I forced a bitter smile. "I heard the Pack Princess adores moonfire flares. If we could make her smile and convince her to attend your mating ceremony, wouldn't that bring honor to the occasion?"
Sable eyed me with suspicion. "How would a worthless wretch like you know what the Pack Princess likes?"
"Believe it or don't. If it turns out to be false, it's no loss to you either way, Miss Ashveil."
After Sable left, I curled into the corner of the bed, my body burning with fever, my lower abdomen seized with stabbing pain. No one came. My wolf lay somewhere deep inside me, too weak to even whimper, just a faint tremor of warmth that kept guttering like a candle in wind.
Looking back now, meeting Caelan Blackthorn was the single greatest regret of my life.
Through the haze of unconsciousness, I caught a blurred glimpse of moonfire flares drifting past the window, their silver and violet light bleeding through the dark.
Only then did I let out a breath and smile.
Long ago, my father and I had made a pact: whenever moonfire flares were lit, it meant I was in danger, and someone would come to take me away.
At some point, Caelan appeared. He sat at the edge of my bed for a long time. I could smell him before I saw him, that charred oak and bitter iron, and something in my chest flinched away from it.
When he saw me open my eyes, he touched my forehead. "The fever's broken. Come on, sit up and have some porridge."
I struggled upright. "Sable came. She forced an entire bowl of that concentrated wolfsbane tincture down my throat. Did you know?"
Caelan's expression faltered for a moment. He lowered his gaze. "I knew."
"You knew?"
I clenched every muscle in my body to keep the tears from falling.
He reached for my hand. I pulled away.
"Seraphina, she was only protecting herself. If you'd given birth to the pup, where would that leave her and her child? It's only natural."
I let out a hollow laugh. Natural. What a convenient excuse.
Caelan set the bowl down and continued. "After Sable went home, she had terrible stomach pains. It's possible our pup's spirit unsettled her..."
He looked at me, hesitating, then pressed on.
"There's an elder at the Moonstone Shrine. Go to him and ask him to perform rites for the pup's soul. Then climb all nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine steps of the Wolf's Fang ascent on your hands and knees, one bow per step, and bring back a Moon Goddess blessing token for Sable. Do that, and we can put this whole matter behind us. Alright?"
I stared at him, my eyes burning red.
"Caelan Blackthorn, you and I are finished. If you want a blessing token, go get it yourself."
I dragged myself off the bed, trying to leave this wretched place.
He blocked my path.
He scooped me up, ignoring my thrashing, and threw me onto a horse. He rode hard until we reached the foot of the Moonstone Shrine.
"Take her up the mountain."
Two guards seized me by the arms, one on each side. I hauled my broken body forward, dropping to my knees and pressing my forehead to the stone with every step. The wolf inside me had gone silent. I couldn't feel her at all.
Two days without food or water, fresh from losing the pup. I passed out and woke and passed out again along the way.
I don't remember how I obtained the blessing token. All I know is that when I finally saw Caelan at the bottom, my legs gave out and I collapsed.
He caught me and gathered me into his arms.
"Seraphina, you've suffered so much. I promise, even after I mate with Sable, you'll be the only one in my heart."
I closed my eyes slowly. Three days ago, I might have believed those words. Now they made my stomach turn.
"I got you your blessing token. Let me go."
He ignored my plea and carried me back to the cottage.
"Seraphina, don't be stubborn. The mating ceremony is tomorrow. Sable has agreed to let you keep living in the cottage afterward. You'll stay out of each other's way. Alright?"
Before leaving, he added one last instruction: "The Pack Princess may come to observe the ceremony tomorrow. Stay in the cottage and don't cause trouble."
Shortly after he left, my father's secret agents found me. I caught their scent before I saw them, cedar heartwood and mountain granite carried faintly on their clothes, and something inside me that had been clenched for days finally loosened.
I looked in the direction he had gone, then at this little cottage that had never truly been mine, and a quiet smile crossed my lips.
I hope tomorrow, you won't regret this.
On the day of the mating ceremony, the Blackthorn estate was draped in ceremonial banners, every corner bursting with celebration. Caelan stood in his formal mating attire, Sable at his side.
They were about to begin the bonding rites when a voice rang out from beyond the gates: "Her Highness, the Pack Princess of the Silvercrest bloodline, has arrived!"
The ceremonial silk in Sable's hands trembled. A smile curled at the corner of her mouth. She hadn't expected the Pack Princess to actually come.
