It certainly wasn’t the supposed mate-bond attraction. I have never felt that mad, irresistible pull everyone talks about. I’ve only ever felt a flicker of connection when he chooses to enforce it, like yesterday, or just now. I am only his mate, his Luna, because he said so, because he claimed me in front of the pack. That’s the extent of the raw truth I’ve ever known.
Like a light bulb, it flickers, the time when everything clicked and I started falling in love with him.
In the early stages of our marriage, before the crushing weight of Rosa and Halo’s sickness settled, he was attentive. He smiled at my small jokes. He saw me, not just the Luna he needed. Even during the early months of my pregnancy, when I was sickest, he was there. I fell for him because he was kind to me.
Then, I r
