"I don't understand why we have to do it again."
"The Council ceremony was legal protection. This is different."
"Different how."
"The Council ceremony sealed the bond under pack law. This one—" Harper paused, choosing her words carefully. "This one is for you. For the bond itself. The way it's supposed to be done."
"Harper."
"Think of it like this. The Council ceremony was the paperwork. This is the actual thing."
I looked at Mason.
He was leaning against the door frame with his arms crossed and the particular expression of a man who had known this conversation was coming and had wisely decided not to be the one to start it.
"You knew about this," I said.
"I knew it was traditional."
"That's not a no."
"No," he said. "It's not a no."
"And you didn't think to mention it."
"I w
