“A human.” He says it like he’s savoring the words. “How fitting.”

I wait, unsure what response he wants. The silence continues, and I can feel his satisfaction radiating across the desk.

“You understand what this means?” His voice takes on an almost pleased tone. “If you leave to marry a human, you renounce all ties to this pack. You will never be allowed to return. Not for visits, not for emergencies, not for anything.”

“I understand.”

“Your mother’s bloodline dies with you. Any claim to pack heritage, any rights you might have had—gone forever.”

My chest tightens at the mention of my mother. At the way he says it,...