Five years of this bond—just a dream woven from moonlight and false hope.
And now that I had woken, it was time to gather my belongings and leave this den behind.
Outside the window, the territory's boundary torches flickered on and off in the night wind.
Just like my hopes over these five years. Kindled again and again. Extinguished again and again.
But now, I had finally learned.
I would stop waiting for a light that was never meant to shine on me.
The night deepened, the twin moons rising high above the mountain peaks.
Fenris wrapped his arms around me from behind, his warm breath brushing past my ear, carrying his familiar pine and smoke scent. His voice was low and tender.
"Sweetheart, how about I take you to the Ashvale Bloodline Keep soon? To see your parents?"
I stiffened slightly and turned to look at him. "Why the sudden visit?"
"You've seemed down lately." His fingers traced slow circles on my shoulder, his touch gentle in a way that felt almost foreign. "I thought returning to your birth pack might lift your spirits."
I thought of the Ashvale territory back home.