The second day bled into the third with relentless speed, as though time itself conspired to drag the mating ceremony closer. Blackthorn Keep thrummed with final preparations. Banners of black and silver snapped in the wind above the battlements. Torches were set along every path leading to the sacred grove where the rite would take place beneath the blood moon. The air carried the sharp scent of pine smoke and roasting meat from the kitchens, mingling with the metallic tang of freshly sharpened blades. Warriors drilled in the courtyard, their breaths fogging in the cold, while elders chanted low prayers to the Moon Goddess in the chapel tower.
Ashley felt every heartbeat like a countdown.
She had barely slept. The bond with Damien pulsed through her even in dreams, pulling her toward him across stone walls and guarded corridors. She woke flushed and restless, the memory of his mouth on hers burning behind her eyelids. Every brush of fabric against her skin reminded her of his hands. Every quiet moment allowed the hunger to rise, sharp and insistent. She fought it with chores, with distance, with sheer stubborn will.
Morning found her in the laundry yard, wringing out linens in icy water until her fingers turned numb. The work grounded her. Physical pain was familiar. It was safer than the ache between her thighs or the constant awareness of Damien moving somewhere in the keep. She could feel him now: in the armory selecting armor for the ceremonial guard, then in the solar arguing with Gideon over border patrols. Each shift in his location tugged at the invisible thread connecting them.
Clara found her there just past noon.
Her half sister appeared wrapped in a heavy cloak of white fox fur, hood framing her face like a halo. The crescent birthmark peeked above the collar of her gown, catching the weak winter sunlight and glowing with faint inner light. Clara's beauty had always been effortless, almost otherworldly. Today it seemed fragile, as though the weight of expectation pressed too hard against her shoulders.
"Ashley," Clara said softly, glancing around to ensure no one else lingered nearby. "Walk with me."
Ashley dried her hands on her apron and followed Clara through the narrow gate that led to the walled garden behind the keep. Snow had been cleared from the stone paths, but frost still glittered on the bare rose bushes. They walked in silence until they reached the small stone bench beneath the ancient yew tree, its branches heavy with dark green needles.
Clara sat first. Ashley hesitated, then joined her, keeping a careful distance.
"I saw you with him yesterday," Clara began without preamble. "In the lower hall. And again last night near the herb garden. You think no one notices, but I do."
Ashley's stomach clenched. "It is not what you believe."
"Is it not?" Clara turned to face her fully. Her eyes, the same deep brown as their father's, held no anger, only quiet pain. "I have watched you my whole life, Ashley. You carry everything silently. Every insult. Every task. Every bruise from his temper. You never ask for anything. And now… now there is something in your eyes when you look at Damien Blackwood. Something that scares me."
Ashley looked down at her hands, red and chapped from the cold water. "He is to be your mate. I would never stand between you and what the packs need."
"That is not what I asked." Clara reached out and covered Ashley's hand with her own. The touch was warm, gentle. "I asked what is happening to you."
The bond flared at the contact, not because of Clara, but because Damien had just stepped onto the far side of the garden wall. Ashley could feel him pause, sense the direction of his attention sharpening toward her. She forced herself to breathe evenly.
"I am afraid," Ashley admitted at last. "For you. For what this ceremony means. Father speaks of tradition, but I see only chains. You deserve more than to be given away like a prize."
Clara's fingers tightened. "And you deserve more than to be used as a vessel and then forgotten. That is what they plan for you, is it not? The surrogate rite."
Ashley nodded once, throat tight.
Clara exhaled slowly. "I have known since the moment Damien arrived. Father told me in private. He said it was necessary. Sacred. That the Moon Goddess demands balance: purity preserved through sacrifice. I wanted to refuse. I wanted to tell him no. But he reminded me of the rogues gathering at our borders, of the Silverfang warriors we need, of the children who will starve if war comes again. So I stayed silent."
Tears shimmered in Clara's eyes but did not fall. "I hate that silence. I hate that my silence costs you everything."
Ashley turned her hand palm up and laced their fingers together. "It will not cost me everything. I will survive it."
"Will you?" Clara searched her face. "Because I see the way you look at him now. Not with fear. With something deeper. And he looks back the same way. If there is a bond… if the Goddess has chosen differently…"
"There is no mark on me," Ashley interrupted quietly. "No crescent. No proof. Whatever this is, it cannot change the alliance. It cannot change what must happen."
Clara leaned closer. "Then run. Tonight. Take one of the supply horses and ride south. The river trails are clear enough. You could reach the neutral lands before dawn."
"And leave you here alone?" Ashley shook her head. "I will not abandon you to Father's wrath or Damien's indifference. If I run, they will hunt me. They will blame you. The ceremony will proceed anyway, and you will bear the shame of my cowardice."
Clara's shoulders sagged. "Then what do we do?"
"We wait," Ashley said. "We watch. And if the moment comes when I can protect you without destroying everything else, I will take it."
Clara studied her for a long moment. Then she pulled Ashley into a fierce embrace. "I love you," she whispered against Ashley's hair. "You are my sister. Marked or not. Always."
Ashley closed her eyes and held her tightly. The bond hummed, but for once it did not pull her toward Damien. It simply existed, steady and warm, like a second heartbeat beside her own.
They parted when the bell rang for the midday meal. Clara returned to the solar for fittings and blessings. Ashley returned to her chores, but the conversation lingered like smoke in her lungs.
Evening fell early, heavy with clouds that promised more snow. The keep quieted as wolves retired to their quarters or gathered in the great hall for storytelling and ale. Ashley slipped away to the old watchtower on the eastern wall, a forgotten place where ivy clung to cracked stone and the wind whistled through arrow slits. She needed solitude. She needed to think.
She had barely settled against the parapet when she heard him climbing the spiral stairs. She did not startle. She had felt him coming long before his boots touched the stone.
Damien emerged onto the tower platform, cloak swirling around him. Moonlight silvered the edges of his dark hair. He stopped several paces away, giving her space she had not asked for.
"You spoke with Clara," he said.
"She knows something is different." Ashley kept her gaze on the distant forest, where shadows moved between the pines. Sentries, perhaps. Or something wilder.
"She is perceptive." He moved closer but did not touch her. "What did you tell her?"
"The truth, mostly. That I am afraid. That I will not let her be hurt."
Damien exhaled. "Gideon summoned me this afternoon. He wants the surrogate rite confirmed in writing. A blood oath between us. My signature beside yours, witnessed by the elders. Once it is done, there is no turning back without breaking pack law."
Ashley's stomach twisted. "And you agreed?"
"I stalled. Told him I needed time to meditate on the Goddess's will." He gave a humorless smile. "He did not like it."
Silence fell between them, broken only by the wind.
Ashley turned to face him fully. "If we refuse, what happens?"
"War." His voice was flat. "Silverfang pulls its alliance. Gideon declares the insult unforgivable. Rogues exploit the division. Blood soaks the snow before spring."
"And if we go through with it?" she asked quietly. "You use me under the moon. You claim Clara afterward. The bond… what happens to it?"
Damien's eyes darkened. "It does not vanish. It festers. Mated wolves feel their true mates even across death. The pain would be constant. For both of us."
Ashley wrapped her arms around herself. "Then we are trapped."
"No." He closed the distance in two strides, cupping her face between his palms. "We are not trapped. We are cornered. There is a difference."
His thumbs brushed her cheekbones. The bond surged, flooding her with heat and certainty. She leaned into his touch despite herself.
"I have fought every battle with control," he murmured. "Every challenge. Every raid. I never yielded. But this… you… I would yield everything if it meant keeping you whole."
"Do not say that," she whispered. "Do not make promises you cannot keep."
"I keep the promises I make." His forehead rested against hers. "One night. One claim. Then we face the dawn duel."
Her breath caught. "What duel?"
"Tradition allows it. If a true bond forms before the mating rite, the claimant may challenge the arranged union at first light. A fight to the death or submission. Winner takes the mate. Loser bleeds out on frozen ground."
Ashley's heart stuttered. "You would fight Gideon?"
"I would fight the entire northern council if they stood between us." His voice dropped to a growl. "But first we must survive the night. The rite. The elders will watch. They will expect me to perform as promised."
She searched his face. "And you will?"
His grip tightened fractionally. "I will touch you. I will mark you with my scent, my seed. But it will not be cold ritual. It will be us. Only us. And when the moon sets, I will carry you away from their eyes if I must."
Tears stung her eyes. "Clara…"
"Clara will be safe. I swear it on my blood. I will declare the bond publicly after the duel. Gideon will have no choice but to accept it or face rebellion from both packs. The elders value strength above sentiment. They will follow the victor."
Ashley closed her eyes. The wind whipped around them, tugging at her hair, but Damien's warmth anchored her.
"One night," she echoed. "One forbidden claim."
He kissed her then, slow and deep, pouring every unspoken vow into the press of his lips. She kissed him back with equal desperation, hands fisting in his tunic, pulling him closer until no space remained between them.
When they broke apart, both breathing hard, he rested his forehead against hers again.
"Tomorrow night," he said. "Under the blood moon. Whatever happens after, know this: you are mine. Marked or unmarked. Bond or no bond. Mine."
Ashley nodded, throat too tight for words.
They stood together on the tower until the clouds parted and the waxing moon spilled silver across the snow. Below them the keep slept, unaware of the fracture forming in its foun
dations.
Two nights remained.
The hunger between them had become a wildfire.
And the dawn duel waited like a blade in the dark.