“Isolde Rustpire speaking,” I said evenly. “I need the separation bond prepared at once. Yes, I know the hour. They must be ready with first light. Make it done as soon as possible.”
When the call ended, I let the communicator fall to the bedside table. Moonlight spilled through the window, casting shifting shadows across the den. For the first time since learning the truth, a strange calm settled into my bones.
***
By dawn, I pulled my obsidian-black moon-carriage into the Council Hall’s stone courtyard. Through the tinted warded glass, I spotted Axton—and Vanya. His hand rested on the dip of her back as she giggled. The silver charm I’d once gifted him—the one infused with my aura—now shone on her wrist.
I stepped out, my rune-etched heels striking the stone. Axton’s head looked up. His smirk faltered, then forced itself back. Vanya stopped laughing.
“Well, look who crawled back.” His nostrils flared. “Ran to your Alpha father the moment life outside your precious territory got tough? Pathetic, Isolde.”