Chapter 2

The other end of the link went quiet for a moment.

"So you've finally seen sense," he said. "I thought you'd waste away on that sorry patch of dirt, all for that fool."

Thorne was the leader of the Blackfang pack. Everyone in the alliance gave him a wide berth, and no one wanted to owe him a thing. He had also had his eye on Moonspring for a long time.

"I have," I said calmly. "Here's my condition. You don't come to collect the land until the mating ceremony this month is over. And whatever they use at the ceremony, I'll have Boone sign a resource contract for it himself."

He was quiet for two seconds, then let out a low laugh. He didn't ask why.

"Done."

I cut the link, sat down on the edge of the bed, and touched the mate mark on my neck, the one that tied me to Rourke.

Once, that mark had been my proudest thing. Now it felt like a chain pulled tight around my throat.

Early the next morning, someone kicked the cabin door open.

Coralie dragged Boone in behind her, a long roll of parchment clutched in one hand and her chin high in the air.

"Well, Elara, since you agreed to lend us the place, I won't hold back."

She slapped the list down on the table.

"On the day, every bottle of moonwater in your cellar comes out to serve the guests. That patch of starlight vine on the back hill, cut all of it down to weave my crowns. And one more thing. You're the sister-in-law, so you know your place. That day, you put on servant's clothes and stand beside the platform, pouring drinks for the guests."

Pouring drinks.

Moonwater had taken me three years to refine, drop by drop, and a single bottle was worth half a year of kills. A patch of starlight vine took a hundred years to grow.

This was no ceremony. She was cutting the flesh off me alive.

"What, you don't want to?" Boone frowned. "Rourke already gave the word. Whatever you've got, we take."

Rourke pushed the door open just then, caught the last of it, and waved a generous hand.

"Don't be so tight-fisted, Elara. The moonwater is just sitting there. Bring it out, let everyone have a taste. The vine grows back after you cut it. Boone only mates once in his life. It should be grand."

"I don't mind at all." I let the corner of my mouth curve and shook my head. "If we're doing this, we do it right."

Rourke shot me a surprised look. He hadn't expected me to be so agreeable.

Coralie smiled, pleased with herself. "Smart of you."

I pulled open a drawer, took out a roll of parchment stamped with the Council's seal, and spread it flat on the table.

"There's just one thing. To move this much registered high-grade stock, pack rules say we have to do it properly."

I pointed at the blank space. "This is a resource contract. Write down exactly what you're taking, and sign it. That way, if the Council ever comes asking, no one can claim I skimmed off the pack's strategic stock. That is not a charge I could carry."

Boone's face changed. "What do I need to sign this for? You're making it sound like I owe you something."

"What are you scared of?" Coralie sneered. "It's not like your sister-in-law would dare drag us in front of the Council. Just sign it."

"It's only a formality," I said flatly. "Moonwater is a strategic resource, and the Council has it on record. Without a signature, I don't dare open the cellar door."

Boone still wanted to push back, but Rourke was itching to look like the big man in front of his friend. He snatched up the quill and shoved it into Boone's hand.

"Sign it! Like my brother would ever stiff you over a few bottles. Anything goes wrong, it's on me!"

Only then did Boone work up the nerve to write his name and Coralie's. Rourke, feeling even bolder, pressed his own blood print straight into the box marked guarantor.

A faint red light flickered across the contract. Among wolves, a contract sealed with a blood print was iron law, recognized by the Council, and no one could break it.

I rolled it up carefully and tucked it away against my chest.

Coralie let out a cheer and pulled Boone toward the door, shouting the whole way about throwing the grandest ceremony the pack had ever seen.

Rourke stopped at the door and looked back at me, that satisfied look on his face, like he was doing me a favor.

"See how much better this is? A woman should know how to give a little. Stop making me worry about you."

I pressed the blood-sealed contract a little tighter against my chest and gave him a nod.

"Don't worry," I said. "Whatever you ask for, you'll get every last drop."