pull of the broken mate bond.
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