When I wake up late the next afternoon, Mercedes is still asleep in my arms.

I look at her black locks scattered all over my arm and shoulders and her relaxed face. She lies so peacefully, snoring from her slightly open lips. Her legs are entwined with mine, an old trick of hers to wake up as soon as I move. In the past, when I visited her in her pack, she always had a problem with me sneaking away while she was still asleep.

But not today. I know she's dead tired.

After the failed shift in Shadow Moon and the celebration of our mating with the warriors, we...