Chapter 2

Willow’s POV

Ever since I'd been added, Kael's mind-link circle, which had always been dead silent, suddenly came alive.

[Seraphine: Just a casual little Mating Ceremony today~]

A dozen crystal-captured images flooded the sending-stone in an instant.

The backdrop was the inside of the ceremony carriage. Seraphine had pulled Kael close for a whole string of intimate paired shots.

Finger hearts, cheek pressed to cheek…

My eyes lingered on the last image for a long time.

In it, Kael had laid his head in Seraphine's palm, smiling with a tenderness, an indulgence, I'd never seen.

That exact pose. When we were sitting for our claiming portraits, I'd shown him a reference of it. He'd called it sappy and childish.

The replies came pouring in.

[The two of you really are the perfect match. The pair I've been rooting for since we were pups finally happened.]

That was Kael's returned packmate.

He said he was grateful to me for healing the heartbreak Seraphine had left Kael with when she ran to the far territories, that the two of us were simply made for each other.

[If I'd known your ceremony was today, I never would have missed the gathering. I couldn't stand seeing that ordinary she-wolf take your place while Seraphine was away. Is there still time if I take a storm-hawk and come now?]

That message was from Kael's cousin.

Once, Kael had asked me to bring some family records he had left at the den.

It was pouring that day. The rain came down hard, and I slipped on the wet mountain path. I fell heavily against a rock.

When I limped over and gave them to him, he had almost cried out in relief. He said those records were important to a major alliance between packs and called me his lifesaver.

Then there were Kael's cousin, his close pack brother, and his mentor from the Royal Academy.

I knew every wolf in this group. Kael had introduced me to all of them. Whenever they saw me, they were always polite and friendly, greeting me with respectful smiles.

But behind my back, they tore me down and insulted me at will.

A plain she-wolf, a desperate clingy stray worming her way in while the den stood empty…

Kael sent one flat line.

[Don't bring her up. Just tell Seraphine how beautiful she is.]

Teeth clenched, hands shaking, I hammered out a few lines.

[Two-faced, all of you?]

[Do you people not disgust yourselves?]

The second my sending popped up, the circle went silent for two heartbeats.

The last message read: [Oh crap. Wrong circle, everyone.]

Kael's mind-link call flared through fast and frantic, cutting off my typing.

I let it through.

No apology, no explanation. Just one word, nearly cold.

"Apologize."

The absurdity of it spread through me before I could stop it.

"Me? Apologize?"

I could have laughed from sheer rage.

"Apologize for what? For all of you cursing me behind my back? Or for building a second circle after you dragged me into this one?"

The link went quiet for a few beats.

I heard Kael give a helpless sigh, the sound coming warped and close through the bond.

"Willow, you're not a moonstone. You can't expect every wolf in the pack to like you."

"Every wolf in that circle grew up running beside me and Seraphine. You showed up out of nowhere. It's normal for some of them not to accept you. Seraphine adding you to the circle was already a lot of respect."

I tilted my head back and fought to keep the tears from falling. Deep inside me, my wolf had gone completely still, her ears pressed back as if she was also preparing for something bad.

"So?"

Kael paused a beat, his voice dropping lower.

"Just apologize to the circle. Say you don't mind it."

"Seraphine is crying so hard right now. She feels terrible, blames herself, thinks it's all because she added you."

It felt like there was a huge hole in my chest, with a cold wind blowing through it. The faint mark on my neck, where it met my shoulder, should have warmed whenever he called for me, but it stayed as cold as a stone from the river.

So all it took was Seraphine crying, and I was supposed to bow my head to the wolves who'd insulted me.

He seemed to say something else, but I couldn't make out the words after that.

The tears blurred everything. My voice broke as it came out.

"Kael, let's end the bond. I'm not going through with the mating ceremony. I'm not letting you mark me either."

Kael didn't answer.

Someone covered the communication link on his side. Even so, I could still hear the soft rustle of ceremonial decorations and paper, along with Seraphine crying.

Through our bond, I could almost sense her scent—the sweet jasmine smell with that sour edge beneath it, mixed with a hint of cold metal.

Then I heard Kael's calm, gentle voice comforting her.

"There, it's okay. Willow said she doesn't blame you. She's just a little too sensitive, that's all."