A Dawn with the Wolf Knight (Married to Magic, #5)

by Elise Kova

“What happened to your mate?” he says, forcing the question. I wonder if Evander is jealous of my lost love. Part of me hopes he is, because it would mean he cares. While another part of me wants to reassure him he has nothing to fear from a long, long ago flame. “In truth, I never could confirm if he was my soulmate or not.” I tilt my head and stare up at the puffy clouds that backdrop the swaying trees. “We could wait on human marriage and formal ceremonies, but I wanted to promise myself to him. I wanted to know that what I felt—and suspected—was real. So I invited him out one night into the woods. I planned to take him before the ancient redwood on a new moon and ask the spirits to give me clarity. If we were truly meant to be one, to bless and unite us. Give us a sign our union was meant to be.” I’m back in the thick that night. Back in the woods waiting…and waiting. Alone all night. Wet grasses soak my trousers as I trek down the hills and along the paths to the hunter’s home. The windows are dark. The door ajar. The scent of the morning’s dew is so clean and crisp that I can’t even pick up on the aroma of him. His bed is cold. “But I was wrong,” I finish softly, pulling myself from the memories. “He wasn’t my soulmate after all.” “You confirmed this?” “He never came.” I shrug, trying to play off the dull ache the memories still cause me. “A soulmate wouldn’t abandon their partner.” “Perhaps something prevented him from coming?” Evander offers. I close my eyes, huff,...