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[Hot 2026]
(2026) - FULL ENGSUB | Reelshort Hot HD
Full Chinese Movie EngSub
Chinese Drama English Sub Full HD
#shortdrama #bestdrama #actionmovie #Drama #Film #Show #Anime #Movie #cdrama #Movies #BILLIONAIRE #shortdrama #dramashort #shortfilmdrama #minidrama #shortstorydrama #webdrama #indiedrama #shortfilmseries #shortdramaseries #dramashorts #englishmovie #cdrama #drama #movieshortfull
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Short filmTranscript
00:00I was a slave. Yet every night, I had to take Luna's place and sleep with the Alpha.
00:05On the bed, I begged him to mark me and make me one of his mates.
00:08Please, make me your wife.
00:11What are you thinking?
00:14You're nothing but a slave.
00:16I close my eyes. Every wolf in the pack knows.
00:20Kaylin doesn't just love Lady Vivian, he worships her.
00:23So the next morning, I walked straight to the pack matriarch and kneeled before her.
00:27I volunteered to marry her eldest son.
00:30Kaylin's dying brother.
00:31Firstly shocked, then the pack matriarch's eyes filled with tears.
00:35After the ghost marriage is done, you'll have to keep Widowsville for your mate forever.
00:41My good child, have you truly thought this through?
00:45I will have no regrets.
00:47Alpha Kaylin and Lady Vivian had gone deathly pale.
00:50On the full moon night, Kaylin came to Vivian's room again.
00:53I watched them through the crack in the door, his voice low and honeyed, her laugh like silver.
00:58Vivian left to wash up, cheeks ruined with wanting.
01:02Before she went, she killed every candle, as always.
01:05An hour later, I stepped into the dark.
01:07His scent hit me first, and my traitorous body answered.
01:11Heart slamming, skin tight.
01:13Why are you so cold?
01:15I was outside, watching the snow.
01:18Truth is, I'd been shivering at the threshold in a thin slip for an hour, waiting for her signal like
01:24a good little ghost.
01:27You smelled.
01:28A pause.
01:29My heart stopped.
01:30The tincture.
01:31So nice.
01:32His mouth found mine in the dark.
01:35His hardness reached my soul.
01:44Before dawn, I knelt at Vivian's feet and recited him.
01:47Every whisper.
01:48Every mark blooming purple on my throat.
01:51Her expression curdled.
01:52Then she walked back into his arms.
01:54Kaylin caught her hair around one lazy finger.
01:57You've been sneaking out to find yourself another wolf.
02:00She swatted him, pouting prettily, as if she were the one.
02:03Vivian was beautiful, and chronically, devastatingly fragile.
02:07Kaylin saw her at the spring hunt gathering.
02:09He fell instantly.
02:11Offered her the first mate rank before the night was over.
02:14Perfect together.
02:15Everyone said so.
02:16As her bonded handmaid, I was genuinely happy for them.
02:20Until their bonding night.
02:24Three nights in a row.
02:25No completed bond.
02:27No mating mark.
02:28Overnight, Vivian became the pack's favorite joke.
02:31Desperate, Vivian invented the switch.
02:34Every night, candles out, handmade substitutes.
02:37Masking tinctures rubbed into my skin until I smelled like her ghost.
02:41Of all her handmaids, only I was a viable double.
02:44Vivian and I were built from the same blueprint.
02:47The same narrow waist.
02:48The same pale slope of shoulder and throat.
02:51Side by side in daylight, the resemblance was unsettling.
02:53In total darkness, with the masking tinctures working through my skin, his wolf couldn't tell the difference.
03:00What Vivian hadn't accounted for, I was not fragile.
03:03She broke under Kaylin's hands.
03:05I did not.
03:06What she couldn't endure, I simply survived.
03:09Body learning the architecture of his need.
03:12Learning to anticipate it.
03:14Relax, only three years.
03:16My body will recover.
03:18Then I will give you enough gold to live well outside the mansion.
03:22Think about it.
03:22My whole family's safety rested in her hands.
03:25I had no choice.
03:26One hour later, Vivian and Kaylin finally rose.
03:30I returned to my quarters briefly, then went in to lay out the morning meal.
03:37Why are you dressed like that?
03:38I didn't know how to answer.
03:40I pressed my lips together.
03:42Kaylin bit.
03:43Hard.
03:44Darling, you've forgotten Selena is mute.
03:46I nodded quickly.
03:48Serving Vivian meant constant proximity to Kaylin, and she was terrified of exposure.
03:53So she declared me mute.
03:55The entire pack believed it.
03:57Your little mute is striking.
03:59Sad, almost, how pretty she is.
04:01And what exactly does my alpha mean by that?
04:03Has she caught your eye?
04:05I haven't blamed you for anything yet, and you're already turning on me.
04:10Kaylin had pushed too far last night.
04:12I'd wept myself hoarse, then bitten him hard.
04:15He'd walked through silver and hellfire to earn his title.
04:19Scars mapping him from throat to hip.
04:22He wouldn't care about a few teeth marks.
04:24This whole performance was foreplay.
04:27I don't know how much time passed.
04:29You insolent thing!
04:31You dared bite him?
04:32Are you challenging me?
04:34I had no time to defend myself.
04:36Vivian had me bound, dragged to the supply outbuilding.
04:39No food, no water.
04:41Kaylin had left for the border territories.
04:43However long he was gone, I stayed locked up.
04:46I was barely breathing when my sister found a way through.
04:49Briar had bribed the guard, slipped a bowl of broth under the door.
04:53She was my younger sister.
04:55Sister, what did you do to make the lady so angry?
04:57Briar, when will Kaylin be back?
04:59The guards say tonight, and he's going straight to the lady's room.
05:04What else was happening in the mansion?
05:05The alpha-haired, his wolf spirit is fading again.
05:07The pack healers say there's nothing left to do.
05:09They're preparing the rates.
05:10Lucian, the elder brother, cursed since birth, fading.
05:14Never anchored to this world.
05:16He's never taken a mate.
05:17The matriarch doesn't want him to cross alone.
05:19She's looking for someone willing to complete a spirit bond.
05:23A spirit bond with a dying alpha heir meant grieving him forever.
05:27No high-ranking female would consent.
05:29Not even the lower-ranked handmaids.
05:31At dusk, they released me.
05:32I'd be needed that night.
05:34Selina, I was impulsive.
05:36I meant to release you hours ago, but things got away from me.
05:39Don't hold it against me.
05:41Of course not, my lady.
05:42My lady, it has been three years.
05:45When will I leave the pack mansion?
05:46You want to leave?
05:47Yes.
05:48My body hasn't healed.
05:49Kaylin still needs you.
05:51If you insist on leave, I'll simply use Briar instead.
05:53Your sisters.
05:54The voice, the build.
05:55Close enough.
05:56How old is she?
05:56Thirteen or fourteen?
05:59Then, could Kaylin at least give me a rank?
06:02Reaching for status now?
06:04If I wanted Kaylin to take a new mate, I have a hundred candidates.
06:08You would never make that list.
06:10Don't bother trying to go through Kaylin directly.
06:13You're a convenience to him.
06:17Even if you ended up in his quarters permanently, I could have you removed with a single word.
06:24But every un-mated female is supposed to be matched eventually.
06:28Eventually?
06:29Was I supposed to be her substitute?
06:31In bed?
06:32For the rest of my life?
06:34The gatekeeper's son is your age.
06:35When you turn sixteen next year, I'll arrange the match.
06:38The gatekeeper's son.
06:40A man with a child's mind and fists like hammers, hitting because it was the only thing he knew.
06:46Only by being bound to someone that broken would I remain useful and too far gone to threaten her.
06:53Kaylin returned to find me kneeling.
06:55You're home!
06:57You must be exhausted!
06:59This girl broke the crystal chalice from the Western Alliance.
07:01I've had her kneeling.
07:03Kaylin stepped over me, without a glance.
07:06What's the status on my brother?
07:08I've asked every un-mated female in the pack.
07:11The spirit bond sounds like a curse to them.
07:13None of the young wolves will agree.
07:14What's there to agree about?
07:16Find a female, threaten someone she loves, and it's done.
07:18That kind of coercion would be hard to hide from your mother.
07:22Enough gold and fear will find a willing body.
07:26And, if you handle this well, my mother might finally look at you differently.
07:33Em.
07:34Every time Kaylin came back from the border, he spent the whole night making up for lost time.
07:39He was an alpha who'd spent weeks at war.
07:41He came home hungry, and he made that hunger my problem.
07:46That night, I gave him everything.
07:49Pushed past my own limits to matching.
07:51Why so eager tonight?
07:53Did you miss me?
07:54I rarely initiated.
07:56He noticed.
07:57Good girl.
07:59Near dawn.
08:00I came back to myself in pieces.
08:04Trying to run again?
08:08My wolf has always been sent sensitive.
08:14I've known about your lady's little switch since the beginning.
08:17No wonder.
08:18He grew bolder every time.
08:20Which meant he never held back.
08:22It was all for me.
08:24Then why won't you give me a rank?
08:26A rank?
08:27She's the one who brought you here.
08:29I'm not going to be the one to claim her handmaid.
08:32That would fracture our bond.
08:33She was right.
08:34A she-wolf taken for free.
08:36Why give her a title?
08:38What grows in the dark stays small.
08:42Speechless with joy?
08:43Thank you for your generosities, alpha.
08:45I'm afraid I don't have the kind of luck to deserve it.
08:48You've shared my bed for years.
08:50Don't get ideas above your station.
08:51He didn't like greedy she-wolves.
08:54He had others.
08:55Bonded females.
08:56All with bloodlines.
08:58Gifts from allied packs.
09:00And yet, since Vivian came, he never touched them.
09:03The pack praised him for devotion.
09:05And he wore that praise like armor.
09:08A handmaid.
09:09Born to serve.
09:11Was never meant to stand beside him.
09:13The colder I became...
09:15I was born low.
09:17I don't deserve a rank.
09:18And I don't belong in your quarters.
09:20I only hope you and the lady are devoted to each other until the end.
09:23The next morning, Briar heard of Vivian's plan to marry me off to the gatekeeper's son.
09:27We served her faithfully.
09:28How can she be this cruel?
09:30That brute would be a slow death.
09:33The thought lingered, then twisted into something darker.
09:36If I couldn't escape fate, I would choose it.
09:40I will take the spirit bond with Lucien.
09:43The matriarch stared, then broke into astonished relief.
09:46She asked my name, my birthdate, my bloodline.
09:49The pack shaman consulted the moon charts and looked up, nodding.
09:52This female's spirit signature aligns with the heirs in a way I have not seen in decades.
09:57She was born into hardship, which means she carries the kind of resilience that could anchor him.
10:03The bond will serve him well in the next life.
10:05Kaylin and Vivian arrived quickly once word spread.
10:08They walked in together to find me sitting at the matriarch's feet,
10:11working the tension from her ankles.
10:13Kaylin's voice came first, amused, sharp.
10:16This is the female who agreed to bond with my brother?
10:18Whoever's handmaid she is, she has a rare heart.
10:21Mother, you must reward her well.
10:23I turned and faced them.
10:24Kaylin went very still.
10:25It's me, Alpha Kaylin.
10:27Lady Vivian's.
10:31You're supposed to be mute.
10:32I can speak.
10:33My lady simply prefers I don't.
10:36Vivian's face turned to chalk.
10:37I didn't know your household contained such a loyal soul.
10:40But once this bond is sealed, you'll carry his grief for the rest of your days.
10:44Are you certain?
10:45I will never regret it.
10:47The hand hanging at Kaylin's side curled into a fist.
10:50He stared at me like I had become something he didn't recognize.
10:53Child, tell me what you want.
10:56Silver, land, titles, anything I can grant is yours.
11:00I turned and looked at Vivian.
11:02She held her smile together.
11:03But she took half a step back.
11:05After a long pause, I dropped my eyes.
11:08I have a younger sister.
11:09Briar, I ask that she be transferred to your personal household matriarch.
11:12She's already part of this pack.
11:14I'll see to her for the rest of her life.
11:16Vivian's smile pulled thin.
11:19Mother, Briar came with my dowie pack.
11:21She's my bonded household.
11:22I'd hate to be ungenerous, but-
11:24She's a handmaid.
11:25Mother wants her.
11:27Give her over.
11:27Kaylin's voice cut across hers, flat and final.
11:30The matriarch's expression had gone stone cold.
11:33Bring the bond papers.
11:36I will find Briar a secure place before I pass.
11:40You don't have to worry about her ever again.
11:43I hadn't expected the matriarch to think about her entire future.
11:46Moved beyond words.
11:48Thank you, matriarch.
11:50I promise to care for Lucien with everything I have.
11:53When the matriarch spoke of her eldest son, she couldn't stop the break in her voice.
11:57I was pregnant with Lucien during the Dark Coven War.
12:02The fear marked him at birth.
12:04He came into the world without breath.
12:07Without a wolf spirit.
12:09His father had returned victorious that same night, and brought someone with him from the deep forest.
12:14A shaman.
12:15The shaman's methods were outside anything the pack had seen.
12:18He brought Lucien back from the edge of nothing.
12:20It should have been a miracle, but the shaman warned them.
12:24Pulling a spirit back across that threshold was a transgression against the laws of wolf and moon.
12:29Lucien could live, but only for 30 years.
12:32No more.
12:32And so it had been.
12:33Lucien had grown up slight, unable to shift into warrior form.
12:37But razor sharp in mind.
12:39A natural strategist.
12:40A scholar.
12:41He'd won council honors young.
12:43But the older he got, the weaker his body became.
12:46Eventually, he stopped leaving his territory altogether, retreating to a lakeside cabin at the edge of the pack mansion.
12:52Since I had agreed to the spirit bond, I was to remain at his side.
12:56Word was that he didn't allow anyone to serve him.
12:59Just the shaman, who had stayed all these years.
13:01The shaman brought me into the cabin while Lucien was asleep.
13:04I looked at his face.
13:05His lashes trembled faintly with each shallow breath.
13:08He was two years older than Kaelin.
13:1027.
13:11The brothers looked nothing alike.
13:13Kaelin was bronze and hard-edged from years of combat training.
13:17Lucien was fine-boned, pale as snow.
13:19Almost startlingly beautiful in a way that made you forget to breathe.
13:23I spent the afternoon learning his preferences.
13:25When the sun touched the horizon, Lucien finally woke.
13:28It was time for his medicine.
13:30I'd spent the afternoon learning to brew it from the shaman.
13:32So you're the female who plans to bond with my corpse?
13:35Yes.
13:36Get up.
13:37He picked up the bowl calmly.
13:42I don't want it.
13:44What are you going to do about it?
13:45Lucien looked up, a thread of provocation in his gaze.
13:48The shaman had told me Lucien was a person of pure instinct, all feeling, no armor.
13:53Earned honors at 15, and had the makings of something extraordinary ahead of him.
13:58Then one evening, a hunting trip with Kaelin ended with Lucien falling off the cliff and drown in the water.
14:05His wolf spirit seizing, and three days of unconsciousness.
14:08The matriarch had broken every servant in his household for failing him, and sold the rest.
14:13Lucien didn't treat servants like livestock.
14:16He'd read too much, and thought too hard to do that.
14:20Alpha hair.
14:23I genuinely can't force you.
14:25But since we're going to be bonded eventually, perhaps...
14:28I looked down at the dark liquid.
14:30Perhaps I should start exercising a mate's authority now.
14:34Either you drink this,
14:37or...
14:37Or what?
14:39The shaman had told me Lucien had refused medicine for six months.
14:43That was why he was hovering at the edge of nothing.
14:45At this rate, he wouldn't survive to spring.
14:48I can't feel my soul
14:53I'm a dead man
14:57I'm a dead man
15:01When I looked at him again,
15:03vivid color had bloomed across his face,
15:05like dawn breaking over frost.
15:07Those butterfly-winged lashes were trembling.
15:10With outrage, I thought, distantly,
15:12of every arrogant she-wolf Kaelin had ever teased into furious, helpless blushing.
15:17Lucien's expression was painfully similar.
15:20A prick of guilt moved through me.
15:22I forced my own pulse to slow,
15:24keeping my voice steady.
15:25If you won't drink,
15:26I'll be forced to do that again.
15:44I'm serial Corinthian bodies.
15:45Alpha hair.
15:46Your color has improved over these past few days.
15:48Your skin isn't as cold as it was.
15:50That's the medicine working.
15:51Medicine is useless.
15:53The shaman works hard to brew it.
15:55If you pour it out every time,
15:56he'll be heartbroken.
15:59watch
16:00testing the temperature alone takes constant checking to preserve the potency
16:05I've only been doing it a few days and my hands already look like this
16:08he pressed his lips together, said nothing
16:11and drank the rest of the bowl without being asked
16:14after that, he never made me beg him to drink his medicine again
16:19half a month later, the shaman gave the matriarch his report
16:22Lucian had genuinely improved, no longer at death's edge
16:27could it be a final surge before the end?
16:31no, it's real healing, this one is responsible
16:34I told you before, her wolf spirit signature is a natural compliment to his
16:38she steadies him
16:40the matriarch looked satisfied, when she turned to me, her eyes were almost tender
16:45how has Selina been caring for you?
16:51she's been taking very good care of me
16:56alpha Lucian may not know, but when Selina was serving in my household
17:00her skill at attending to Caelan was quite exceptional as well
17:04such a good servant
17:06the air went very still
17:09is that how you speak to your future sister-in-law?
17:13Vivian, you are young, but that is no excuse for ignorance of pack law
17:19shut up, stop embarrassing yourself
17:23days later
17:25did you hear about it?
17:26Vivian had found another substitute
17:27she looked for a maid again, not from the pack's own hand tapes
17:31she'd bought a woman from outside
17:32trained and shaped to match her voice and build exactly
17:35how do you know?
17:36because Caelan lit every lantern in the room that night
17:38and when he saw what he saw, he beat woman half to death
17:40and threw her at Vivian's feet, Viviana fainted
17:43and then, he said if she refused to truly share his bed
17:46he would never come to her rooms again
17:47they're sleeping in separate dens now
17:49separate dens meant every wolf in the pack knew the bond was broken
17:53no mate's devotion
17:54no matriarch's approval
17:56no pups
17:57no wonder Vivian looked like she hadn't slept in a month
18:05he looked fragile in the lake wind
18:07unsteadying
18:08I went back to get his cloak
18:15is it you?
18:19was it always you?
18:22answer me
18:24you think you can play mute with me again?
18:32silence won't save you
18:35I don't need your voice to confirm it
18:37one night, and I'd know for certain
18:40had he lost his mind?
18:43I spent three years with a woman
18:46and she's going to be bonded to my brother
18:49how dare you make fools of us both?
18:51especially me!
18:53would a rank at my side really be worse than grieving a dead man forever?
18:56do you actually want to bond with a corpse?
19:01I just want to survive
19:06if I didn't do this
19:08she'd give me to someone who'd break me
19:11a formal bond
19:12even a broken one
19:13would have made me untouchable
19:16useful to no one
19:19forced to stay her shadow forever
19:21before he could recover
19:23I stomped hard on his foot
19:25and ran
19:25I was still stumbling
19:26when I rounded the corner
19:28what took you so long?
19:32I smiled
19:33walked over
19:34and settled the cloak
19:35around his shoulders
19:36but he simply brushed my hand away
19:38somehow he lost balance
19:39and fell
19:40his chest had a severe bruise
19:42just leave me
19:43I am not your burden
19:47Lucian liked to sit there
19:49open a book in the shade
19:50why did you really agree
19:52to the spirit bond?
19:54I didn't want to be given
19:55to the given
19:56to the gatekeeper's son
19:58I thought it would be
19:59something like that
20:01what is it to guess
20:02that it would be like this?
20:03the shaman pressed
20:04a small wooden box
20:06into my hands
20:06should I start calling you
20:08mate of the alpha?
20:08please don't
20:10my future
20:11most likely
20:11was a silent room
20:13in a shrine
20:13grieving him in his name
20:15until I followed
20:16with the shaman gone
20:17I took on more responsibility
20:19including helping Lucian
20:20and bathe
20:24I watched his ears
20:25and tried not to smile
20:27had no one ever
20:28helped him bathe?
20:29Kaelin had always kept
20:30half a dozen female attendants
20:32for bathing
20:32a younger version of me
20:34would have died
20:35of the blush alone
20:36but I wasn't that
20:37innocent girl anymore
20:38there was a phrase
20:39I'd found in one of his books
20:40a broken moon
20:41a she-wolf
20:43who'd been claimed
20:44and discarded
20:44the text said
20:45that's what I was
20:46what strange things
20:48are you reading now?
20:50I tucked it behind my back
20:52I'd memorized a passage
20:54and presented it to him
20:55like a prize
20:56look at you
20:57impressive
20:58you sound like
20:59you're humeering a child
21:02how old are you?
21:0318
21:04I have almost a decade on you
21:06to me
21:08you are a child
21:10the shaman had introduced
21:11new compounds
21:12performed old rituals
21:14at the edge of firelight
21:15burned offerings
21:16and whispered things
21:17I didn't catch
21:18speak a wish
21:20you do it
21:23I want you to be happy
21:24what does that look like?
21:26your body heals
21:27you find a mate
21:28who deserves you
21:28a pack of your own
21:30a life that finally
21:32goes the way
21:32it should have
21:33do you mean that?
21:35our eyes met
21:36I looked away
21:37did I mean it?
21:38it didn't matter
21:38what mattered was
21:40the shaman's ritual
21:41apparently worked
21:42because Lucian decided
21:43he wanted to leave the cabin
21:44I asked him
21:46where he wanted to go
21:47he studied me
21:48for a long moment
21:48there's a moon festival
21:50gathering tonight
21:50I've heard the town
21:52lights the whole river
21:53festival fires
21:54were always burning somewhere
21:55nothing special
21:56but since coming
21:57into Vivienne's household
21:58I hadn't been
21:59into a single one
22:00the longing
22:00had been sitting quietly
22:01in me for years
22:02that night
22:03a young noblewoman
22:04arrived with her escort
22:05they said
22:06used to getting
22:07everything she reached for
22:08in the river of lantern light
22:10and moving bodies
22:11she found Lucian in seconds
22:12loser buys dinner
22:13at the finest inn
22:14in the city
22:15what do you say?
22:16and she walked straight up
22:17and challenged him
22:18to a game of darts
22:19I've forgotten who won
22:20I only remember
22:21the brightness in her eyes
22:23Lucian turned
22:24to look at me
22:24if you'd like to go
22:26I'll wait outside
22:27I hadn't behaved
22:28like a servant
22:29in front of him
22:29in a long time
22:30but there were others watching
22:31she didn't wait
22:32she stepped around me
22:34cheerfully
22:34and reached for Lucian's chair
22:35I watched them move
22:37into the crowd
22:37and I felt something leave me
22:39that I hadn't known
22:40was mine to lose
22:41I stood in the cold
22:42for a very long time
22:43then I remembered
22:44today was my birthday
22:45she was the regent's
22:47only daughter
22:47every door
22:48in the wolf world
22:49was open to her
22:50when the regent
22:51and his mate
22:51arrived at the pack mansion
22:53to formally propose the match
22:54the matriarch looked more shaken
22:56than pleased
22:57through Briar
22:58I learned the truth
22:59it wasn't love at first sight
23:00she'd fallen for Lucian
23:02over a decade ago
23:03back when he was a young scholar
23:05with fire in his eyes
23:06and a future everyone could see
23:08she'd been carrying it ever since
23:09refusing every other offer
23:11Lucian's potential mating
23:13became the pack's entire focus
23:15even the news that
23:16Kaylin's quartermate
23:17had conceived
23:17was forgotten
23:18if the match succeeded
23:19the matriarch would have been overjoyed
23:21but Lucian was already bound
23:23by the spirit bond
23:24to take a living mate
23:25the bond had to be dissolved
23:27and so I knew exactly
23:28what I had to do
23:29just as I'd once knelt
23:30before the matriarch
23:31and volunteered
23:32I came before her again
23:36I'm willing to step aside
23:38I want Lucian to have this
23:41I'd had the shaman check
23:42their spirit signatures as well
23:44they aligned perfectly
23:45she was born to rank
23:46polished in every art
23:48and her love for Lucian
23:49had outlasted years of silence
23:51if he died
23:52she would grieve him faithfully
23:54there was nothing more
23:55I could offer
23:55that she couldn't match
23:57so what do you want in return?
24:00money?
24:01is it still about status?
24:03the matriarch squeezed my hands
24:04and asked what I wanted in return
24:06I pressed the gold I'd saved
24:08over two years into her palm
24:09I asked to be released
24:11from the pack's bond records
24:13I want to be a free wolf
24:16child
24:18you could ask me for so much more
24:20I held the bow and didn't move
24:22tears fell
24:23one by one
24:24onto the stone
24:25take me with you, okay?
24:28outside the pack pao shang
24:29life was uncertain and hard
24:31inside
24:32with the matriarch's protection
24:34you would be safe
24:35stay
24:36serve well
24:37don't make enemies
24:39the rest would come
24:42briar wept
24:43and pressed gold
24:44into my hands anyway
24:45on the morning I left
24:46many of the other handmaids
24:48came to see me off
24:49the shaman also walked
24:50towards me in the crowd
24:51may your ancestors
24:53guide your path
24:56patted my shoulder
24:57and then walked
24:58towards the crowd
25:01I turned around
25:03and walked towards the door
25:04but in the crowd
25:05I saw Karen also there
25:07I was a slave
25:08yet every night
25:09I had to take Luna's place
25:11and sleep with the alpha
25:12on the bed
25:13I begged him to mark me
25:14and make me one of his mates
25:15please
25:16make me your wife
25:19what are you thinking?
25:21you're nothing but a slave
25:23I close my eyes
25:25every wolf in the pack knows
25:27Kaylin doesn't just love
25:28Lady Vivian
25:29he worships her
25:30so the next morning
25:31I walked straight to the pack matriarch
25:33and kneeled before her
25:34I volunteered to marry her eldest son
25:37Kaylin's dying brother
25:38firstly shocked
25:39then the pack matriarch's eyes
25:41filled with tears
25:43after the ghost marriage is done
25:45you'll have to keep widow's ville
25:47for your mate forever
25:48my good child
25:49have you truly thought this through?
25:52I will have no regrets
25:54alpha Kaylin and Lady Vivian
25:56had gone deathly pale
25:57on the full moon night
25:58Kaylin came to Vivian's room again
26:00I watched them through the crack in the door
26:02his voice low and honeyed
26:04her laugh like silver
26:05Vivian left to wash up
26:07cheeks ruined with wanting
26:09before she went
26:10she killed every candle
26:11as always
26:12an hour later
26:13I stepped into the dark
26:14his scent hit me first
26:16and my traitorous body answered
26:18heart slamming
26:19skin tight
26:20why are you so cold?
26:22I was outside
26:24watching the snow
26:25truth is
26:26I'd been shivering at the threshold
26:28in a thin slip for an hour
26:29waiting for her signal
26:31like a good little ghost
26:32mmm
26:34smelled
26:35a pause
26:36my heart stopped
26:37the tincture
26:38so nice
26:39his mouth found mine in the dark
26:42his hardness reached my soul
26:51before dawn
26:52I knelt at Vivian's feet
26:53and recited him
26:54every whisper
26:55every mark blooming purple
26:57on my throat
26:58her expression curdled
26:59then she walked back into his arms
27:01Kaylin caught her hair around one lazy finger
27:04been sneaking out to find yourself another wolf
27:07she swatted him
27:08pouting prettily
27:09as if she were the one
27:10Vivian was beautiful
27:11and chronically devastatingly fragile
27:14Kaylin saw her at the spring hunt gathering
27:16he fell instantly
27:18offered her the first mate rank
27:20before the night was over
27:21perfect together
27:22everyone said so
27:23as her bonded handmaid
27:25I was genuinely happy for them
27:27until their bonding night
27:31three nights in a row
27:32no completed bond
27:34no mating mark
27:35overnight
27:36Vivian became the pack's favorite joke
27:38desperate
27:39Vivian invented the switch
27:40every night
27:41candles out
27:42handmade substitutes
27:44masking tinctures rubbed into my skin
27:46until I smelled like her ghost
27:48of all her handmaids
27:49only I was a viable double
27:51Vivian and I were built from the same blueprint
27:53the same narrow waist
27:55the same pale slope of shoulder and throat
27:58side by side in daylight
27:59the resemblance was unsettling
28:01in total darkness
28:02with the masking tinctures working through my skin
28:05his wolf couldn't tell the difference
28:07what Vivian hadn't accounted for
28:09I was not fragile
28:10she broke under Kaylin's hands
28:12I did not
28:13what she couldn't endure
28:15I simply survived
28:16body learning the architecture of his need
28:19learning to anticipate it
28:21relax
28:22only three years
28:23my body will recover
28:25then I will give you enough gold
28:27to live well outside the mansion
28:28think about it
28:30my whole family's safety rested in her hands
28:32I had no choice
28:33one hour later
28:35Vivian and Kaylin finally rose
28:37I returned to my quarters briefly
28:39then went in to lay out the morning meal
28:44why are you dressed like that
28:45I didn't know how to answer
28:47I pressed my lips together
28:48Kaylin bit
28:50hard
28:50darling you've forgotten
28:52Selina is mute
28:53I nodded quickly
28:54serving Vivian meant constant proximity to Kaylin
28:58and she was terrified of exposure
29:00so she declared me mute
29:02the entire pack believed it
29:04your little mute is striking
29:06sad almost how pretty she is
29:08and what exactly does my alpha mean by that
29:10has she caught your eye
29:12I haven't blamed you for anything yet
29:13and you're already turning on me
29:17Kaylin had pushed too far last night
29:19I'd wept myself hoarse
29:21then bitten him
29:22hard
29:23he'd walked through silver and hellfire
29:25to earn his title
29:26scars mapping him from throat to hip
29:29he wouldn't care about a few teeth marks
29:31this whole performance was foreplay
29:34I don't know how much time passed
29:36you insolent thing
29:38you dared bite him
29:39are you challenging me
29:41I had no time to defend myself
29:43Vivian had me bound
29:44dragged to the supply outbuilding
29:46no food
29:47no water
29:48Kaylin had left for the border territories
29:50however long he was gone
29:52I stayed locked up
29:53I was barely breathing
29:54when my sister found a way through
29:56Briar
29:57had bribed the guard
29:58slipped a bowl of broth under the door
30:00she was my younger sister
30:02sister
30:03what did you do to make the lady so angry
30:04Briar when will Kaylin be back
30:07the guards say tonight
30:08and he's going straight to the ladies room
30:11what else was happening in the mansion
30:13the alpha haired his wolf spirit is fading again
30:15the pack healers say there's nothing left to do
30:16they're preparing the rates
30:17Lucian
30:18the elder brother
30:19cursed since birth
30:20fading
30:21never anchored to this world
30:23he's never taken a mate
30:24the matriarch doesn't want him to cross alone
30:26she's looking for someone willing to complete a spirit bond
30:30a spirit bond with a dying alpha heir meant grieving him forever
30:34no high-ranking female would consent
30:36not even the lower-ranked handmaids
30:38at dusk
30:39they released me
30:40I'd be needed that night
30:41Selina
30:42I was impulsive
30:43I meant to release you hours ago
30:45but things got away from me
30:46don't hold it against me
30:48of course not my lady
30:49my lady
30:50it has been three years
30:52when will I leave the pack mansion
30:54you want to leave?
30:55yes
30:55my body hasn't healed
30:56Kaylin still needs you
30:58if you insist on leave
30:59I'll simply use Briar instead
31:00your sisters
31:01the voice, the build
31:02close enough
31:03how old is she?
31:0413 or 14?
31:05then
31:06could Kaylin at least give me a rank?
31:09reaching for status now?
31:12if I wanted Kaylin to take a new mate
31:14I have a hundred candidates
31:16you would never make that list
31:17don't bother trying to go through Kaylin directly
31:20you're a convenience to him
31:24even if you ended up in his quarters permanently
31:26I could have you removed
31:28with a single word
31:31but every unmated female
31:33is supposed to be matched eventually
31:35eventually?
31:36was I supposed to be her substitute?
31:38in bed?
31:39for the rest of my life?
31:41the gatekeeper's son is your age?
31:43when you turn 16 next year
31:44I'll arrange the match
31:45the gatekeeper's son
31:47a man with a child's mind
31:49and fists like hammers
31:51hitting because it was the only thing he knew
31:54only by being bound to someone that broken
31:56would I remain useful
31:58and too far gone to threaten her
32:00Kaylin returned
32:01to find me kneeling
32:03you're home
32:04you must be exhausted
32:06this girl broke the crystal chalice
32:07from the western alliance
32:08I've had her kneeling
32:10Kaylin stepped over me
32:12without a glance
32:13what's the status on my brother?
32:15I've asked every unmated female in the pack
32:18a spirit bond sounds like a curse to them
32:20none of the young wolves will agree
32:21what's there to agree about?
32:23find a female
32:24threaten someone she loves
32:25and it's done
32:26that kind of coercion
32:27would be hard to hide from your mother
32:28enough gold and fear
32:30will find a willing body
32:33and
32:33if you handle this well
32:36my mother might finally
32:37look at you differently
32:40N
32:40every time Kaylin came back
32:42from the border
32:43he spent the whole night
32:44making up for lost time
32:45he was an alpha
32:47who'd spent weeks at war
32:49he came home hungry
32:50and he made that hunger
32:52my problem
32:54that night
32:54I gave him everything
32:56pushed past my own limits
32:58to match him
32:59why so eager tonight?
33:00did you miss me?
33:01I rarely initiated
33:03he noticed
33:04good girl
33:05near dawn
33:06I came back to myself in pieces
33:11trying to run again?
33:15my wolf has always been sent sensitive
33:21I've known about your lady's little switch
33:23since the beginning
33:24no wonder
33:25he grew bolder every time
33:27which meant he never held back
33:29it was all for me
33:31then why won't you give me a rank?
33:34a rank?
33:35she's the one who brought you here
33:36I'm not going to be the one
33:38to claim her handmaid
33:39that would fracture our bond
33:41she was right
33:41a she-wolf
33:42taken for free
33:44why give her a title?
33:45what grows in the dark
33:46stays small
33:49speechless with joy?
33:51thank you for your generosities alpha
33:52I'm afraid I don't have the kind of luck
33:54to deserve it
33:55you've shared my bed for years
33:57don't get ideas above your station
33:59he didn't like greedy she-wolves
34:01he had others
34:02bonded females
34:03all with bloodlines
34:05gifts from allied packs
34:07and yet
34:08since Vivian came
34:09he never touched them
34:10the pack praised him for devotion
34:12and he wore that praise
34:14like armor
34:15a handmaid
34:16born to serve
34:18was never meant to stand beside him
34:20the colder I became
34:22I was born low
34:24I don't deserve a rank
34:25and I don't belong in your quarters
34:27I only hope you and the lady are devoted to each other until the end
34:30the next morning
34:31Briar heard of Vivian's plan to marry me off to the gatekeeper's son
34:34we served her faithfully
34:35how can she be this cruel?
34:38that brute
34:38would be a slow death
34:40the thought lingered
34:41then twisted
34:42into something darker
34:43if I couldn't escape fate
34:45I would choose it
34:47I will take the spirit bond with Lucian
34:49the matriarch stared
34:51then broke into astonished relief
34:53she asked my name
34:54my birth date
34:55my bloodline
34:56the pack shaman consulted the moon charts
34:58and looked up
34:59nodding
34:59this female's spirit signature
35:01aligns with the heirs in a way
35:02I have not seen in decades
35:04she was born into hardship
35:06which means she carries the kind of resilience
35:08that could anchor him
35:10the bond will serve him well in the next life
35:12Kaylin and Vivian arrived quickly
35:14once word spread
35:15they walked in together
35:16to find me sitting at the matriarch's feet
35:18working the tension from her ankles
35:20Kaylin's voice came first
35:21amused
35:22sharp
35:23this is the female who agreed to bond with my brother?
35:25whoever's handmaid she is
35:27she has a rare heart
35:28mother you must reward her well
35:30I turned and faced them
35:31Kaylin went very still
35:32it's me
35:33Alpha Kaylin
35:34Lady Vivian's
35:38you're supposed to be mute
35:39I can speak
35:40my lady simply prefers I don't
35:43Vivian's face turned to chalk
35:45I didn't know your household contained such a loyal soul
35:48but once this bond is sealed you'll carry his grief for the rest of your days
35:51are you certain?
35:53I will never regret it
35:54the hand hanging at Kaylin's side curled into a fist
35:57he stared at me like I had become something he didn't recognize
36:00child
36:00tell me what you want
36:03silver
36:03land
36:04titles
36:05anything I can grant is yours
36:07I turned and looked at Vivian
36:09she held her smile together
36:10but she took half a step back
36:12after a long pause
36:13I dropped my eyes
36:15I have a younger sister
36:16Briar
36:16I asked that she be transferred to your personal household matriarch
36:19she's already part of this pack
36:21I'll see to her for the rest of her life
36:23Vivian's smile pulled thin
36:26mother
36:26Briar came with my dowie pack
36:29she's my bonded household
36:30I'd hate to be ungenerous
36:31but
36:31she's a handmaid
36:32mother wants her
36:34give her over
36:34Kaylin's voice cut across hers
36:36flat and final
36:37the matriarch's expression had gone stone cold
36:40bring the bond papers
36:43I will find Briar a secure place before I pass
36:47you don't have to worry about her ever again
36:49I hadn't expected the matriarch to think about her entire future
36:53moved beyond words
36:56thank you matriarch
36:57I promise to care for Lucian with everything I have
37:00when the matriarch spoke of her eldest son
37:03she couldn't stop the break in her voice
37:05I was pregnant with Lucian during the dark coven war
37:09the fear marked him at birth
37:12he came into the world without breath
37:14without a wolf spirit
37:16his father had returned victorious that same night
37:19and brought someone with him from the deep forest
37:21a shaman
37:22the shaman's methods were outside anything the pack had seen
37:26he brought Lucian back from the edge of nothing
37:28it should have been a miracle
37:29but the shaman warned them
37:31pulling a spirit back across that threshold
37:33was a transgression against the laws of wolf and moon
37:36Lucian could live but only for 30 years
37:39no more
37:39and so it had been
37:41Lucian had grown up slight
37:42unable to shift into warrior form
37:44but razor sharp in mind
37:46a natural strategist
37:48a scholar
37:48he'd won council honors young
37:50but the older he got
37:52the weaker his body became
37:53eventually he stopped leaving his territory altogether
37:56retreating to a lakeside cabin at the edge of the pack mansion
37:59since I had agreed to the spirit bond
38:01I was to remain at his side
38:03word was that he didn't allow anyone to serve him
38:06just the shaman
38:07who had stayed all these years
38:09the shaman brought me into the cabin while Lucian was asleep
38:11I looked at his face
38:13his lashes trembled faintly with each shallow breath
38:16he was two years older than Kaelin
38:1727
38:18the brothers looked nothing alike
38:20Kaelin was bronze and hard-edged from years of combat training
38:24Lucian was fine-boned
38:25pale as snow
38:26almost startlingly beautiful in a way that made you forget to breathe
38:30I spent the afternoon learning his preferences
38:32when the sun touched the horizon
38:35Lucian finally woke
38:36it was time for his medicine
38:37I'd spent the afternoon learning to brew it from the shaman
38:40so you're the female who plans to bond with my corpse
38:42yes
38:44get up
38:44he picked up the bowl calmly
38:49I don't want it
38:51what are you going to do about it
38:52Lucian looked up
38:53a thread of provocation in his gaze
38:55the shaman had told me Lucian was a person of pure instinct
38:58all feeling, no armor
39:00earned honors at 15
39:02and had the makings of something extraordinary ahead of him
39:05then one evening
39:06a hunting trip with Kaelin
39:08ended with Lucian falling off the cliff
39:11and drowned in the water
39:12his wolf spirit seizing
39:14and three days of unconsciousness
39:16the matriarch had broken every servant in his household for failing him
39:19and sold the rest
39:21Lucian didn't treat servants like livestock
39:23he'd read too much and thought too hard to do that
39:27alpha hair
39:30I genuinely can't force you
39:32but since we're going to be bonded eventually
39:35perhaps
39:35I look down at the dark liquid
39:37perhaps I should start exercising a mate's authority now
39:41either you drink this
39:43or
39:45or what
39:46the shaman had told me Lucian had refused medicine for six months
39:50that was why he was hovering at the edge of nothing
39:52at this rate he wouldn't survive to spring
40:08when I looked at him again
40:10vivid color had bloomed across his face
40:12like dawn breaking on the frost
40:14those butterfly wing lashes were trembling
40:17with outrage
40:18I thought distantly
40:19of every arrogant she-wolf Kaelin had ever teased into furious helpless blushing
40:24Lucian's expression was painfully similar
40:27a prick of guilt moved through me
40:29I forced my own pulse to slow
40:31keeping my voice steady
40:32if you won't drink
40:33I'll be forced to do that again
40:52alpha hair
40:53your color has improved over these past few days
40:55your skin isn't as cold as it was
40:57that's the medicine working
40:58medicine is useless
41:00the shaman works hard to brew it
41:02if you pour it out every time
41:04he'll be heartbroken
41:06watch
41:07testing the temperature alone
41:09takes constant checking
41:10to preserve the potency
41:12I've only been doing it a few days
41:13and my hands already look like this
41:16he pressed his lips together
41:17said nothing
41:18and drank the rest of the bowl
41:20without being asked
41:21after that
41:22he never made me beg him
41:23to drink his medicine again
41:26half a month later
41:27the shaman gave the matriarch his report
41:30Lucian had genuinely improved
41:32no longer at death's edge
41:35could it be a final surge
41:36before the end
41:37no
41:38it's real healing
41:40this one is responsible
41:41I told you before
41:43her wolf spirit signature
41:44is a natural compliment to his
41:45she steadies him
41:47the matriarch looked satisfied
41:49when she turned to me
41:51her eyes were almost tender
41:52how has Selina been caring for you
41:58she's been taking very good care of me
42:03alpha Lucian may not know
42:05but when Selina was serving in my household
42:07her skill at attending to Caelan
42:09was quite exceptional as well
42:11such a good servant
42:14the air went very still
42:16is that how you speak to your future sister-in-law?
42:20Vivian
42:21you are young
42:22but that is no excuse for ignorance of pack law
42:26shut up
42:27stop embarrassing yourself
42:30days later
42:32did you hear about it?
42:33Vivian had found another substitute
42:35she looked for a maid again
42:36not from the pack's own hand tates
42:38she'd bought a woman from outside
42:39trained and shaped to match her voice and build exactly
42:42how do you know?
42:43because Caelan lit every lantern in the room that night
42:45and when he saw what he saw
42:46he beat woman half to death
42:48and threw her at Vivian's feet
42:49Vivian had fainted
42:50and then
42:51he said if she refused to truly share his bed
42:53he would never come to her rooms again
42:54they're sleeping in separate dens now
42:56separate dens meant every wolf in the pack
42:59knew the bond was broken
43:00no mate's devotion
43:01no matriarch's approval
43:03no pups
43:04no wonder Vivian looked like she hadn't slept in a month
43:12he looked fragile in the lake wind
43:15unsteadying
43:15I went back to get his clothes
43:22is it you?
43:26was it always you?
43:30answer me
43:31you think you can play mute with me again?
43:39silence won't save you
43:42I don't need your voice to confirm it
43:45one night
43:46and I'd know for certain
43:47had he lost his mind?
43:50I spent three years with a woman
43:53and she's going to be bonded to my brother
43:56how dare you make fools of us both?
43:58especially me!
44:00would a rank at my side really be worse than grieving a dead man forever?
44:04do you actually want to bond with a corpse?
44:09I just want to survive!
44:13if I didn't do this
44:15she'd give me to someone who'd break me
44:18a formal bond
44:19even a broken one
44:20would have made me untouchable
44:24useful to no one
44:26forced to stay her shadow forever
44:29before he could recover
44:30I stomped hard on his foot
44:32and ran
44:32I was still stumbling
44:34when I rounded the corner
44:35what took you so long?
44:40I smiled
44:41walked over
44:42and settled the cloak
44:43around his shoulders
44:43but he simply brushed my hand away
44:45somehow he lost balance
44:46and fell
44:47his chest had a severe bruise
44:49just leave me
44:50I am not your burden
44:55Lucian liked to sit there
44:56open a book in the shade
44:58why did you really agree to the spirit bond?
45:01I didn't want to be given to the given to the gatekeeper's son
45:05I thought it would be something like that
45:08what is it to guess that it would be like this?
45:11the shaman pressed a small wooden box into my hands
45:14should I start calling you mate of the alpha?
45:16please don't
45:17my future most likely
45:19was a silent room in a shrine
45:21grieving him in his name until I followed
45:23with the shaman gone
45:24I took on more responsibility
45:26including helping Lucian bathe
45:31I watched his ears and tried not to smile
45:34had no one ever helped him bathe?
45:36Kaelin had always kept half a dozen female attendants for bathing
45:40a younger version of me would have died of the blush alone
45:43but I wasn't that innocent girl anymore
45:45there was a phrase I'd found in one of his books
45:48a broken moon
45:49a she-wolf who'd been claimed and discarded
45:52the text said that's what I was
45:54what strange things are you reading now?
45:58I tucked it behind my back
45:59I'd memorized a passage and presented it to him like a prize
46:03look at you
46:04impressive
46:05you sound like you're humeering a child
46:09how old are you?
46:1018
46:12I have almost a decade on you
46:13to me
46:15you are a child
46:17the shaman had introduced new compounds
46:20performed old rituals at the edge of firelight
46:22burned offerings and whispered things I didn't catch
46:25speak a wish
46:28you do it
46:30I want you to be happy
46:32what does that look like?
46:33your body heals
46:34you find a mate who deserves you
46:36a pack of your own
46:38a life that finally goes the way it should have
46:41do you mean that?
46:42our eyes met
46:43I looked away
46:44did I mean it?
46:45it didn't matter
46:46what mattered was
46:47the shaman's ritual apparently worked
46:49because Lucian decided he wanted to leave the cabin
46:52I asked him where he wanted to go
46:54he studied me for a long moment
46:56there's a moon festival gathering tonight
46:58I've heard the town lights the whole river
47:00festival fires were always burning somewhere
47:02nothing special
47:03but since coming into Vivienne's household
47:05I hadn't been to a single one
47:07the longing had been sitting quietly in me for years
47:10that night a young noblewoman arrived with her escort
47:13they said used to getting everything she reached for
47:15in the river of lantern light and moving bodies
47:18she found Lucian in seconds
47:20loser buys dinner at the finest inn in the city
47:22what do you say?
47:23and she walked straight up and challenged him to a game of darts
47:26I've forgotten who won
47:27I only remember the brightness in her eyes
47:30Lucian turned to look at me
47:32if you'd like to go, I'll wait outside
47:34I hadn't behaved like a servant in front of him in a long time
47:37but there were others watching
47:39she didn't wait
47:40she stepped around me cheerfully and reached for Lucian's chair
47:43I watched them move into the crowd
47:45and I felt something leave me that I hadn't known was mine to lose
47:48I stood in the cold for a very long time
47:50then I remembered
47:51today was my birthday
47:53she was the regent's only daughter
47:54every door in the wolf world was open to her
47:57when the regent and his mate arrived at the pack mansion
48:00to formally propose the match
48:02the matriarch looked more shaken than pleased
48:04through Briar I learned the truth
48:06it wasn't love at first sight
48:08she'd fallen for Lucian over a decade ago
48:10back when he was a young scholar with fire in his eyes
48:13and a future everyone could see
48:15she'd been carrying it ever since
48:17refusing every other offer
48:19Lucian's potential mating became the pack's entire focus
48:22even the news that Kaylin's quartermate had conceived was forgotten
48:25if the match succeeded
48:27the matriarch would have been overjoyed
48:29but Lucian was already bound by the spirit bond
48:31to take a living mate
48:32the bond had to be dissolved
48:34and so I knew exactly what I had to do
48:36just as I'd once knelt before the matriarch and volunteered
48:40I came before her again
48:43I'm willing to step aside
48:45I want Lucian to have this
48:48I'd had the shaman check their spirit signatures as well
48:51they aligned perfectly
48:52she was born to rank
48:54polished in every art
48:55and her love for Lucian had outlasted years of silence
48:59if he died she would grieve him faithfully
49:01there was nothing more I could offer that she couldn't match
49:04so what do you want in return?
49:07money? is it still about status?
49:10the matriarch squeezed my hands
49:12and asked what I wanted in return
49:13I pressed the gold I'd saved over two years into her palm
49:17I asked to be released from the pack's bond records
49:20I want to be a free wolf
49:23child
49:25you could ask me for so much more
49:27I held the bow and didn't move
49:29tears fell
49:30one by one
49:31onto the stone
49:32take me with you, okay?
49:35outside the pack paushin
49:37life was uncertain and hard
49:39inside
49:40with the matriarch's protection
49:41you would be safe
49:42stay
49:43serve well
49:44don't make enemies
49:45the rest would come
49:49Briar wept
49:50and pressed gold into my hands anyway
49:52on the morning I left
49:54many of the other handmaids came to see me off
49:56the shaman also walked towards me in the crowd
49:59may your ancestors guide your path
50:04patted my shoulder
50:05and then walked towards the crowd
50:09I turned around and walked towards the door
50:11but in the crowd I saw Karen also there
50:15Kaylin grabbed me to the corner
50:16he caged me against the wall
50:18and looked at me like he wanted to devour me
50:20say the word and I'll take you as a formal mate
50:26serve me like you used to
50:27and I'll give you rank above the others
50:30I stared at him for a long time
50:37don't look at me like that
50:40what?
50:41you think Lucian's gonna come running after you?
50:44you're deluding yourself
50:47he's probably not even thinking of you
50:49once his body improved
50:50he didn't need you anymore
50:51you were useful and now you're spare
50:53and don't expect him to remember you in a year
50:56he didn't even come to see you off
50:57that tells you exactly where you rank to him
51:01something in my chest seized
51:02the truth was
51:03Lucian and I had been in a cold war for weeks
51:06it had started on the way home from the festival
51:08if I was happy
51:12yes
51:12the warmth vanished from Lucian's face
51:15happy about the fireworks?
51:17no
51:17watching you walk with her
51:19you look like you belong together
51:20my wish is starting to work
51:21that made me happy
51:22you see me with another female
51:23and that's what makes you happy?
51:24she's extraordinary
51:25she might become the Pax Future First Luna
51:27of course I'm happy
51:28Selina
51:30I didn't know you could be so heartless
51:32my parents had died years ago
51:35in the household where I was born into service
51:37I had no home to return to
51:38I'd planned to head south
51:40find a city where no one knew my name
51:42but the second Kaylin's and Vivian's faces
51:45floated up behind my eyes
51:46I was on my feet
51:48booking passage on the first river ferry south
51:50before I'd finished the thought
51:54property deeds
51:55golds, a house, a plot of land
51:57somewhere in the south
52:00I tried to remember when the shaman had touched my bag
52:03he'd had his hands on it during the send-off
52:05but where had he gotten this?
52:06the ferry listed suddenly
52:08I nearly went over the rail
52:11I scrambled upright
52:13and found boots surrounding me on three sides
52:15then I was bound
52:16carried ashore
52:17and pushed into a carriage
52:20when the blindfold came down
52:27Vivian, smiling
52:29I couldn't stop the bitter laugh from escaping
52:31Briar had been right
52:33for all the years I'd served her
52:34and this was still where we ended up
52:36they brought out women with strong hands
52:38to deal with me
52:39the blows were professional and thorough
52:41she'd grown thinner since I last saw her
52:44the delicate elegance that had once made her untouchable
52:47now just made her look breakable
52:49what it didn't do was protect her inside the pack
52:53I used your body as a convenience
52:55and you had the nerve to find your own way out
52:59ungrateful, traitorous
53:00have you forgotten what you swore?
53:02loyal service
53:04always
53:05loyal service
53:06she wasn't wrong
53:08but loyalty is a two-way bond
53:10and she had never honored her half
53:12waited for the anger to burn out so I could leave
53:14I overestimated her capacity for mercy
53:178
53:1712
53:1712
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