The Alpha King And His Chosen Luna novel Chapter 154

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between wolf and territory Vorak Scent marking. The way Wraithbone worked. Every new thing in her life since the shack had come through me first, not because I’d planned it that way, but because there had been nobody else positioned to do it

Today there was somebody else

Sera. The healers. A market full of strangers and shops and food stalls and music, none of which belonged to me, none of which I’d be the one explaining

I told myself that was good. It was good. She needed people who wererit me She needed a life that didn’t run entirely through the bond and the territory and the politics sitting on my desk if I wanted her to keep becoming whoever she was becoming, I couldn’t be the only door she walked through to get there

Knowing that didn’t make the morning easier

Pryor cleared his throat. “Cedric’s letter,” he said. “It needs a response before tonight”

I pulled it toward me and read it properly this time. Confirmation of the alliance terms, formal and plainly worded the way everything from Cedric’s hand tended to be A line near the bottom asking whether Goldmere’s representatives should arve before the High Council or alongside then, a question that mattered more than its phrasing suggested, since arriving early would say one thing to the eastern tertones and arriving alongside would say another

I wrote before. 1 signed it and handed it back and Pryor took it without comment, though I caught the small shift in his expression that meant he’d noticed exactly how long it had taken me to do something that should have taken thirty seconds

“She’ll be fine,” he said

“I know, I said

I looked at him. He held my gaze without backing down, the particular steadiness he’d had sincs before i was old enough to hold count without him standing somewhere nearby ready to step in if I needed him, He’d known me longer than almost anyone alive. He didn’t need me to explain.

I sent two guards, 1 said

You sent two guards because you wanted to send ten and Sera talked you down

That was accurate enough that i didn’t argue with it

I stood and crossed to the window the training yard was below, a handful of wolves wording through dolls in the cold morning wit, the ordinary business of the tentory continuing the way it contingent every day regardless of what i was thinking about Beyond the training yard the road ran sest, the same road the

date her taken an hour ago, sady long out of sight

we asked a food stalls fret that had been the thing that caught her attention factest when ! described the settlement, more then the music of the croods of the slips Fischfused Acut ples Peers 14 matched her face when sted her and understand, not for the first time, her med st Sedonary life had my never been evilste to her

iwed the one watctang her face when she tried something for the first time

That was understood

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between wolf and territory. Vorak. Scent marking. The way Wraithbone worked. Every new thing in her life. since the shack had come through me first, not because I’d planned it that way, but because there had been nobody else positioned to do it.

Today there was somebody else.

Sera. The healers. A market full of strangers and shops and food stalls and music, none of which belonged to me, none of which I’d be the one explaining.

I told myself that was good. It was good. She needed people who weren’t me. She needed a life that didn’t run entirely through the bond and the territory and the politics sitting on my desk. If I wanted her to keep becoming whoever she was becoming, I couldn’t be the only door she walked through to get there.

Knowing that didn’t make the morning easier.

Pryor cleared his throat. “Cedric’s letter,” he said. “It needs a response before tonight.”

I pulled it toward me and read it properly this time. Confirmation of the alliance terms, formal and plainly worded the way everything from Cedric’s hand tended to be. A line near the bottom asking whether Coldmere’s representatives should arrive before the High Council or alongside them, a question that mattered more than its phrasing suggested, since arriving early would say one thing to the eastern territories and arriving alongside would say another.

I wrote before. I signed it and handed it back and Pryor took it without comment, though I caught the small shift in his expression that meant he’d noticed exactly how long it had taken me to do something that should have taken thirty seconds.

“She’ll be fine,” he said.

“I know,” I said.

“You don’t look like you know.”

I looked at him. He held my gaze without backing down, the particular steadiness he’d had since before I was old enough to hold court without him standing somewhere nearby ready to step in if I needed him, He’d known me longer than almost anyone alive. He didn’t need me to explain.

“I sent two guards,” I said.

“You sent two guards because you wanted to send ten and Sera talked you down.”

That was accurate enough that I didn’t argue with it.

I stood and crossed to the window. The training yard was below, a handful of wolves working through drills in the cold morning air, the ordinary business of the territory continuing the way it continued every day regardless of what I was thinking about. Beyond the training yard the road ran east, the same road the vehicle had taken an hour ago, already long out of sight.

She’d asked about food stalls first. That had been the thing that caught her attention fastest when ! described the settlement, more than the music or the crowds or the shops. Fresh bread. Meat pies. Pastries. I’d watched her face when I listed them and understood, not for the first time, how much of an ordinary life had simply never been available to her.

I wanted to be the one watching her face when she tried something for the first time.

That was understood

Clam

That was selfish. I knew it was selfish even as I thought it. She didn’t need me there for the bread to taste Tike bread or the music to sound like music. She was allowed a day that wasn’t built around me, around

the bond, around the constant orbit of politics and territory and council meetings that had occupied nearly every conversation we’d had since Ashcrest.

Vorak shifted finally.

“You’re being ridiculous,‘ he said.

‘I know,‘ I said.

‘She kissed you in front of Pryor and two healers and didn’t flinch once,’ he said. ‘She is not afraid of a

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