Chapter 1

Tonight was the Midwinter Moon, the holiest feast of the pack year, and I had stayed late at the healing den grinding moon herbs and tending the last of the wounded from the border skirmish.

I did not turn for home until the sixth bell had rung.

I had expected to find the table laid and a warm supper waiting when I pushed open the door of our cottage, but what met me was a wall of noise and a floor strewn with scraps, gnawed bones, and cubs' toys.

I stopped dead where I stood and stared in disbelief, wondering if a rogue wolf from a rival territory had broken into our den.

"Lyssa, you are home at last. Go and prepare the meal. We are all waiting."

The speaker was my mate's father, Evander Wolfhart, who sat on the great settle by the hearth teasing Ronan Wolfhart, the young cub of his second son, Arion.

"Evander, what brings you here?"

Beside him sat a crowd of aunts and uncles and distant kin from half a dozen packs, more faces than I could put names to.

Evander lifted his eyes slowly and looked me over. "This is my son's den. Am I not allowed to visit my own blood?"

I frowned and said, "I did not mean that. You came without any warning, and tonight is the Midwinter Moon."

He waved the words away. "That’s it! We came because tonight is the Midwinter Moon. Enough talk. Go preparing the meal."

Beside him, his sister, Rielle Wolfhart, smiled and said, " Zevran certainly married a beautiful lady. Sorry for showing up without notice, but you're such a capable woman. Preparing a meal for a few extra guests shouldn't be a problem, should it?”

I forced a smile and went looking for my mate, Zevran Wolfhart, my face hot with suppressed anger.

I found him not in the hall, but when I pushed into the bedchamber, I saw instead Zevran's mother, Rhoswen, pawing through my wardrobe.

"Rhoswen, what are you doing?" I could not keep my voice down and strode over quickly to stop her.

My night robes lay in a heap on the floor, several cubs had made themselves at home among my furs, my bed linens were crumpled, and my dressing table of moon oils and combs was scattered and overturned.

My private den had been invaded, and fury burned through me. "What is the meaning of this? Get out, all of you!"

Rhoswen looked startled and said in a hurt voice, "Lyssa, why do you shout? I only wished to help you tidy and to see your bedchamber."

The kin in the hall heard the shouting and crowded to the door.

The first to reach me was Zevran, a cooking apron tied around his waist.

He saw me and came at once to put his arms around me. "My mate, you are home."

I glared at him, but before I could demand an explanation, Evander cut in. "Lyssa, are you bullying Rhoswen? What in the moon's name are you two doing? Unhand each other! You adulterous beasts!"

I stared at him, stunned.

What a dreadful old wolf, and what pain it was to see such poor manners.

"Evander, what nonsense is this? This is my den. I am holding my own mate. How dare you call us adulterous?" Zevran, gentle and slow to anger as always, muttered, "She is right. What harm is there in holding my own mate?"

Rhoswen coughed several times, stepped between us, and fixed Zevran with a hard stare. "Lyssa, don't turn this into a bigger problem than it needs to be. Evander and I weren't born into powerful Alpha families, and raising three children hasn't been easy for us. Today is a special day under the Moon Goddess, so let's not spoil the celebration over something so small."

"That’s true, Lyssa. We are all faint with hunger. The pup in my belly cannot wait."

A woman heavy with child was helped forward.

She was Arion's mate, Eirene, and the wolf at her elbow was Arion himself.

He turned to Zevran and said, "Zevran, can you tell Lyssa to hurry with the meal? My mate is with pup."

Before I could speak, Zevran said, "If your mate is hungry, why do you not cook for her yourself? You only give orders to my mate. I am the one at the fire, am I not? You do no work and you never stop talking."

His voice was not loud, but it carried clearly, and every ear in the room caught it.

Arion's face flushed, and Eirene's expression shifted as well.