Chapter 1
Daphne's POV:
Mom removed the white rose from my hair. It had wilted, and its yellowing petals fell into her palm at the slightest touch.
"Let's go home, sweetheart." She took my hand, her face full of worry.
Dad gathered the two copies of our vows from the table and tore the one with my name on it in half. The friends and family who had waited with us all day rose and left one by one. Not a single person urged me to give Conrad another chance.
I picked up the key to the cabin. Mom's grip tightened. "Do you want me to go with you?"
I hugged her. "I'm only getting my things. You and Dad go on ahead. I'll come home after I pack."
After seeing them off, I went back into the empty hall for the coat I'd left over my chair. My phone lit up. Yvette Halden had sent me a video.
Conrad Voss lay in the pack hospital with thick bandages across his chest, blood seeping through the gauze. He lifted a hand with an IV needle taped to it and placed the crown in the arms of someone outside the frame.
"Don't cry. Put it on. Let me see." His voice was hoarse, but gentle. "Didn't I promise I'd get it for you? Take it."
A message followed immediately after the video.
Yvette: Conrad woke up, and he got the crown. Don't be mad. He even remembered he was supposed to meet your parents today.
I zoomed in and recognized the white velvet beneath the crown. It was the shawl I had prepared for today's ceremony, the one I'd put in his backpack myself last night. Now it was cushioning a gift for another woman.
I stared at it for a few seconds. All I felt was exhaustion. I didn't even have the energy to get angry. I shut off my phone and left the banquet hall.
The cabin we rented sat in northwestern Northmont, near the edge of Black Pine Pack territory. The porch light was still on when I got back. I had deliberately left it on that morning. I'd thought we'd sit beneath it tonight and decide what flowers to use for the wedding.
I took off the necklace Mom had given me. In the mirror, the side of my neck was still bare. Conrad and I had agreed we would mark each other only after we were formally married.
I pulled a suitcase from beneath the bed and began packing my clothes, research notes, and jewelry. When I opened the bottom compartment of the closet, my hand stilled.
There was a black metal medal inside. Conrad had brought it home after winning his first race. I had stayed up at the hospital with him all night, only to learn the next day that every cent of his prize money had already been transferred to Yvette.
While changing his bandages, the doctor pointed at the wound that refused to close, his expression grim. "Silver wounds don't heal on their own. And you still dare race again? You might not survive next time."
"Conrad, we're done." I had set the medal beside his hospital bed and moved into a small apartment that very day. Before his wound had even been stitched, he came after me and stood outside in the pouring rain for hours.
"Daphne, I won't do it again."
I wouldn't open the door, so he kept waiting. When the sounds outside finally stopped, I looked down from the window and saw a black wolf covered in blood, sprawled motionless on the steps.
"Conrad, wake up! Look at me!" I ran outside barefoot and threw my arms around his neck. My voice shook with terror. He never opened his eyes. I truly thought I was losing him.
I forgave him. After that, even when I said I was leaving, I always gave in when he came back hurt.
My phone vibrated, pulling me out of memory. Conrad's name filled the screen.
"I scared you, didn't I? They got the arrowhead out and cleaned the wound. I'll be home in a few days." He sounded relaxed, as if he'd only scraped his hand on patrol.
"Mm-hmm." I put the medal back where I found it, my voice soft.
"I missed the ceremony today. Your parents must be upset. I'll explain in person once I'm discharged." Hearing how calm I was, he sounded lighter too. "There's something else I want to talk about."
I paused with one hand on the suitcase zipper as he said, "Could we put off our mating ceremony for another two years?"
