But this Vesper Duskmere had already lasted three months, and he still hadn't grown tired of her.
Perhaps it was precisely that unusual "longevity" that gave her the nerve. She no longer kept to her place like the other she-wolves. She'd even added me on the pack channel directly, using that quiet, deliberate way of hers to test boundaries, to provoke.
But I didn't take it to heart.
I'd already decided to seek a bond rejection. Why bother with these petty games.
Over the next few days, with nothing else to do, I cleaned the den from top to bottom.
The grooming blades I'd carefully selected for him. The formal coats he wore every day, the ones I'd pressed by hand. The limited-edition moon-phase timepiece I'd stayed up all night to claim at a moonlit auction.
No matter how much or how little something was worth, if I had given it to him, I packed it up and threw it out.
What I discarded along with it was every bit of grievance from this mating, and every piece of the heart I'd once given without reservation.
I had made up my mind. A clean break from the past. A fresh start.
Two more days passed before he finally came back.
He stood in the main hall, looking at the estate that was noticeably emptier, and his brow furrowed. "Clara, you threw out my things?"
I flipped through the journal in my hands without looking up. "I did."
"I bought them. I can toss them if I want. Is there a problem? Besides, you never come back to the den. No point keeping things no one uses."
He clearly assumed I was still angry about what happened last time, that this was just me lashing out.
He walked over and sat beside me, his tone carrying that careless, offhand reassurance. "Didn't we agree a long time ago? We each do as we please outside these walls, no real feelings for anyone else. Why are you getting worked up over this again?"
The same old line.
No matter what he did, he could always find a reason to excuse himself. And I, his Luna in name only, could only silently absorb every hurt he brought, until even voicing a single complaint felt like too much.
But now, I no longer wanted to get tangled up in these meaningless things with him.
I closed the journal and stood, heading for the stairs. My voice was cold, without a trace of warmth. "You're overthinking it. I don't care at all."
He took that as me pretending not to care, and immediately stood to catch my hand.
Under my impatient gaze, he pulled an invitation from his coat and placed it in my palm.
"Stop being angry. Tomorrow I'll take you to the auction. Whatever catches your eye, bid on it. A chance to unwind. Alright?"
My first instinct was to refuse.
But when my eyes landed on the Silvercrest Auction House crest on the invitation, I changed my mind.
I was going to leave him anyway. Spending his gold moons to buy myself something nice didn't seem like a loss.
So I nodded.
At five in the afternoon, his car pulled up in front of the estate right on time.
I picked up my bag and came downstairs, reaching for the door, and saw a familiar face.
Vesper Duskmere.
She was clutching a large bag of snacks and drinks, settled firmly in the front passenger seat, smiling at me with a look that was all wide-eyed innocence.
"Luna, I get a little motion-sick. Would you mind terribly sitting in the back today?"
The flash of triumph at the bottom of her eyes didn't escape me. I lowered my gaze, and in my peripheral vision caught the ornament hanging from the mirror.
It was a custom charm, a small crystal wolf with a ribbon, and etched along the ribbon was a line of script.
Little Princess Vesper's Exclusive Seat.
I said nothing. I didn't move aside.
Kael seemed to sense my mood, and once again, with that low, impatient coaxing tone, tried to smooth things over.
"Vesper's never been to an auction before. I'm just showing her around. She's delicate, Clara. Give way to her."
Give way?
Of course I could.
