Chapter 1

At three in the morning, I heard my mate Lucas murmuring to someone in his sleep.

"Be good. Daddy's moving you and mommy into the Riverbend cabin soon."

My eyes snapped open.

When we registered as official mates five years ago, we agreed to hold off on pups. Every month I mixed the suppressant herbs myself, for both of us.

So where was this child coming from?

I shook him awake. "What did you just say?"

Lucas froze for a beat, then smiled and pulled me against his chest.

"Just a dream. The supply post took in a pregnant woman today. I probably heard too much about her."

I didn't ask again.

Once he was asleep, I caught the faint smell of pregnancy herbs on his coat.

And fresh-cut timber.

Before dawn, I used my authority as heir of Silver Ridge to pull the last three months of territory resource records.

Cabin Twelve at Riverbend. It used to belong to the patrol.

Renovations began three months ago.

Timber, firewood, pregnancy herbs, blankets for a pup. All of it paid out of the trade line Lucas ran.

Only one name was listed as a permanent resident.

Mia Grant.

A young she-wolf, three months pregnant.

I stared at those pages for a long time, then handed them to my father.

"Don't touch him yet.

"I want to know whether he's just keeping a woman on the side.

"Or whether he's already built himself a second home."

Late that night, Lucas laughed softly in his sleep.

"Settle down, little one."

He rolled over, his voice thick with sleep.

"Daddy's moving you and mommy into the Riverbend cabin soon."

I opened my eyes and lay there staring at the dark ceiling for a long time without moving.

Daddy.

A pup.

The Riverbend cabin.

Put those three together and it sounded like someone telling a bad joke right against my ear.

When Lucas and I registered as official mates five years ago, the border had just come through a round of fighting. My father was getting old, and I had only recently taken over most of Silver Ridge's holdings. We agreed back then to wait. Wait for the border to settle, wait until I had the trade lines running smoothly, and then talk about pups.

I mixed the suppressant herbs myself, every month.

Not just for me.

Two doses.

Lucas took his as well.

Or at least I thought he had been taking his.

I reached over and nudged his shoulder.

"Lucas."

He opened his eyes, frowning. "What is it?"

"What were you saying in your sleep just now?"

For a second his face was blank. Then his gaze faltered—just once, so quickly I might have imagined it.

"Sleep talking, I guess," he said, rubbing his temple. "The supply post put up a pregnant woman today. I probably heard too much about her."

"You dreamed you were a father?"

He smiled and reached for me. "If we ever have a pup, it'll be ours."

I didn't pull away, and I didn't answer.

After a while his breathing evened out and he was asleep again.

I was wide awake.

The wind outside was strong enough to rattle the window frame. I sat up to get out of bed, and then I caught a faint smell.

Pregnancy herbs.

A wolf's nose is sharp. But the territory smelled of herbs, leather, timber, and all kinds of people every day. A trace of something proved nothing on its own.

But there was more than pregnancy herbs on Lucas's coat tonight.

There was fresh-cut timber.

New wood, still damp, still carrying the smell of resin.

I turned my head toward the dark coat draped over the chair by the bed, and his words came back to me.

The Riverbend cabin.

I went to the study just before dawn.

Every allocation of Silver Ridge's shared resources left a record. Repairs, guards, herbs, hunting quotas, transport routes. Even two extra carts of firewood had to state where they were going.

All I meant to do was check whether any cabin near Riverbend had been repaired lately.

Instead, on the third page, my finger stopped.

Cabin Twelve, Riverbend.

Original use: temporary rest station for the patrol.

Converted to permanent housing three months ago.

Renovation costs charged to northern trade.

Authorized by: Lucas Hale.

Occupant: Mia Grant.

I stared at that name.

Mia.

I had met her twice.

A young she-wolf from the supply post at the foot of the mountain, barely into her twenties, golden-brown hair, a soft voice. The first time, she brought Lucas a stack of sorted shipping lists. The second time was at the winter festival. She stood at the edge of the crowd, and when Lucas walked past she took half a step forward before she caught herself.

I thought nothing of it then.

Looking back now, a lot of small things I had let slide suddenly had a shape.

I kept turning pages.

Firewood.

Blankets for a pup.

Pregnancy herbs.

Three visits from healers.

And a separate charge for reinforcing the roof.

I sat behind the desk without moving for a long time.

None of this added up to a temporary arrangement.

It added up to a whole life.

Someone had prepared a home for a pregnant woman, prepared for winter, prepared for a pup to be born.

The one who signed for all of it was Lucas. My mate.

Footsteps came from outside the door.

I closed the records and had just set them down when my father, Grayson, pushed the door open. His first look at me came with a frown. "You haven't slept."

I handed him the pages I had copied out.

His face darkened at the first one. By the third, he swore outright.

"That bastard."

I said nothing.

"I'm sending for him right now." My father turned to go.

"Not yet."

He looked back at me.

"Elena."

"I haven't confirmed it."

"This isn't enough?"

"It's enough to prove he broke the rules moving resources to a pregnant woman." I looked at my father. "It isn't enough to prove she and her pup are the ones from his dream."

My father held his temper down. "You're still looking for an excuse for him?"

I shook my head.

"I just don't want to turn into someone who makes decisions on a guess while the evidence is still incomplete."

My father studied me for a few seconds, then set the records back on the desk.

"Fine. I won't touch him. But if you find out it's true, don't come to me talking about five years of feelings."

I couldn't manage a smile. I only murmured my agreement.

At breakfast Lucas poured me a cup of hot tea the way he always did. His manner was easy, and he even asked whether I had slept badly.

"There's a problem with that shipment of hides in the north," he said. "I need to go up tonight. I may not be back."

I looked at the silver clasp on his chest. I had fastened it there myself five years ago. He had said he would never take it off.

I picked up my cup.

"Be careful on the road."

Lucas looked almost relieved. He bent down and kissed my temple.

After he left, I sent for Leah, the guard I trusted most.

"Go to Riverbend."

She looked at me. "Looking for what?"

"Don't go inside, don't alert anyone." I wrote the cabin number down for her. "Confirm one thing only. Who lives there."