Chapter 39

Seris’s POV

I watched him inflate his cheeks as though steeling himself for what came next. His head hung low; his legs, once outstretched, were now drawn in close, knees clutched tightly by his hands. I wanted to encourage him to continue, to offer some prompt—or at least a gentle nudge—but in the end I let him take his time.

He finally spoke, voice low. “I was eighteen then, drilling day and night to succeed my father on the throne.” He paused, as if weighing each word. “A few days after my birthday, I began to fret that I wouldn’t find my mate. All the other wolves my age had paired off.”

His composure as he talked—restrained, vulnerable—was almost magnetic. I found myself leaning in, drawn to this side of my usually ruthless mate.

“That night I joined the warriors on patrol. We were deep in the forest when I caught it—a scent so exquisite it stopped me cold.”

A sting of jealousy went through me. He’d found another female whose scent outshone