But watching him act as though nothing had happened filled my mouth with bitterness no pastry could mask.
"When did it happen?"
Caelan froze. He poured me a cup of tea to cover his discomfort, then said in a flat voice, "On your Moon Blessing Day."
The ground dropped out from under me. A moon cycle ago, on my Moon Blessing Day, Caelan had vanished without a word. I searched for him the entire night, up the mountain and down, calling his name until my voice gave out. My wolf had paced inside me, restless and whining, sensing something wrong long before I let myself believe it.
He didn't come back until the next morning, dusty and disheveled, claiming he'd gotten lost looking for a gift for me.
Then, like a boy presenting a treasure, he pulled a snow lotus from behind his back.
I hadn't slept all night, but seeing the effort he'd gone through, I couldn't bring myself to scold him. I took the flower and carefully potted it.
Now he was telling me that on my Moon Blessing Day, while I was searching every trail in the dark, he had been in Sable Ashveil's bed. My stomach turned. Something deep in my chest curdled, and my wolf went still in a way that frightened me more than her pacing ever had.