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I cleared my throat, attempting to rebuild the confidence she managed to shatter with her piercing question. “I wanted to talk.”

After Diana all but ran from me earlier today, I went on my own run through the forest to clear my head. I had shifted to wolf form, so I could forget about the drama. Mind-chatter quieted, my senses were alive with the forest, but it wasn’t distracting enough. My wolf operated largely on instinct, and even more than my human desire, my animal instinct longed to surrender to my lingering, subconscious desires. Being away from Diana made every muscle in my body–human and wolf–ache with unmet need. Every movement without her had my every instinct screaming in agony. I had wanted nothing except to track her down, to cement our relationship again. And again.

But I was standing in front of Selena. I wrested control of my racing thoughts and focused on the woman in front of me, who stood silent and staring–hip jutted out, arms crossed.

Her glare skewered me where I stood. “I didn’t realize we had anything to talk about.”

“The coupling ritual—”

She laughed. Loud, derisive.Mocking. Heat flared across my cheeks, but I said nothing. I had broken her heart. “The ceremony made things quite clear.”

“No, you don’t understand. You can’t unless you’ve bonded—”

“Excuse me?”

Nope, that was the wrong approach. I just rubbed salt in the wound. I tried backpedaling. “I just mean, it wasn’t what I wanted. I didn’t choose Diana, Selena. It just happened.”

She pursed her lips, and I could tell my words were like water to her, pouring through fingers without substance. “But you did choose.”

“Selena, when you’re in that moment—”

“That’s not what I meant. I didn’t want to go to the ceremony because I knew what could have happened. You knew what could have happened and yet you chose to go anyway. Youchoseto go through with it, despite knowing we could end up with other people or no one. As far as I’m concerned, youchoseDiana because you were aware of the possibility and it didn’t stop you.”

“My father is our alpha, what did you expect me to do?”

Her hands fell, balling into fists at her side as her anger flared. “Iwantedyou to leave with me. I wanted you to choose me.”

Then, strangely enough, the flare of temper subsided. Her hands relaxed at her side, and the tense line of her shoulders drooped. Resignation.

“But you’ve made your choice, Orion. It’s time to live with it. You have your mate, so leave me alone.For good.”

My mouth fell open in habit like I wanted to argue with her. But there was no more argument left in her. Only dismissal.

“If that’s what you want.”

She frowned. “Clearly, it’s what we both want.”

When I walked away, I was surprised to discover that there was no quarrel remaining in me either. I felt empty, drained of this effort to hold onto something that had no form or substance.

* * *

Diana was already conferringwith Clara and Jesse when I arrived at the rendezvous point. They acknowledged my presence with a few nods but Diana didn’t turn to look at me.

They had no new information to share about the humans, and I could see from the dark circles under their eyes that their watch had been diligent.

When Diana and I embarked on our patrol of the border, we remained in human form at her suggestion. Our wolves would have made tracking easier and traveling faster. But I already knew how our wolves would also make us more vulnerable to… our deepest impulses. Given her distance from me, I assumed that was why she’d insisted.

But why? I was baffled, and my heart withered further. I knew Diana would not want to make her sister feel worse about everything, so I had done my best to give her space since the ceremony. And yes, my father was right. I thought I loved Selena. But I was a boy, a child. No one can tell you what it means to be bonded until you experience the fated bonding yourself–that was what I now understood. And of all people–Selena, who questioned our traditions in the first place–she would not understand. I shouldn’t have tried. I’d made it worse. And I’d broken her heart. Did I really want her to understand? Or was I trying to assuage my own guilt for betraying her? What’s worse is that I’d somehow pushed Diana away in the process.

Why was my father always right? It was annoying.

The goddess was never wrong,and the fates had chosen Diana. And here she was, standing so close to me, and yet I was probably on the verge of losing her too. I was probably a womanizing pig in her eyes, flitting from one sister to the next, unable to grasp the concept of loyalty.

“Up ahead,” she directed quietly, pointing through the trees. I blinked, looking at her for a moment, realizing how competent she was. I felt proud of her. She was worthy as a future luna. Now I needed to be worthy of my own path as a future alpha. I pushed all thoughts of sisters and mates aside to focus on the task at hand.

We found the tents easily enough. They were not mere camping tents for hikers or hunters. The tents were large, big enough to hold more equipment than a sleeping bag and crockery. And these humans reportedly stayed inside their tents during the day, but not at night, like they were some sort of nocturnal creatures. We remained crouched in the thicket across the clearing, hidden and far enough away to feel at ease.

“We’ll have to shift tonight,” I whispered to Diana. “Our wolves have much better night vision, plus we’ll be able to pick up their scent better.”