Page 140 of Salt Between the Wolves

Leander nodded once, neither triumphant nor relieved, but simply satisfied.

"As long as you actually do."

For reasons she couldn't explain, she suspected that answer had been exactly what he wanted.

Leander left shortly afterward, not with any dramatic farewell or final observation designed to linger in her thoughts, but simply after glancing toward the valley one last time and turning back toward the estate.

"I have work to do."

The statement sounded almost absurd after the conversation they had just shared.

Eira watched him walk away before calling after him.

"That's it?"

Leander looked over his shoulder.

"What were you expecting?"

She opened her mouth as though she intended to answer, then closed it again when no response came to mind.

A brief smile appeared on his face.

"Exactly."

With that, he continued down the path and disappeared from view.

Eira remained where she was, gazing out over the valley that stretched endlessly below. Wagons moved along distant roads, smoke drifted lazily from chimneys, and life continued without the slightest concern for fathers, alphas, politics, or her place within any of it.

She stood there alone for several minutes before finally turning and making her way back toward the house.

The familiar warmth greeted her as soon as she stepped inside. Voices drifted from somewhere deeper within the estate, and the smell of baking bread lingered pleasantly in the air.

For a moment she wasn't sure where she intended to go, but the decision was made for her when she found Maelin in the nursery.

Sunlight spilled through the windows while Lyra sat cross-legged on the floor, surrounded by carved wooden animals that appeared to be engaged in some sort of territorial dispute. Finn sat nearby with a book open in his lap, and after looking up long enough to acknowledge Eira with a brief nod, he returned immediately to his reading. The efficiency of the greeting suggested years of practice.

Maelin looked up from the small shirt she had been mending, and something in her expression changed at once.

She knew.

Of course she knew.

Lyra, meanwhile, noticed neither of them.

"Mother."

"Mhm?"

"The wolf refuses to share the mountain."

"How disappointing."

"I know."

Eira almost smiled, and Maelin noticed even that.

A few minutes later, after convincing Lyra that diplomacy remained an option and reminding Finn that books occasionally benefited from daylight, Maelin joined Eira in the corridor outside.