"Since we're already heading to the Elder Tribunal today for the bond severance, why not complete everything at once?"
She turned to Alaric, her voice thick with honeyed sweetness. "My Alpha, if you're finalizing the Bond Rejection anyway, why don't we just perform the Mating Ceremony today too?"
Alaric blinked, clearly caught off guard. Uncertainty flickered across his features.
"Today? Taking a new mate immediately after a rejection... wouldn't the other packs see that as dishonorable?"
"Who cares what they whisper! I don't care—I want it today! I want every wolf in every territory to know I'm your true Luna!"
Raven shook his arm relentlessly, even pretending to storm off in a huff, her scent flaring with manufactured distress.
Alaric wavered, his gaze drifting toward me almost against his will, as if testing my reaction through the bond's dying threads.
I watched their pathetic performance, and slowly—very slowly—a strange smile curved my lips.
"Accept her demand."
My voice came out rough, cutting through the storm with unsettling clarity.
