Chapter 9: The Wrong Wrist

I went down in my coat and my socks, and I did not tell myself why.

The yard was white with frost, and Jarek had backed up against the woodpile.

"Say it again," I said.

"Brida has no mark."

"Everyone saw her at the circle.

"She wore long sleeves for two years."

"Because there's nothing under them."

He was shaking, and his teeth chattered.

"I felt the bond on you, Daisy.

"I felt it the second your mark came up.

"It was like being hit by a truck, and it was the most real thing I ever felt."

I waited.

"I broke it anyway," he said.

"Her father sits on the Council's southern bench.

"He promised me his vote and his wardens if I chose his daughter.

"I thought a bond was a thing I could trade."

"You thought you could trade me."

"I thought," said Jarek, "that I'd be fine."

He lifted his shirt cuff.

His forearm was thin and grey, and the veins stood out.

"A wolf who breaks a true bond and doesn't take a second one fails.

"Slowly.

"I can't shift.

"I can't keep warm.

"Brida's mark never came, and she knows it, and she's been telling everyone I have to wait."

I felt nothing for him.

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