He spotted me, faltered mid-stride, and took a moment to compose himself before closing the distance. I caught his scent before he reached me: woodsmoke and hot iron and crushed juniper, and beneath it all that new acrid thread of decay he could not wash away, the rot that had crept in since I severed our bond. My wolf went still inside me, watchful and cold.
His expression was ice. "You don't think you owe me an explanation for this broken bond?"
I lifted my gaze to meet his. "I wanted it broken, so I broke it. What is there to explain?"
"Or does the great Alpha Commander intend to force a mating?"
In the past, I had been nothing but gentle and considerate in front of him. Never willful. Never a harsh word. Fenris's brow creased. "What's gotten into you?"
"Are you upset that I didn't write these past few moon cycles?"
"I figured I'd be marching home soon enough. There was no need to waste riders on sealed parchments."
I let out a mocking laugh. "Funny. I hear Miss Vargr received one every single day, delivered by express courier."
"What happened to not wasting riders, Commander?"