The Mate He Rejected
I stared at the woman in the mirror.
Five years ago, a terrified, heartbroken girl had stood shivering in the mud, wearing a damp sweater and faded jeans, begging a man to love her. That girl was dead. In her place stood the Luna of the Arden Pack. My chestnut hair fell in loose, polished waves down my back. My skin held a healthy, sun-kissed glow from years of leading agricultural patrols. The hollow void in my chest where the mate bond used to be no longer throbbed with raw pain; it had hardened into cold, thick scar tissue.
A sharp knock echoed through the room.