Chapter 2

"Morning-sickness pills aren't going to fix everything for her," I said. "What Marnie really wants is someone who'll always put her first and come running every time she calls."

Marnie flushed. "Wren, that's not what I meant."

Soren's face hardened. "You've been picking fights with me ever since I left for the northern council meeting in Montreal. That was pack business. Do you expect your Alpha to report every move he makes?"

Two weeks ago had been our mate-bond anniversary.

I'd spent three days getting dinner ready: juniper-rubbed venison, his favorite single malt, and the engraved brass pocket compass I'd ordered for him months earlier. I sat there until the fire burned out and the candles melted down to puddles of wax.

He never came home.

After midnight, Marnie posted a photo from Ashen Ridge's Montreal residence. She was standing on the terrace, and Soren was blocking the wind for her.

The caption read: [With you in my corner, I'm not afraid of anything.]

When I called him, his voice was infuriatingly calm. "Two more packs joined the negotiations at the last minute. I didn't have time to walk you through it. We have an anniversary every year. A vote like tonight's doesn't come around often. I figured you'd know which one mattered more."

Then he added, "Stop making my schedule the center of your life. You need a life of your own."

Something in me finally snapped. "So that's it? No matter what happens, I'm always at the bottom of your list?"

He was quiet for a moment, then sighed. "We'll talk when I get back."

And he hung up.

That same night, I signed an employment contract with a cross-pack consulting firm in Dublin.

The recruiter asked me twice if I was sure. "You'd be leaving Ashen Ridge. Does your Alpha know? You're still the Luna."

I signed the last page. "It's my career. I don't need anyone's permission."

A few months earlier, I'd asked Soren whether I should take a position with the pack foundation or go back to corporate work. He hadn't even looked up from his tablet. "It's your life. Decide for yourself."

But when Marnie needed guidance, he spent a whole afternoon walking her through Ashen Ridge's power structure. He introduced her to the Beta, the head trainer, and three council representatives himself. He made sure she knew exactly who to call whenever she got into trouble.

According to Soren, my biggest flaw was that I depended on him too much.

When I shared good news, his eyes barely left his reports. When I asked him to see a show with me, he said an Alpha's schedule couldn't revolve around his wife. When I wanted to go to an inter-pack reception at his side, he told me to build a life outside our marriage.

For years, I thought Soren was just cold by nature. Guarded. Bad at showing affection. Hard to love.

I believed that if I stayed long enough, I'd eventually be the exception.

Then Marnie came back into my life.

She was my mother's stepdaughter, three years younger than me. We'd never been close, but after my mother died, Marnie had nowhere to go. I was the one who asked Soren to let her join Ashen Ridge.

He said yes without a second thought.

By the time I understood what was happening, she had become the exception I'd spent years waiting to be.

If she got into a fight with another she-wolf at training, he listened to every detail. If she wanted salted caramel waffles from a 24-hour diner after midnight, he drove across the city to get them himself. At pack events, he kept her right beside him and told everyone, "This is Marnie. Look out for her."

Every time I questioned it, he frowned. "She's new to the pack and doesn't know how things work yet. Are you seriously jealous of that? Don't make this ugly."

Every excuse I'd made for him fell apart. He wasn't too busy to be gentle. He wasn't incapable of tenderness.

He just hadn't wanted to give it to me.

Maybe that was for the best.

After tomorrow's surgery, I'd leave Chicago and file a petition with the pack council to dissolve both our marriage and our mate bond.

Soren would think I'd only taken half my clothes.

He wouldn't know I was taking his child too.

My phone rang. It was my best friend, Frankie.

"I'm coming over tonight," she said. "You're pregnant. You shouldn't be alone after surgery." Her voice softened. "So when are you telling Soren? Weren't you going to tell him at your anniversary dinner?"

I didn't answer.

Frankie sighed. "Fine, whatever. Get the guest room ready. Your favorite free nurse is moving in."

I finally smiled. "The sheets are fresh, and I got you a new—"

The guest-room door swung open.

The rest of the sentence died on my tongue.