Chapter 222

• Third Person's POV
• The afternoon had been a whirlwind of scent, shadow, and whispered pack gossip. Even among the wolves of the city, the romance between Magnusand Aysel had drawn sighs of relief and approval. Normal, steady bonds seemed easier to digest than the tangled webs of ambition and desire elsewhere.
• Meanwhile, Damon carried Celestine back to her den. Along the way, a call from his mother, the matriarch of the Blackwood Pack, pierced his fur with reprimands, warning that the Thunderfang Pack was furious and had blocked him from further negotiations. Damon pressed a paw to his forehead, exhausted. Matters of the heart never bent in his favor.