"Every moon-cycle, you only cover the den-debt payments, while the carriage loan and daily provisions all come from me! Liri's training fees and lessons—all of it is me. If I had savings, would I care so much about that fifty thousand?"
I stared at him.
"You earn twenty thousand in resource shares each cycle. After the den-debt, you still have twelve thousand left. Where does it go?"
Kael opened his mouth, glanced at Morwenna, and didn't dare speak.
"It comes to me."
Morwenna strode forward, her expression smug with triumph.
"Kael's resource shares are all held in my keeping. Precisely to guard against certain wolves who might covet them."
Certain wolves.
She meant me.
His bonded mate of seven cycles.
My gaze grew ever more hollow with despair.
"So Kael, you've decided our bond means nothing to you, is that it?"
"That's not—"
He reached for me with desperate urgency.
"Mate, I only asked Mother to safeguard my portion for me."
I wrenched my arm free from his grasp.
"Then now that we need those resources to heal my mother, are you willing to release them?"
Kael hesitated, but still gathered enough nerve to try.
"Mother, my share of the pack resources..."
"Why do you cower before her!"