Chapter 6

The next day's ceremony surpassed any pack gathering in grandeur. Will had deployed the pack's most precious starstone lanterns, bathing the entire venue in light as bright as day. I stood before the mirror as attendants fastened the traditional mating robes of the Silvermoon Pack around me. Woven from the silk of Arctic snow moths, the skirt was embroidered with intricate star-path patterns in silver thread. Around my neck hung the necklace Will had crafted himself – a pigeon-blood ruby pendant worth a kingdom. The woman in the mirror bore no trace of yesterday's sorrow. As the ceremony commenced, Will walked towards me down an aisle strewn with stars. His silver-grey hair was tied back, revealing the sharp lines of his profile. His ice-blue eyes held only my reflection. Reaching me, he knelt on one knee, took my hand, and pressed a gentle kiss to my knuckles. "Louisa, in the name of the Silvermoon Pack, I vow…" His voice resonated through the hall. "…that you alone shall be m