All he saw was her—her misery, her helplessness. He bent himself backward to make it up to her.
He never once saw what he'd cost me. What he'd cost my sire.
In the darkness, I heard the soft whisper of the den door sealing shut. My eyes opened.
Sire... I want to reject the bond with Kael. You won't blame me, will you?
Sleep wasn't coming. I rose from the furs and walked to the corner where my sire's memorial portrait hung, surrounded by the soft glow of remembrance candles.
My fingers traced his smiling face. The grief swelled until my wolf keened with it, the sound trapped in my chest.
Through blurred tears, I accidentally knocked the frame. It clattered to the stone floor.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry—" I dropped to my knees, reaching for it.
That's when I saw it.
Behind the shattered frame, tucked against the backing, was a photograph. Color. Glossy.
I pulled it free with trembling hands.
Kael and Raven. Together. Smiling.
The edges were worn soft—handled often, touched again and again by reverent fingers.
Suddenly I understood.