Chapter 6

Three days later, Kael finally came to the Sacred Grounds.

Seraphina came with him.

Whenever she saw me, she looked like she wanted to speak. In the end, she stayed silent.

The trip grew stifling after that.

Only Finn, the Northern wolf, ever broke the silence.

Every day, he brought me a white khata.

Kael caught him a few times. Every time, he looked annoyed and told him to get lost.

He thought Finn was after something. He told me to stay away from him.

But Seraphina reacted strongly to the Sacred Grounds’ pure energy, and Kael no longer had time for me.

He stayed by her bed, carefully using his own power to steady hers.

Watching him, I felt a sharp ache.

I had been miserable when I first arrived too.

No one had looked after me like that.

Finn saw my tears and tried to comfort me in his clumsy way.

“Want to ride Blackwind? He is very gentle. When you are done, he will take you back.”

This time, I didn’t refuse.

I didn’t even complain about how bad he was at comforting people.

I rode the giant wolf to Moonlight Lake below the Sacred Mountain.

They said the lake was like a mirror, able to reflect a werewolf’s past and present life.

Kael and I had been called fated since childhood.

All the grown-ups said our bond came from a past life.

That was why I had chosen this place: to offer Kael my first bite.

Finn didn’t understand the sorrow in my eyes. He only knelt by the lake and scooped water up for Blackwind.

Still, he had listened to plenty of my complaints these past few days.

He thought for a moment and ran a hand through his windblown black hair. His gaze sharpened. “Call him over and tell him how you feel.”

“Wolves have to speak to understand each other. If you keep everything inside, it will make you sick.”

I laughed despite myself.

Then I lowered my eyes and sent Kael a message.