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00:02she stood at the covenant altar wearing the exact same gown moon silk silver white lily
00:07she's just a friend jack always said the vixen her three red tails swaying behind her each tip
00:12blushing pink the sign of a fox in heat or in triumph she stood beside jack greeting guests
00:17together my hand traced my moon silk gown traditional bridal robe of the lichen people
00:21for the man i had loved eight years ready nervous a scent drifted from the great hall
00:27something sweet clowing and wrong fox i knew that scent a female young her paramount's too strong
00:34for a guest she shouldn't be here i'm going to look rose rose everyone is here the five kingdoms you
00:42can't i know i'm just looking i pushed through the curtain and saw her lily jack wore his half form
00:48too
00:48golden lion's mane shining under the crystal lights a hybrid always ashamed of it but today he looked
00:53like a prince they looked good together behind me my mother sucked in a breath the hall went quiet
00:58ears turned towards me tails stopped swaying all eyes on me i breathed in wolves don't show fear
01:04my father's first lesson i walk into the hall my moon silk gown dragging across the stone floor
01:09my ears straight jack saw me his face changed muscles tightening under his mane he opened his mouth
01:16lily got there first rose what a beautiful gown oh what a coincidence ours match she looped her arm
01:25through jack's leaned her head on his shoulder jack didn't push her away i looked at him he looked
01:31at me amber eyes guilty flustered but not surprised he knew she would come he knew she would wear this
01:38maybe he planned it i smiled you do look perfect together loud enough for every beast in the hall to
01:45hear
01:45a fine pair lily's smile froze her tail stopped three tips trembling the tell of a fox caught in a
01:54lie
01:54then her eyes welled up rose how could you jack and i are just just she ran gown tangling under
02:03her
02:03feet jack's face burned red his mane flared tiger stripes rising under his skin rose how could you say
02:10that lily came to wish us well his voice boomed jack today is our vow ceremony he stopped five kingdoms
02:19are watching your father mine do you really want to fight me here over a friend his mane flattened he
02:25looked at me then at the silent guests his throat bobbed but he didn't apologize he turned and ran after
02:31lily left me standing at the altar in my moon silk gown alone one by one the crystal lights went
02:37dark
02:37guests rose and left some gave me pitying looks some smirked i stood still my mother came to me
02:43said nothing just draped a blanket over my shoulders it smelled like her cedar frost and a trace of old
02:50blood war wounds rose mother i want to be alone i stared at the altar she left the hall was
02:57empty
02:58i looked up at the soul bond contract hanging above the altar our names carved into a crystal
03:02after the vow ceremony the crystal would split in two each of us would hold half now it just hung
03:08there a joke i reached up and took it down the crystal was cold against my palm i remembered eight
03:13years ago the lake moonlight lake jack's first confession he was a hybrid i was the duke's
03:20daughter our union could have healed old wounds between lions and wolves i thought it was fate now i
03:26knew better it was just me i got the news on the way home jack took lily to moonlight lake
03:31after the
03:32reception moonlight lake our sacred ground where the wolf moon goddess bathed they said where the
03:38waters healed all wounds i was supposed to go there with jack for our mating moon he went with
03:44another woman griffin driven carriage clattering over golden city's stone streets i set down my
03:49communication crystal didn't reply told the driver to turn to the temple of life head to the temple of
03:56life the temple sat in the eastern quarter run by deer druids incense always burning an old doe received
04:05me her antlers gray but her eyes clear your certain child yes she sighed took a purple vial from the
04:14shelf a runestone root severant runen drink the potion press the stone to your belly three days and the
04:21child's scent will fade i took the vial cold my hand didn't shake how long the rune works fast but
04:28recovery takes time you'll need someone to tend you the doe's voice was soft i drank bitter then i
04:35opened my gown and pressed the stone to my skin cold spread from my belly through my whole body like
04:41something being ripped out by the roots three days later the cub's scent was gone jack would notice his
04:48kind didn't have lichen noses but a father knows when his own blood goes missing but what did it
04:54matter he didn't care anymore neither would i pale moonlight bled through the fur curtains frost wolf
05:01decorations from the ceremony still hung on the walls they look like bad omens now i dragged myself
05:07to the bed collapsed onto the fur mattress lily's phantom image was the first thing i saw lucky to have
05:13you meant to be the image showed jack holding her close at moonlight lake moonlight silver on the
05:19water their lips about to meet matching rings on their fingers once i would have stormed over to
05:25demand answers now i just turned off the crystal and rolled over no tears just tired the next days
05:34brought no word from jack but lily's phantom images showed me everything kisses selfies market walks around
05:39moonlight lake every image had a location marker everyone had a sweet caption i didn't react i
05:45contacted a mage started preparing to sever the soul bond his name was gray claw avis my classmate from
05:51the academy his beast form was a gray feathered eagle in human form he still had those sharp raptor eyes
05:56he asked when he flew to my house
06:01you're sure yes he didn't argue just pulled a roll of cured hide from his satchel
06:12soul bond severation contract he said spreading it on the table under the codex of beasts severing a bond
06:18requires both parties to tear the contract before the council of elders the guilty party pays cub feed
06:24all costs from the pregnancy and recovery what else if a third party interfered in the marriage
06:29the innocent party can reclaim all property the guilty party spent on the third during the marriage
06:34gray claw's eagle eyes fixed on me jack bought lily an emerald bracelet worth a million crystals
06:40did you know i blinked then laughed i do now write it in two weeks later i was reviewing gray
06:48claw's
06:48draft at home when the front door opened jack walked in lily on his arm he'd gotten tan his mane
06:54had
06:54grown golden hair bright in the sun lily's three red tails wagging behind her our eyes met jack dropped
07:00her hand uncomfortable his mane flared then flattened tiger stripes flickering his nervous tail dry
07:07throated lily had never seen the snowfields i took her to see them i said nothing you're carrying
07:12our cub the mage said you should rest his voice trailed off i looked back down at my paper
07:18nodded good you he stopped watched me not looking at him his mane flared again you
07:29what's your problem i told you lily just wanted to see the snow we can take our mating moon anytime
07:35why are you making a scene and i've told you a hundred times lily and i are just just siblings
07:41i know my face was blank wolf eyes flat his face went stiff mane flattening stripes fading he opened his
07:48mouth nothing came out lily stepped forward grabbed jack's wrist her tails low ears pinned back rose
07:54please don't be angry please don't fight with jack because of me lily's voice soft as cotton he didn't
08:02take you this time but he brought you a present jack give your wife her present she smiled at jack
08:10jack jack fumbled in his pocket pulled out a small box pushed it at me i got this just for
08:16you
08:16open it i glanced inside simple earrings flower shaped tiny crystals around the edges pretty enough
08:26but compared to the emerald bracelet on lily's wrist worth a million crystals it looked like market stall
08:33trash i pushed the box back no need i don't accept scraps the air turned cold jack's face went dark
08:43mane exploding stripes rising rose what does that mean i looked at the bracelet on lily's wrist
08:53moonlight lake lake yade green as new leaves worth a fortune then i met jack's eyes what i said
09:02you give her emeralds you give me scraps you think that's all i'm worth
09:09jack's mane frozen his eyes flickered lily jumped in voice breaking rose don't be angry jack only gave me
09:18the bracelet because i loved it so much if it bothers you i can give it back she said this
09:25made
09:25no move to take off the bracelet jack pulled lily close glared at me lily don't listen to her the
09:34bracelet is yours she's always been like this small-hearted jealous i looked at them said nothing
09:41turned back to my crystal gray claw had sent a message first draft ready also compiled list of
09:49jack's gifts to lily during the marriage total 3.72 million crystals i replied good
09:56jack saw me ignoring him got angrier he stormed out with lily slamming the door so hard he cracked two
10:04rooms
10:08i knew what he was waiting for he wanted me to run after him apologize like i always did
10:16this time i didn't even look up on the eighth day gray claw flew to golden city himself put the
10:25final
10:25soul bond separation contract in my hands sign he said i'll handle the rest i picked up the quill
10:32dipped it in ink i signed my name rose frostclaw daughter of the lichen duke 72nd generation of
10:39snowfield wolves then pressed my paw print beside it silver gray the print glowed faintly on the hide
10:44scent rising cedar frost and something bitter my mark from this day jack had no part of me but the
10:50day before my follow-up exam jack sat in my living room nervous his mane flaring and flattening
10:57jack tomorrow you'll come with me of course i smiled then i sent lily a message
11:09maybe you're not as important to jack as you think he promised to take me to the temple tomorrow
11:14he says everything between you was just pretend lily was quiet for a long time
11:19finally just wait i set down the crystal smiled fox pride is more fragile than their tails
11:30i knew she wouldn't let me down the next morning jack was gone his pillow was still warm when i
11:38woke
11:38he'd left recently the sheets smelled like scorch his lying smell my crystal lit up lily's phantom
11:51image jack and her kissing the caption
11:58true love doesn't check the calendar i set down the crystal picked up the soul bond severment contract
12:05walked out gray claw waited outside covenant hall he came no but the council is inside then let's begin
12:13the fifteen elders sat in their places three from each kingdom their eyes followed me my grandmother
12:20sat among the wolf elders she nodded once i nodded back rose frost claw wolf the high elder spoke you
12:28petitioned to sever the soul bond with jack golden mane is this true yes evidence gray claw stepped
12:34forward laid out the rolls phantom images crystal messages gift records the elders read the defendant
12:41defendant not present wait jack burst through the doors main a mess shirt untucked he stopped in the
12:48center of the hall breathing hard amber eyes locked on me rose you his voice shook you planned this i
12:55said
12:56nothing yesterday yesterday you asked me to come with you you knew i'd go to lily you set me up
13:01defendant do you admit to improper relations with lily the fox jack opened his mouth closed it
13:10she's just a friend he finally said murmurs a friend
13:18the bear elder laughed you kiss your friend jack's mane flattened i made a mistake enough the high elder
13:27struck his staff this council finds in favor of the petitioner the soul bond is severed jack golden
13:31mane shall pay cub feed and damages totaling 5.3 million crystals rose frost claw do you accept yes
13:38jack golden mane do you accept jack stood in the center of the hall shaking his eyes were red mane
13:45flat
13:45stripes gone i i don't accept louder now rose you're carrying my cub how could you gone he froze
13:57what the cub i looked at him calm two weeks ago at the temple of life i did the root
14:06severment
14:08the whole gasp jack's face lost all color turning deathly pale like ash his lips trembled you what
14:16his voice came from somewhere hollow and deep the cub is gone the day you took lily to moonlight lake
14:24jack's legs gave out he fell to his knees
14:29how could you
14:33how could you
14:34how could you
14:35how could you
14:35mundeling now
14:37our cub
14:38you knew it was our cub
14:41i looked into his eyes spoke each word clearly
14:46then why did you take another woman to moonlight lake while i carried it
14:51he had no answer just knelt there shaking completely broken and defeated the elders exchanged looks
14:59judgment stands the soul bond is severed this council is dismissed one by one the elders rose
15:07the wolf elders each touched my shoulder as they passed my grandmother said nothing
15:12just pressed a warm crystal into my palm the blessing of wolves i closed my fingers around it
15:19walked out of the hall behind me jack still knelt on the floor not moving i didn't look back
15:27after the bond was severed i went home to the snow fields
15:31wolf territory sits between frozen mountains winter all year i like the cold
15:38cold that went to the bone kept you awake my mother made me recovery food every day bone broth
15:45fish stew wild greens different every time
15:50my father didn't talk just left fresh kills at the door and walked away
15:54it took me a long time to heal root severment is hard on the body the deer druid said three
15:59months at least i didn't follow jack's news but gray claw told me anyway jack's not well
16:04he sat across from me in the longhouse his sharp eyes watching intently
16:11he's been in the taverns every night drinking until he can't stand a few times he shouted your name in
16:17public the lion council warned him lily she tries to see him but golden mane jack's father forbade it
16:26said if she comes near jack again he'll have her whole family run out of golden city she won't give
16:31up no gray claw shook his head she's been talking to you're a new patron one more thing i nodded
16:35gray
16:36claw pulled a scroll from his satchel the frost wolf trading house all of jack's shares have been transferred
16:41to you he signed didn't fight didn't fight no gray claw paused he was drunk after he signed he cried
16:50said he wanted to see you i was quiet for a moment no i said gray claw put away the
16:57scroll stood i'll be
16:59going then send word if you need me he spread his gray wings shot out of the long house into
17:06the sky
17:06i watched him disappear into the clouds then looked down at the roll in my hands frost wolf trading
17:13house jack and i started it together after we left the academy a market stall at first selling snowfield
17:20goods hides herbs crystals then it grew became one of the biggest trading houses in the five kingdoms
17:27bards used to sing about us the hybrid son and the duke's daughter against all odds building an empire
17:34the hybrid son and the duke's daughter against all odds building an empire together pretty story
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