Seraphina froze for a moment. She poured me a cup of tea, her movements stiff with embarrassment, then answered in a flat voice, "On your Moon Blessing Day."
The blood drained from my body. A moon cycle ago, on my Moon Blessing Day, Seraphina had vanished without a word. I searched for her the entire night, combing every slope and valley in wolf form, up the mountain and down, nose to the ground, tracking her scent until it dissolved into nothing at the river crossing.
She didn't return until the next day, windswept and dusty, claiming she'd gotten lost while looking for a gift for me.
Then, beaming like a child presenting a treasure, she produced a snow lotus from behind her back.
I hadn't slept all night, but seeing how much thought she'd put into it, I couldn't bring myself to scold her. I took the flower and tended it carefully.
Now she was telling me that on my Moon Blessing Day, she had been with Caspian Stormfang in secret. Nausea churned through me.
Even so, thinking of everything we'd shared, I couldn't stop myself from wanting to give her one more chance.
"Seraphina, can you not mate with him?"
She turned the teacup between her fingers, brow furrowed tight.