Backed by the murmured encouragement of the grown wolves crowded around him, the little pup broke free from his parents' hold and rushed toward me. Before I could react, he grabbed my hand and sank his teeth into it. Hard. The pain shot through me instantly, sharp and raw, and he didn't let go. Even his small jaw carried the early strength of a born wolf, and somewhere beneath my skin my own wolf flinched, going low and quiet, refusing to answer a pup.
"Hey—" someone gasped, but no one stepped in.
The more gently Aurelia crouched beside him, coaxing him in a soft, soothing voice, the deeper his teeth seemed to press into my skin, as if her words only fueled his stubbornness. Her scent of jasmine and cold copper drifted sweet over the table, and her tone was all concern, all patience, the picture of kindness.
"Sweetheart, let go… okay? You're scaring me," she murmured, reaching out but never quite pulling him away.
I stood there, frozen.
I couldn't exactly push a pup off me. Couldn't raise my voice. Couldn't bare my teeth without looking like the villain they already believed I was.
So I swallowed everything.
Swallowed the pain. Swallowed the humiliation.
"I'm sorry," I said quietly, forcing the words out as evenly as I could. "I'm sorry, okay?"
The pup finally loosened his grip, stepping back, still sniffling. My hand throbbed where his teeth had broken the skin, a dull, pulsing ache that quickly turned wet. The scent of my own blood rose between us, and I forced my wolf still.
But Salveth wasn't satisfied.
He didn't notice the blood slowly seeping from the bite mark. Didn't notice the way my fingers trembled slightly from the pain. Didn't even glance at me properly.
All he cared about was salvaging someone else's dignity.
He reached out and grabbed my arm just as I turned to leave. His grip carried the weight of an Alpha's aura, and the air around us thickened, pressing down until even the wolves at the next table dropped their gazes.
"Selene," he said sharply, his grip tightening. "Apologize. To Aurelia."
Aurelia immediately put on that same gentle, self-effacing expression, tugging lightly at his sleeve as if trying to stop him. One finger drifted to the moonstone at her throat and touched it, barely, the way someone checks a pin before walking into a room full of watching eyes.
"Salveth, it's fine," she said softly. "Really, it's not a big deal. I'm okay." She paused, lowering her gaze with perfect timing. "It's just the little one… he got hurt, and he's probably scared."
Her words were modest.
Her tone was forgiving.
And yet, they only made everything worse.
Salveth's attention shifted instantly.
His eyes dropped to the back of her hand, where a faint red mark had formed, barely noticeable, nothing compared to the blood on mine.
But to him, it was everything.
Something in his expression softened, almost pained.
Then, just as quickly, it hardened again as he turned back to me.
Before I could react, he grabbed my injured hand and shoved it straight into the bowl of scalding broth that had just been set on the table.
The heat hit me instantly.
The broth wasn't quite boiling, but it was scalding enough. The liquid soaked into the fresh bite wound, salt and heat combining into a sharp, searing pain that shot up my arm like an electric current.
My entire body jerked.
A gasp tore out of me before I could stop it. Deep inside, my wolf threw herself against the cage of my ribs with a sound I had never heard her make, a high, broken keening that had no name.
The pain was unbearable.
It spread, burned, throbbed, every nerve screaming at once. My fingers curled involuntarily, trembling as I tried to pull back, but his grip held me in place for a second longer. An Alpha's grip. The kind that didn't negotiate.
"Selene, what is wrong with you?" Salveth hissed, his voice low but cutting. "You need to be taught a lesson."
My vision blurred slightly from the pain.
Still, I looked up at him.
"Is that who I am to you?" I asked quietly, my teeth clenched so tightly they ached.
I already knew the answer.
But I still asked.
Maybe some part of me hadn't fully given up yet.
Around us, the whispers grew louder. The other wolves at the pack trading-post weren't even pretending to look away anymore.
"Wait… so which one is his actual mate?"
"Are you blind? Obviously the one he's protecting."
"Yeah, look at them. Matching scents, paired marks on their crystals… it's obvious."
Their voices weren't even hushed anymore.
Their gazes shifted toward me, heavy with something worse than judgment.
Pity.
"Hey, enough is enough," a wolf at a nearby table muttered. "Another few seconds and you're going to boil her hand off."
Only then did Salveth hesitate.
I stood there, my lips pale, my body still trembling slightly from the pain, and yet, somehow, I was smiling.
A faint, fragile smile.
I looked straight at him.
And for the first time, something flickered in his eyes.
Unease.
Just for a moment.
Then he let go.
He released my hand as if nothing had happened, reached for Aurelia instead, and took her by the arm.
"Let's go," he said quietly.
And just like that, he walked away with her, her jasmine scent trailing after them while the bitter clove of his own faded toward the door.
Didn't look back.
Didn't say another word.
When I got home, the den felt colder than usual. The hall was dark, the inner latch still drawn the way he always left it, as though guarding the threshold mattered more than the wolf locked within. His obsidian-and-ash scent clung faintly to the walls, stale now, like something already gone.
A notification glowed on my crystal communicator.
He had sent a vial of burn salve to me through a courier-wolf.
I stared at it for a long moment before opening the message that came with it.
