as'

No, n

ess true, like the word itself could shove the fact

. Easto

nsane second I actually considered that I was losing my mind. Head trauma, maybe. I'd taken a hit from one of those Abyss

de my skull, chest puffed out, absolutely delighted with

, almost gentle, like it thought I jus

off the support pole before my leg

yself lo

at her sides like she'd given up holding onto anything a long time before I ever found her i

war zone, or that tonight, somewhere back in IronVale, my brother w

ce and let out a breath that sh

she'd handed me the one currently property of my own brother. The one he'd spent two years parading around IronVale as his future Luna. The one whose name alone was pr

. It came out mo

empty tent, and the tent, unh

ce I was old enough to hold a blade. Facts only. No feelings. Feelings could wait until I wasn't standing

ng enough that half the clan assumed the mating bond between them was

rst birthdays. The night their wolves were sup

amp a three-day ride from IronVale, nowhere ne

hically wrong somewhere between "girlfriend of two years" and "abandoned corpse in a canyon full

ace looked younger than I'd expected. Younger, and thinner than I remembered from the handful of times I'd glimpsed her across a crowded

e to make her e

girlfriends on unescorted road trips to the northern border for no reason. And he definitely didn't

r meant her to c

ach tur

li

He took one look at me, standing frozen over her cot like a man caught somewher

like you s

and my voice came out ro

I could count. Mac had been at my side since before I left IronVale - through the exile, through every border skirmish since, through every stupid decision I'd talked m

e said. "What h

uth to lie. I

instead was: "