"Mom, are you abandoning me?"
Arthur stumbled into the hall, breathless and wild-eyed, and lunged toward me as if he still believed he could throw himself into my arms and be forgiven. I stepped aside before he could touch me.
I wanted no embrace from him. More than that, I wanted nothing left between us that anyone could mistake for family.
"Arthur, from this day on, you and I are nothing to each other. You are free to call any she-wolf you want your mother. It will not be me."
When I finished speaking, I turned to Lance. The moment our eyes met, he understood exactly what I meant.
With effortless calm, he inclined his head toward Jacob and said, "Jacob, Lucy and I have chosen each other. We wish to become mates and form a mate bond, and we ask you to witness it."
The words had bare
