The next morning Aria took her little bundle and moved to the pack’s compound. There she met Lina and the carriage waiting to take them.
She and Lina entered the same carriage, it smelled of old leather and someone else's forgotten journey.
Aria pressed her palm against the cold glass and watched Silver Moon disappear, one frozen field at a time. She didn't cry. She had cried enough between the meeting chamber and dawn, sitting on the edge of her bed while the pack house slept.
Now there was only the hollow ache where the bond had been ripped out of her chest. Lina sat beside her, close enough that their shoulders touched. She kept reaching for Aria's hand,
murmuring reassurances that felt rehearsed.
"It's going to be better there. You'll see."
Aria didn't answer.
"Selene was only
