Love Me When I’m Going

Chapter 2 The White Wolf's Farce

I followed them through the heavy oak doors. Roast meat, spilled wine, and woodsmoke filled the Great Hall.

Warriors hammered cups against the tables and cheered because they had survived the rogue attack.

Before the first toast, I should have been at the head table counting the wounded. My cup waited beside Callan’s. No one asked why its owner had missed the blessing.

Callan set Lily down but kept an arm around her. Before he had even removed his cloak, Beta Zack and Elder Elwyn hurried over. Both stared at the line of blood on her wrist.

“Lily, you poor thing. Are you all right?” Elwyn bent over her scratched wrist.

“It’s just a scratch.” Her voice caught, and Elwyn leaned closer. “I was so frightened for our Alpha.”

They led her to the head of the hall. The Luna’s Seat stood beside Callan’s Alpha chair, carved from the same old wood and marked with the phases of the moon.

Pack law forbade any other wolf from using it while the Luna lived.

Lily glanced around and gave them a nervous little smile. Then she sat in my chair. Her fingers traveled along the carved armrest as she settled into the place I had held for years.

Callan watched. His hand stopped over a flagon of wine before closing around it. He let her stay.

Later, Lily pressed a hand to her temple and asked to rest. She slipped into the narrow corridor behind the tapestry instead of returning to the guest rooms.

As soon as the hall doors shut, her shoulders straightened. The tremble left her mouth.

She drew a jagged piece of obsidian from a fold in her dress.

Communication stones were forbidden inside the pack house; rogues used them to pass our sentries unseen. A weak dark pulse beat against her palm.

“It is done.” Her voice had lost its tremor. “The arrow found its mark. The path is clear.”

She smiled down at the stone before closing her fist. So the attack had given her everything she needed: an archer, confusion at the border, and a clear path to Callan.

She crushed the stone. Black dust slipped between her fingers.

Back in the hall, Callan pressed two fingers to his temple. His wine sat untouched.

The first ache of his rage sickness had arrived, and he searched the crowd whenever the doors opened. There was no fresh salve waiting for him tonight.

“Where is Selene?” he finally growled to Zack.

Zack shrugged. “Probably still sulking in her apothecary, Alpha. You know how she gets.”

Callan glanced at the door again. By now, I would usually have been at his side with warm water and a fresh poultice. This time, no healer came running.

He struck the table. The cups jumped.

“Leave her there.” Alpha authority carried his order to every corner of the hall.

“No one goes looking for her. If she wants to play games, let her. She knows the way back when she’s ready to apologize.”

Several wolves lowered their eyes. Elwyn opened his mouth, saw Callan’s hand curl against the table, and reached for his wine instead.

By morning, the entire pack would know his order. Anyone who helped me would be defying their Alpha.

Callan lifted his wine and waited for me to come apologize.

Rain struck the Great Hall windows while they drank. Miles away, the same rain fell on the body he had left in the woods.