The moonlight poured in through the windows of the Vale Pack's great hall, silver and far away. Jamie sat by himself in his study, fingers wrapped tightly around an empty crystal glass of unbottled whiskey. Papers spread out across his desk—reports, warnings at the border, marriage offers from ambitious families desperate to tie themselves to power. He'd not read them.
Weeks. No message. No sign. No clue.
Her diplomatic excuse was that she needed space, that she was on spiritual retreat. But Jamie did know better. He knew what silence tasted like when it was filled with heartbreak.
The study thickened with air. His wolf growled discontentedly within, snarling with hunger no flesh or blood could fill.
But he hadn't called on her. He hadn't glanced. Not as he should have.
He despised hi
