He had always been aloof. As pups, every time I tried to approach him, he pushed me away. Even after he returned from warrior training at the Capital Moonscourt, he stayed distant. We were never close.
Now, his expression remained unreadable, but he extended a clean handkerchief without a word.
I blinked, dazed, before accepting it.
“I know you swore to my mother that you would sever your bond with Draven,” he said calmly. “But understand this—leaving him without endangering your pack won’t be simple.”
My fingers tightened around the cloth, but my voice held steady. “I know. But I’m still leaving.”
Calder’s dark wolf-eyes lingered on me for a long moment before he spoke again. “If you’ve truly decided, I can assist you. Dissolving the mate-mark, relocating your kin to another territory—even a new life beyond the borders. I can arrange all of it.”
My heartbeat stuttered. My throat tightened. I wanted to ask why he would help me, but I feared the question would make the fragile offer vanish. So I simply nodded.
He paused, then said casually, almost lazily, “When the time comes, all I’ll need in return… is Draven’s weakness.”