like a doll fo

ordlessly, weaving my hair into a complex headpiece, coloring my mouth, covering me in a white gown that r

have? In a few hours, it would be over. The bond that was just beginning woul

night, my gaze on the ceiling, feeling Alaric in the palace, his presence tugging at me through walls and distance. My wolf tossed uneasily inside me, confused and afrai

ther servant, but Kael appeared instead. The

inflection. "For what it's

anybody stoppi

aric is my best friend. We were raised together. I've seen him make tough choices before, but never one that's de

apped. "He s

works. It doesn't just shatter the connection. It leaves traces of it with you, r

explaining

sponsibility of the kingdom is on his shoulders, and all of the people that he loves have informed him th

ed it in a twisted way. But und

un. I'd help you. We could get you a leave from the

. The bond is there whether we are in the same room or on different continents. If

e. "You're stronger than anyone

shes nothing when

wn thoughts. The sun slowly set, the sky becoming red and gold.

I had been invisible for eighteen years, nothing. If this was going to be the l

ga be turned down. They sat along the periphery of the room, their expressions a plaster o

carved from marble, beautiful and distant. But I could feel the tension in his s

s side, her white eye

lled tighter the further I went, my wolf whimpering and fighting, begging me to run to him,

all this, in what I was witnessing here, I could not help but recall what r

ade, and his voi

ent, the façade fell away. I saw his pain, nak

ogether. But I, Alaric Silvercrown, Alpha King of the Northern Territories, cannot tolerate this uni

ed them. The people around us murmured. The official rejecti

on?" Alaric asked. His voic

more involved rituals, could make this harder for all of us. But for what p

t," I wh

n each nerve. I screamed, unable to hold it in, and collapsed. Pain I'd never experienced envelo

his own wolf fighting against the broken bond. Seraphine and the guards h

. "The bond is broken. The prophe

e crowd chorused, but th

inally, the burning agony faded into a dull, throbbing pain. So

e echoed above me. "Give her the gol

not. If I saw his face again,

of gold coins lay in the saddle bag, Alaric's pay for breaking me. The guar

of them said to me. "After that,

ugh I was rejected

my soul torn asunder. Behind me, the lights of th

hadows moved through the trees. Eyes glowed in the dark. I thoug

ke sure the damned

I was too broken to care. Bring it on

to the ground. Red bloomed warm over my dress, mixing with whit

me. I saw something fuzzy through my eyes. The hunters were speaking, but now I couldn

same moon that had witnessed my birth would witness my death

took hold was of silver eyes and