The Alpha Supreme was wary of the Heir forming alliances with powerful pack commanders. Fenris had to surrender his command of the Crimson Fang before Ravenna could be admitted to the Heir's court. To prove his loyalty and pave the way for her, Fenris had also handed over every last coin of the Vargr household's war-treasury, including my mating dowry.
The day we left Aurelia, Ravenna came to see us off in tears. She leaned close to my ear and whispered, "Rest easy in the borderlands, sister. I'll put your dowry to good use." That sour sweetness of overripe berries clung to her breath, and beneath it, something hollow.
My heart sank like a stone. So my dowry had never been surrendered to the Fang Throne. It had gone straight to Ravenna.
That was the first time I discovered Fenris had lied to me.
……
Father sent for the finest portrait painter in Aurelia to capture my likeness for the Luna Selection scroll. I had barely settled into my pose when Fenris came storming through the territory gates.