Chapter 3

The coldness in Alexander’s eyes slowly cracks.

He grips my shoulders, studying me like he is trying to find proof of something beneath my skin.

Werewolves can recognize their mates by scent.

But scent belongs to the body.

It cannot tell them when the soul inside that body has changed.

From the moment I walked into Silvermoon tonight, Alexander must have sensed it.

I am not the same Freya he has known for the past eight years.

His voice shakes.

“Who are you?”

I step closer and rest my forehead against his chest.

“I’m Freya Hale.”

His heartbeat stutters beneath my ear.

“I’m the Freya who grew up with you.”

“The Freya who promised eight years ago that when we were old enough, I would become your mate.”

Alexander’s heart starts pounding.

The next second, he lifts me into his arms.

I instinctively wrap my arms around his neck.

“What are you doing?”

“Claiming you.”

I stare at him.

“Now?”

His jaw tightens.

“You’re the one who showed up at my door asking for it.”

He carries me upstairs and kicks open the door to his study.

Then he sets me on the edge of the desk.

He moves too quickly.

His wolf tail sweeps against one of the half-open drawers.

Several silver-black tokens tumble out and roll across the floor.

One stops beside my foot.

I bend down and pick it up.

An old Silvermoon mate symbol is engraved across the front.

On the back is one name.

Freya Hale.

My breath catches.

Silvermoon has an old mating tradition.

Before an Alpha takes a mate, he prepares a silver bond token using a drop of his own blood.

Once the mate’s name is engraved into it, the name can never be changed.

There are eight tokens on the floor.

The oldest one has been touched so often that its edges are smooth.

The others each carry a different year.

Eight years.

One for every year I was gone.

Alexander prepared a new one every year.

And every year, he still engraved my name.

He never gave one to anyone else.

He never changed his choice.

My fingers tighten around the cold silver token.

My throat burns.

“Alexander.”

His expression shifts.

“Were you waiting for me every year?”

He immediately reaches for the token.

“Don’t look at that.”

I pull it closer to my chest.

For the first time tonight, the powerful Alpha of Silvermoon actually looks embarrassed.

My eyes sting.

I lean forward and kiss him.

Alexander goes completely still.

His lips are cold.

For one second, he does not move at all.

Then his hand comes up behind my neck.

I pull back just enough to look at him.

“Alexander.”

“I’m sorry.”

His eyes lock on mine.

“I will never leave you again.”

I bite the tip of my finger.

A small bead of blood appears.

Then I press it against the silver token.

The ancient engraving lights up.

Silver light spreads across the surface and races up my fingers.

Alexander’s breath catches.

A matching mark appears around my wrist.

Then another appears around his.

The two silver mate marks glow at the same time.

Alexander stares at them.

His eyes slowly turn red.

“You said it.”

His voice is rough.

“You said you’d never leave again.”

He cups my face in both hands and presses his forehead hard against mine.

“Freya Hale.”

“This time, I’m never letting you go.”

Three months later, Alexander and I have our mating ceremony.

The following year, I give birth to a wolf pup.

We name him Leo.

Leo is born with unusually sensitive hearing, and his wolf instincts are unstable when he is overstimulated.

Because of him, I start MoonNest.

The company focuses on products designed specifically for young shifter pups.

Calming sleep pods.

Sound-dampening blankets.

Scent-safe comfort products.

Anything that can help a pup feel safer without relying on sedatives.

Three years pass.

Today, I walk into MoonNest’s first major pup-care expo with my two-year-old son in my arms.

Leo has his little arms wrapped around my neck.

I have barely stepped into the exhibition hall when a familiar voice comes from behind me.

“Freya?”