Chapter 6

Gideon came to the cabin the next morning.

"I'm heading up to the north border," he said. "I'll be gone a few days."

His eyes dropped to my bandaged hands, then slid away.

For a second, neither of us said anything.

He pulled a small tin out of his jacket and set it down by the door.

"The healer made it. It's the strongest salve we've got."

I picked it up. "Thanks."

Gideon stayed in the doorway, like he was waiting for more. Maybe he expected me to be grateful. Maybe he wanted me to see that bringing medicine meant he cared, even though he was the one who'd sent me here.

I didn't give him anything else.

Finally, he turned and walked down the gravel path to his truck.

I watched until it disappeared into the trees.

Then I set the salve on the windowsill, right next to an old folding knife with an antler handle. My father gave it to me years ago, before I ever came to Stonehollow.

I ran my thumb over the worn handle and slipped the knife into my coat pocket.

By the next morning, a rumor was all over the pack.

Supposedly, before the Moon Goddess named Gideon as my mate, I'd been seeing a young warrior from up north. Some said we'd been days away from choosing each other. Others said I still kept a braided leather cuff he'd made me, and that I stared at it every time Gideon was away.

The details changed every time someone told it.

It didn't matter.

By noon, all of Stonehollow was talking about the man I'd supposedly loved before their Alpha.

Delphine sent for me that afternoon.

"You've got some nerve," she said the minute I walked into the hall. "Gideon's been gone one day, and the whole pack is talking about your old boyfriend. Were you that desperate for a man? You couldn't even wait until he made it over the border?"

I stood up straight. "A rumor isn't proof."

"Isn't it?"

She crossed the room until her face was inches from mine.

"People have seen that cuff. They know it's not Stonehollow work. When Gideon gets back, you're going to tell all of us exactly who gave it to you."

"Gideon won't punish me."

Delphine laughed.

Then she grabbed a fistful of my hair and yanked my head back.

"Why? Because you had his kids? You honestly think that means he cares about you?"

Her grip tightened.

"I was bleeding next to him while you were still doodling his name in your little notebooks. I took silver that was meant for his heart. When he looks at you, he sees a good bloodline. A body that makes heirs. That's it."

I let her finish.

Then I smiled.

"I'd never compare myself to what you and Gideon went through together," I said calmly. "But I did find something interesting in the old registry."

Her grip loosened a little.

"Gideon's grandfather fought next to his Luna to win this land. When he got hurt, she kept the whole pack alive through an entire winter. People still tell stories about the two of them."

Delphine's eyes narrowed.

"Years later, he brought home another woman. She gave him two sons. He put one of them under the Luna's name. Same as you did with mine."

I watched it sink in.

"When that boy grew up and challenged the Luna's own son for Alpha, the pack nearly tore itself apart. The elders ran the other woman out, but it didn't save his marriage. His Luna never forgave him."

The color drained out of Delphine's face.

"Funny how history repeats itself," I said. "Even a love story like that can go bad once kids and the Alpha title get involved."

My eyes flicked down to her stomach for a second, then back up.

"And both of Gideon's kids are mine."

Her hand dropped from my hair.

"Maybe one of these days he'll decide he should check on their mother."

"Shut up!"

Her scream echoed through the hall.

Every guard in the room turned toward us.

"Lock her in that cabin. Board up every door and every window. No food. No water. Nobody goes near her until she crawls out of there and begs me."

Two guards grabbed my arms.

I didn't fight them.

They dragged me over the gravel and through the dead grass, then shoved me into the cabin. The door slammed behind me.

A wooden bar dropped into place.

Then I heard the first swing of a hammer.

One nail after another went into the frame until there was no way to open that door from inside.

Night came.

The pack went quiet.

A dark shape slipped past the back of the cabin.

A few minutes later, flames burst up along the back wall.

The heat stung my skin. Thick smoke poured in through the cracks, burning my throat and making my eyes stream. The fire ran up the dry wood and rolled across the ceiling.

"Fire!" someone yelled outside.

The pack alarms started to wail. And as the shouting spread, I smiled through my tears.

The guards came running, but by the time they reached the cabin, the roof was already caving in.

Nobody could get inside.

The next morning, Gideon was going over patrol reports at the north outpost when his Beta burst into the room.

The man's face was gray.

"Alpha. There was a fire back home."

He swallowed.

"Tamsin's dead."