"I appreciate the War Commander's kindness, but my mating is none of your concern."
One of Fenris's war-bonded brothers grabbed my arm. "If Grim's not good enough for you, how about me?"
"You're a little past your prime, sure, but the face isn't bad. Since Fenris clearly doesn't want you, you might as well come to me. I know how to treat a she-wolf right."
His hands slid over mine, slow and deliberate. My skin crawled. Something low and feral stirred in my chest, a warning growl my wolf swallowed before it reached my throat. I yanked my hand free.
My pack attendant saw me being humiliated and broke away from the sentinels, rushing forward.
"How dare you!"
"My lady is the future Luna of the Ironveil Pack! You will show her respect!"
"What did you say? Luna?"
Fenris laughed so hard a tear slipped from the corner of his eye.
"She's nothing but a pair of worn-out shoes I threw away, and she still dreams of becoming the Alpha Prince's mate."
The pack of brothers behind him doubled over, howling with laughter.
"The Alpha Prince is no ordinary wolf. You think he'd want some desperate she-wolf who can't even give herself away? Know your rank."
"If you drag the Alpha Prince's name through the mud, can you bear the consequences?"
Vessa Briarthorn walked over just in time to witness the scene.
"Fenris, what's everyone laughing about?"
Fenris draped himself over her shoulder, shaking with laughter. "Briar says... says she's the Alpha Prince's Luna. I can't breathe, my stomach hurts from laughing."
Vessa glanced at me in surprise, then smiled. "Miss Thornheart, I heard about the concubine business."
"It was wrong of Fenris. Let me apologize on his behalf."
I had heard the rumors long before today. The day Fenris returned in triumph from the border wars, he brought a she-wolf back with him and showered her with affection.
This had to be her.
Her scent reached me before I could look away. Night-blooming jasmine and ripe plum, and something underneath it, something that made my wolf's hackles lift without understanding why. Then my gaze caught on the bracelet around her wrist. I froze.
The Ashclaw ancestral mating cuff. Silver-and-bone, passed through generations.
I hadn't expected Fenris to give her that too.