Before he could even react, I'd already brushed it off with a casual reply. "That's ancient history. Spend enough time serving as Alpha Duskmoor's Pack Liaison and you learn to let such things roll off your pelt." I paused, letting my gaze drift thoughtfully across the gathering. "Though now that you mention it, perhaps it is time I sought a position that offers greater challenge."
A few light remarks, and the tension in the great hall dissolved like morning mist.
But when I mentioned leaving the pack, something flickered across Fenris's face. His smile came a beat too late, his wolf stirring beneath the surface. "The Omega Liaison is far too capable. I couldn't possibly release her from my service."
Someone else chimed in, their tone carefully curious. "Alpha Duskmoor, why didn't you bring your mate tonight? Your bonding ceremony was so private—we barely caught wind of it."
He gave a vague half-answer, his scent revealing nothing. "She's occupied with other matters."
The gathered wolves took the hint and moved on. No one pressed further, and no one questioned why Aurora—who technically had no formal ties to the Duskmoor Pack anymore—was present at the gathering at all.
Once Fenris was pulled away to share ceremonial drinks with the Pack Captains, Aurora sidled up to me, her voice dripping with rehearsed innocence. Her scent carried notes of false sweetness. "Sister-by-bond... oh wait, I mean, Omega Ashvale. Fenris mentioned you two have an arranged mating—a contract bond. Is that true?"
I looked at this she-wolf—her own bond dissolved, yet still playing the wide-eyed innocent—and kept my expression neutral, my own scent carefully controlled. "Yes."
She visibly relaxed, a saccharine smile spreading across her delicate features. "Oh, that's such a relief. I was worried you actually had feelings for him."
The words hung in the air for a moment before she caught herself, waving her hands in exaggerated apology. "I didn't mean anything by that! It's just... I'm still not used to the idea of Fenris being someone's bonded mate."
She ducked her head, fingers twisting nervously at the hem of her ceremonial gown. The picture of a naive young she-wolf who didn't know any better.
But I caught the glint in her amber eyes. Sharp. Calculating. Gone in a flash.
I lifted my crystal goblet and took a slow sip.
The cold honeyed mead slid down my throat.
Watching her clumsy little performance, I almost wanted to laugh.
Five years. We'd each been bonded for five years. And now she wasn't used to it?
"Is that so?" I set down my glass, a faint smile curving my lips. "Your adjustment period is... impressive."
Aurora clearly hadn't expected me to stay this composed. Surprise flickered across her face before she could hide it, her scent spiking briefly with confusion.
Something shifted in her expression—like she'd just confirmed a suspicion. Convinced now that I truly felt nothing for Fenris, the hostility in her eyes dimmed, her wolf settling.
The next second, she looped her arm through mine, her voice going deliberately soft. "You don't understand, Omega Ashvale. I really do depend on Fenris."
Her tone was light, almost breathy, but underneath it ran an unmistakable thread of smugness.
"This bond dissolution—Fenris handled almost everything for me. When my former mate's pack showed up at my lodging making a scene, howling threats and demanding tribute, Fenris summoned his Mooncourt Advocates in the middle of the night to drive them off. During the territory division, he pulled influence through the Duskmoor bloodline's connections to make sure I received the best possible outcome."
The more she talked, the brighter her eyes became, her wolf practically preening.
"Even my nightmare of a former mother-by-bond—Fenris silenced her with just a few commanding words."
Her voice dropped conspiratorially, a flush creeping across her pale cheeks.
"The truth is, I never bonded with my former mate because I loved him. I had no choice—pack politics demanded it. But looking back now, fate really is strange, isn't it? Fenris and I—we share no blood. We're not pack-siblings anymore either."
The message couldn't have been clearer if she'd howled it at the moon.
She'd only bonded with someone else because of what the packs might say. But now? Now there was nothing standing between her and Fenris.
I swirled the mead in my goblet, following her thread. "So what you're saying is... you have feelings for your pack-brother?"
Her face flushed crimson, her scent flooding with embarrassment and something deeper. She dropped her gaze, her voice shrinking to barely a whisper. "I don't know. It's just... I've always depended on him. Ever since we were pups."
A dreamy, nostalgic quality crept into her words.
"When I had a fever as a young pup, Fenris would stay up all night by my sleeping furs, keeping watch. When young wolves in the training grounds bullied me, he went straight to their dens and made them submit. Even when I experienced my first heat—" She let out a small, embarrassed laugh. "—Fenris was the one who ran to the healers' lodge to fetch me suppressants and cooling herbs."
I listened to all of it.
And felt nothing.
It was only in that moment that I truly understood.
I'd grown up alongside Fenris too. Childhood companions, people might have called us. Our packs had been allied since before we could walk.
But I could never compete with that—with a bond forged from sharing the same den, the same meals, the same everything. The scent of home woven into every memory.
