Something deep inside me made a sound. Not my voice. My wolf. A low, thin keening that vibrated through my bones and never reached the air, the kind of sound a wolf makes when it finally understands that the bond it has been pouring itself into has been hollow for a long, long time. I felt it in my sternum, in the backs of my teeth, in the place behind my ribs where the mate bond lived. The bond that should have been a golden thread between us. It had been fraying for years, I realized. I just hadn't wanted to look at it. And now, standing in that doorway with the scent of scorched iron and honeysuckle filling my lungs like poison, I could feel every remaining thread pulling taut, ready to snap.
He had it all figured out. He'd been planning to give Corvina a home all along.
Well then. Who was I to stand in his way?
I stepped into the doorway and spoke quietly. "A boy? Congratulations."
The moment I appeared, every face in the room went white. The laughter died. The warmth in the air curdled. I could smell the shift, the sharp spike of unease cutting through the easy camaraderie like a blade through cloth. Every wolf in that room felt it: the Luna had heard everything.
Theron released Corvina instantly and crossed the room in three quick strides. His scent shifted, the acrid edge buried beneath something deliberately softened, the way an Alpha smooths his aura when he's trying to manage a situation. His voice turned gentle, almost tender. "What are you doing here? You're carrying a pup. You should be resting at the den."
"I heard everything you just said."
I looked up at him. My wolf was silent now. Perfectly, terribly silent, the way a forest goes silent before a storm breaks. I held his gaze and did not lower mine.
"You want to sever our mate bond so you can register Corvina's pup under the Ironmaw bloodline."
"Seraphina, I just feel sorry for her. You know she has no pack. I'm only doing this because she was Fenris's mate. He was like a blood-brother to me. He saved my life..."
He scrambled to explain, the words tumbling out with that practiced urgency I'd heard a hundred times before, the voice he used when he needed me to be understanding, to be patient, to be the good mate who swallowed her pain so he could have what he wanted. I cut him off, my expression blank. "I agree. Let's sever the bond."
"Really?"