Chapter 19: Two Bags and a Cardigan

Valerie Waldner came up the hill in white boots that were wrong for snow.

She had a fur collar on her coat and a red mouth, and she was smiling before she cleared the trees.

Two scouts tried to stop her at the ring, and she went around them.

"Dane," she said, and then she stopped.

She had seen him kneeling in the leaves with his mother's arms around his shoulders.

She saw his bare throat and his plain blue eyes.

She saw the pale band on his finger where the ring had been.

Her gaze traveled across the circle and found the leather collar around my neck.

The smile went out of her face.

"What is this?" she said.

Nobody answered.

"I heard he'd canceled it. The eighth bond. I heard he was free."

She looked from face to face.

"He called me. He said it was over with her."

"He said it was over with the bond," said Tobin, from the front of the crowd.

"He didn't say anything about you."

"Dane. Tell them."

Dane lifted his head.

He looked tired, and years older, and he looked at her for a long moment.

"No," he said.

"No what?"

"No, I'm not the Alpha. No, I'm not going to tell them anything."

He got slowly to his feet.

"I don't have a rank, Val. I don't have anything for you to come back to."

The silence stretched.

Then Valerie did something I had not expected.

She turned to me, put both hands to her heart, and her eyes filled.

"Morven," she said. "Oh, honey. I'm so happy for you."

"Are you."

"I always knew you were the strong one. I told him that. Didn't I tell him, Dane?"

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