All at once, I didn't want revenge anymore.
I buried Soulreaper beneath the hibiscus tree and buried all my hatred along with it.
But Fenris shattered my hard-won peace with his own hands, all over again, and dug my hatred back up from the roots.
I lifted my gaze toward the sky where his voice had come from and spoke, each word deliberate and distinct. "Fenris. It's been a long time."
Before the last syllable faded, a flash of white light split the air.
In the space of a blink, Fenris appeared before me with Elara Ashford in his arms. His scent hit me first: sunlit marble and white cedar and something sterile beneath it, like snow over a battlefield. Three thousand years, and it still smelled the same. My wolf recoiled.
He looked exactly the same as before. That face, beautiful enough to ruin kingdoms, hadn't aged a single day.
The woman cradled against him glowed with the same vitality. But her scent was wrong. Chamomile and clean linen and warm milk, the purely human smell of her, overlaid with a thin, artificial veneer of violet and cold stone that didn't belong to her. It smelled borrowed. It smelled like something stolen.
Fenris looked me up and down, his brow furrowing. "This Supreme Alpha has never laid eyes on you. What do you mean, 'a long time'?"
Oh. I had almost forgotten. After my body reformed, my appearance had changed completely.
No wonder he didn't recognize me.
But my attention wasn't on him. Every ounce of it was fixed on Elara, and I had no patience to spare for Fenris.
I stared at Elara, unblinking. "You're looking well. Rosy cheeks, bright eyes. My master's Wolf Core must be serving you nicely."
Back then, my Abyssal essence had only granted Elara passage in and out of the Sovereign Grounds. Without a Wolf Core, she still could not receive a Celestial Rank.
Fenris had once considered taking my Primordial Wolf Core instead, but the core of an ancient Primordial Alpha was far more than a mortal body like Elara's could withstand. He'd been forced to abandon the idea.
It had taken him all these years of searching to finally find my master's Wolf Core, the perfect match for Elara.
My words landed, and understanding dawned across Fenris's face.
"Ah, so it's the Dawnveil Alpha's little pup. I was wondering who dared."
"I understand you're grieving, but there's no need to forge a false spirit wolf and impersonate the Primordial She-Wolf just to cause a scene."