Page 11

"Settle down, pup," Fae said, finally turning her placid gaze on her. Just the look in her eyes had Eira backing up, tail between her legs.

"I am the woman who fed you," Fae continued evenly, holding her gaze with intense golden eyes. "The woman who cleaned your scraped knees and stitched your torn clothes. I am the one you ran to during thunderstorms when the sky frightened you. The one who showed you what to do when you first bled. I may not be your mother by birth, but I have tried to be yours in my heart. If you are unhappy with how I run my house, then perhaps it is time you considered finding your own den."

Bowen opened his mouth and closed it again.

"Correct me if I'm wrong," Fae said mildly, her head tilting just enough to make the words bite, "but don't unmated wolves usually live in the pack house?"

Her gaze moved between Bowen and Eira with deliberate slowness.

"Or is this pack so very different from all the others?" A pause with wide eyes. "Am I holding you back from finding your independence?"

Eira huffed, her lips thinning while warily keeping her distance. This was not the Fae she knew from the last eight years. "Maybe it's for the best that you are leaving," she snapped while retreating up the stairs. "Seeing as you've been useless enough not to even give him a child."

Her blue eyes flashed as she fled upward, boots striking the steps too hard, too fast.

Fae did not raise her voice, but she was by her side in a flash, her hand at her neck in a dominant hold that mothers used to chasten her cubs. "Careful, pup," she whispered, leaning close while frost chilled her voice. "We all know who was wrong."

Eira froze.

"And we all know who betrayed the matebond," Fae continued evenly. "It was not me."

Everyone seemed to hold their breath until Fae slowly let Eira go.

"As for children," Fae added, finally turning her gaze back to the hall, sweeping over Bowen dismissively before settling briefly on Rowena with rage in her eyes, "there is no greater disgrace than teaching them that vows are optional."

She turned away then, making her way to the kitchen, not waiting for a reply as if they were all beneath her notice.

At the last minute she turned, and her sharp eyes swept their stunned faces.

"This is not your den. This is not your place to linger, comment, or posture. If you wish to stay, you will remember your manners. If you cannot manage that, then the door you came through remains fully functional."

None of them seemed to notice that she wore her hair in a braid, not a crown.

Halfway through the preparations for their last meal, Blaidd's parents entered.

Myra came first, quiet as ever, her presence a steady thing. She met Fae's eyes and inclined her head in comfort as they pressed foreheads together and took in each other's scent. Ragnor followed, but there was an aura of discontent around him. Fae had always known that Myra was grateful to her, as Blaidd had survived because he was blessed with a second mate. Because she had borne that burden.

Myra had always kept her distance, but her relief had grown into affection over the years. Her husband, Ragnor, was not one for words.

But then neither of them interfered, as was the way.

Not when the children sharpened their tongues into knives that made Fae bleed.Not when Blaidd had left for months at a time.Not when Rowena arrived and stayed.

Because these were matters to be resolved between mates.

Blaidd's father moved closer, already sensing tension he would not name.

But it was Myra who surprised her.

"Bowen," she snapped suddenly when Bowen opened his mouth again. "Leave us."

The three young wolves reluctantly made their way up the stairs.

Myra stepped closer as if unsure of her welcome and pressed something into Fae's palm—a beaded chain, simple and hand-worked, the beads smoothed with age and use.

"My fool of a son has done this. Spat on the gift from the goddess," she said, voice low. "I should have done more. I am sorry, Fae…I'm so sorry…Don't hate us."

Ragnor ran a rough hand over her bent head. "Our protection is there if you need it. You will always have a home with us when you come back," he said gruffly.