The moment Freya withdrew from the mindlink with Belinda, she excused herself from the council chamber and hurried into the corridor. Without wasting another heartbeat, she reached for her communication crystal and sought Rosalie through their private connection.
The link formed almost immediately.
To Freya's surprise, Rosalie sounded perfectly at ease.
"I'm alright," she said with a light laugh. "Don't leave your duties because of me. Finish your work first, and then we'll have supper together."
Hearing that familiar warmth in her voice eased the tightness in Freya's chest.
After a brief silence, she smiled.
"Then spend the Winter Moon Festival with me this year."
There was a quiet hope hidden beneath her words.
Rosalie answered without hesitation.
"Of course. But don't disappear into your work again."
Freya laughed softly.
"I won't. If there's anything left unfinished, I'll bring it home instead."
Rosalie let out an amused snort.
"Some things never change."
The sound made Freya's heart ache in a way she could not explain.
"Now go back to your meeting," Rosalie urged gently. "I'm truly alright."
Only after the connection faded did Freya return to the council chamber.
**
Meanwhile, the atmosphere inside the neighboring manor had become unusually tense.
The memory crystal recording Rosalie's assault had spread through the territories with astonishing speed, and every shared communication network was filled with heated discussions.
Arabella had become the center of attention once again.
Her steward, Vanessa Coleman, stood before her with an expression weighed down by worry, while Cassian remained seated nearby, silently watching the images preserved inside his own communication crystal.
Rosalie's pale face...
Her soaked clothing...
The moment she was shoved to the ground...
Each scene tightened something painfully inside his chest.
"When did this happen?" he asked quietly.
Vanessa hesitated before answering.
"Roughly an hour ago. The warriors escorted the attackers to the Hall of Judgment shortly afterward."
Cassian rose without another word.
He immediately reached through the mate bond.
Silence.
He tried again.
Nothing answered him.
His expression darkened.
Without bothering to explain himself, he seized his cloak and strode from the manor.
Arabella watched his retreating figure until the doors closed behind him.
Only then did she turn toward Vanessa.
Her voice was barely above a whisper.
"This is becoming dangerous."
Vanessa released a weary sigh.
"It was meant to force the Alpha to make a choice."
She lowered her voice further.
"No matter how much time he spends here, he still hasn't dissolved his mate bond with Rosalie. If the pack begins to question his intentions, all of our efforts may be wasted."
Arabella lowered her eyes, saying nothing more.
---
Cassian rode hard through the territory, the wind whipping past him as his thoughts refused to settle.
Rosalie had returned alone from the Sacred Moon Temple.
She had never reached for him through the mate bond.
She had not asked him to fulfill the promise he had broken.
She had not confronted him.
She had simply... grown farther away.
The realization left him strangely unsettled.
Before he reached the Hall of Judgment, a familiar figure appeared farther down the stone road.
Rosalie.
She walked alone beneath the winter sky, carrying a small travel chest behind her.
Cassian immediately pulled his horse to a stop before her.
"Rosalie."
She paused.
Slowly, she lifted her eyes toward him.
There was no warmth in them.
No joy.
Not even resentment.
Only a quiet emptiness that made his heart tighten.
He dismounted almost immediately and crossed the short distance between them before taking the chest from her hand.
"I'll carry this."
She neither thanked him nor objected.
Instead, she simply stood where she was.
"You returned from the Sacred Moon Temple without telling me," Cassian said. "Why didn't you reach out? I would have come for you."
Rosalie offered no reply.
She merely climbed onto the horse behind him as though his words had never been spoken.
Cassian remained motionless for a brief moment before mounting in front of her.
As they rode back toward the Alpha Manor, he found himself glancing over his shoulder more than once.
Rosalie sat quietly behind him, her gaze fixed on the distant mountains.
Her face had become noticeably thinner.
Even beneath the heavy winter cloak, he could tell she had lost weight.
The sight unsettled him.
After a long silence, he finally spoke again.
"Have you eaten today?"
"No."
"We should stop somewhere before returning."
"I'm not hungry."
Her voice was calm.
Too calm.
The wind carried the silence between them until Cassian asked the question that had been haunting him ever since he saw the memory crystal.
"Were you hurt?"
Only then did Rosalie slowly lift her eyes.
Their gazes met briefly through the faint thread of the mate bond.
So...
He had seen it after all.
That was why he had suddenly appeared before her.
Why he was looking at her with concern now.
The thought crossed her mind without stirring even the slightest ripple in her heart.
