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"Blaidd—"

"Soon," he cut in, voice tight. "After the full moon."

Maxen's brow furrowed. "That's in three days."

"I know. I have been waiting a long time for this full moon," he said, rubbing the back of her neck.

"Where did she go?" Blaidd asked after a few moments. There was no demand in it now, only a desperate plea.

Maxen did not answer.

"You swore," Blaidd said hoarsely.

"Yes."

"To her." Blaidd sighed.

"To her," Maxen confirmed.

Blaidd dragged a hand over the stubble covering his scalp, breath roughening. "I need to find her. I need to bring her back."

Maxen's gaze softened, but only slightly. "It's already too late."

Blaidd stilled. "Too late for what?"

"The moon," Maxen said. "You won't be able to reach her before the full moon. You have been gone for more than a month. You have never been gone for more than a mooncycle. Your wolf will be raging."

The itch beneath Blaidd's skin lent truth to the words. It had been too long without touching her.

Three days.

The number pulsed in his mind like a wound.

Every journey he had taken away from her—every night spent apart, every careless leaving—now replayed with brutal clarity.

Why are you torturing us? his wolf snarled. Why have you made us wait too long?

He straightened slowly. "I'll tell you everything," he said at last. "After the full moon. Everything."

Maxen searched his face. "Let the elder make you some moonflower essence."

Blaidd's mouth curved, humourless. "Chain me in the holding area. I deserve this pain."

Maxen stepped closer. "You don't need to do this to yourself. No one deserves this."

Blaidd met his eyes. "Hold the pack. Watch Rowena closely. In three days, you'll understand why I couldn't speak."

The silence that followed was filled with foreboding.

Maxen nodded once. "Three days."

"Three days," Blaidd echoed.

And beneath his skin, his wolf began to pace as the pain stalked closer.

Chapter 13

The great carved mahogany doors of his house stayed shut.