SEVENTY-THREE

VALENS

"I've never said that out loud, have I?" She buried her face into a pillow when I asked that. I could see the tip of her ears turning red even though she hid her face from me.

I felt incredibly foolish now that I thought of how I reacted when I saw those pictures. I should have been furious but not at her. How could she cheat on me when she reacted like this to me? How could I not have seen? A lot of things would have been different if I had the foresight, the knowledge I had now.

'Love her,' the oracle had said and it turned out that I didn't have to try hard to love her. I didn't even have to try. She was my curse breaker. My mate. By every standard, she was my savior.

I was nearing the three-month-mark in Redville; the one that brought that itch that could only be scratched when I moved to a new land. I hadn't hit the mark yet but I knew without a doubt that the itch was gone forever. I would never have the urge to leave this pack behind. I would never have an itch to wan