Darius POV
I made it back to Ashthorn territory just before dawn. My patrol team had already reported in, so no one questioned where I'd been. I went straight to my quarters, stripped off my clothes, and collapsed onto my bed.
Sleep didn't come. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Beatrice's face. The way she'd looked so small and lost in that clearing. The moment her wolf tried to emerge. The sound of her brothers claiming her.
My mate was a Wynter princess.
The Moon Goddess had one hell of a sense of humor.
Rowan was still restless, pacing in my mind. We should go back, he kept saying. She needs us.
"She has four brothers and an entire pack to take care of her," I said out loud to my empty room. "She doesn't need a random beta."
She's our mate, Rowan insisted. That makes us more th
