This time, she had used the promise of ten thousand marks as seasonal reward to string me along for another full year.
But I would not be deceived again.
I spoke plainly, without ceremony: "So you're saying you'll honor your promise and grant me my reward? Though I should mention—ten thousand marks hardly seems sufficient anymore. I've heard even the lowest-performing scouts received eight thousand. I'm the backbone of the Tracker Den. I won't accept less than fifty thousand."
If she acknowledged her wrongs now and made amends, perhaps there was still a path forward.
I could allow her to remain Alpha, to keep her position at the head of the pack. All she had to do was give me the tribute shares I was owed.
But Aurora's next words extinguished that hope entirely.
"Of course I'll reward you. Naturally. But it will need to take a... different form."
A dark premonition coiled in my chest.
Aurora reached across her stone desk and lifted two gnarled roots, their earthy scent sharp even from a distance. She held them out to me with a smile that didn't reach her eyes.
Ginseng. Wild healing roots.
As if this could possibly compensate for everything she owed me.
"Here, take these."