Today was going well.
Which, lately, felt like a miracle.
The meeting room was warm with early sunlight, and the Stormfang delegation finally looked less like they wanted to skin me and more like they might–possibly–listen, The Icelandic pack had been guarded since our arrival, especially with the presence of so many foreign wolves, but today, there had been something different in the air.
A shift.
A breakthrough.
I leaned forward as Rurik, the Stormfang Beta, gestured to the map spread out across the table.
“If your ships can make the northern route in under twelve days, and we time the cargo runs with the melt season,” he said, tapping a stretch of sea between Greenland and Iceland, “we can clear a path to port without icebreakers. Barely.”
“It’s tight,” I admitted, tracing the trade route with my eyes. “But if we start with limited cargo–salted fish, obsidian, volcanic ash for the alchemists–it’s manageable. We’ll need cold storage on our end. And customs coordination with Canada to avoid
delays.”
Rurik nodded. “And what about payment? Goods or coin?”
“Both,” I said. “We can offer lumber, textiles, rare minerals from the northern mountains. And medical–grade wolfsbane extract. A split cargo manifest keeps both packs flexible.”
One of the older Stormfang advisors spoke up, voice clipped and skeptical. “You’re asking us to stake half a season’s haul on the promise of shared profit–across an ocean.”
“I’m offering you trade stability with the largest allied pack in North America,” I said evenly. “Not just once. Regular shipments. Predictable, traceable, backed by Silverclaw signatures.”
The Stormfang Alpha glanced toward Rurik. Then back to me.
“You’re serious about this?”
I met his eyes. “My pack needs allies. Not just politically–economically. So do yours. You’ve got goods that can’t survive in storage more than a few months, and we’ve got buyers who are hungry for exactly what you export. Let’s stop pretending we’re doing each other favors and start building something real.”
The silence that followed wasn’t tense. It was thoughtful.
Rurik looked at the Alpha, then gave the barest nod.
“We’ll draft terms,” the Alpha said finally. “Something preliminary. Non–binding, but clear. If Moonstone supports it, we can
move faster.”
I didn’t miss the reference.
Elena.
Of course.
Everyone wanted to know where she stood.
“She does,” I said. “She’ll back this. She believes in connection. So do I.”
The Alpha stood slowly, signaling the end of the session. “Then we will consider the proposal.”
1/4
Chapter 290
+25 BONUS
It was happening
We were getting somewhere.
And for the first time in weeks, I allowed myself a flicker of hope.
Elena was still asleep when I left that morning. Her hair had fanned across my pillow, mouth parted slightly, one hand curled near her collarbone like she was holding onto some dream.
I’d stared at her too long before finally dragging myself out of the room. But not before I’d written her a note and tracked down a rose to leave on the pillow next to her head.
She’d looked so peaceful. Like none of the politics, the memory loss, or the daily grind we were both drowning in could reach
her.
And for a moment, watching her sleep, I believed everything might actually be okay.
Not immediately. But someday. Maybe soon.
Maybe this was the turning point.
I looked back to the table and reached for a pen. “We can have my men submit a formal draft tonight. You’ll have it by sunrise.”
Rurik gave me a small smile. Not warm, but not cold. “That would be acceptable.”
The Stormfang Alpha was already rising, signaling the end of the session. I stood with the others, heart thudding in quiet triumph.
We were making progress.
Then came the knock.
Urgent. Sharp. A little too fast.
I looked toward the door, already feeling the hairs on the back of my neck lift.
It opened a second later. Caroline stood in the doorway, and the expression on her face made my blood run cold.
She was pale. Alarmed. Her eyes locked on mine like a warning beli
“What is it?” I asked, already standing. “What happened?”
Her voice cracked. “It’s Elena. She collapsed.”
I was out of the room before I registered moving.
The hallway blurred. My boots hit stone too loudly, the scent of antiseptic growing stronger with every step. I followed it. Ran like my life depended on it. Because maybe it did.
She was mine. My mate. My miracle.
And something had happened.
I burst into the medical wing, the door slamming open hard enough to rattle on its hinges.
And there she was.
Elena.
Unconscious.
Hooked to machines. Wires. Monitors. Pale as snow against the medical bedding. A healer moved past me, murmuring something in Icelandic to the nurse beside him. I didn’t hear a word.
Chapter 290
My legs carried me forward like they didn’t belong to me.
1 dropped into the chair beside her bed and reached for her hand.
It was cold.
+25 BONUS
Not gone–cold. But not warm, either. Not the way she should be. Nat the way she had been this morning, tangled in my sheets, her skin flush with sleep.
“Elena,” I whispered, lacing my fingers through hers. “Hey. You‘ okay. You’re safe. I’m here.”
My wolf was howling. The sound of it rattled inside me like a storm in a cavern.
This was our fault.
My fault.
I should have stayed. Should have told someone to keep watch. Should have protected her.
The healer stepped closer, his voice clipped and precise. “We suspect memory trauma. Possibly a psychic overload from rapid
recollection. There are signs of neurological strain.”
“She hit her head?”
He shook his head. “No. This is internal. Nothing physical caused it. Her mind–her memory–it experienced a sudden disruption. Violent.”
Dear Goddess. Had she remembered? Or worse–had someone told her? About me?
I turned to Caroline.
“What happened before she collapsed?” I asked, every part of me dreading what she would say when she answered.
Her face was stricken.
“She came to breakfast,” she said. “Yrsa was there. One of the council wolves. It was tense, but nothing out of hand. Then Yrsa said something about… about your relationship. About your history”
My stomach sank even further.
“What did she say, exactly?” I asked.
Caroline swallowed. “She said she was surprised to see the Moonstone princess with her ex. You. She said the papers have been full of your on–again, off–again mess. And Elena… she froze. Then she dropped her fork. Grabbed her head. And just went down.”
I closed my eyes.
Damn it.
The memories.
Something in what Yrsa said must have pierced through the fog. Pulled too much too fast.
“She was remembering,” I whispered.
Caroline said nothing.
“I should have told her sooner,” I added.
The doctors said she needed time,” Caroline said gently. “You did what you thought was right.”
But it didn’t feel right.
3/4
Chapter 200
I looked down at Elena’s hand in mine.
My mate. My heart.
And I’d failed her again. Goddess. Not again.
I leaned closer, brushing a thumb over her knuckles.
“Come back to me,” I whispered. “Please. Just come back.”
And waited.
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