The moment Alrik's mother stepped into my line of vision, I was speechless.

Chocolate brown curls, heart-shaped face, upturned nose, and a familiar pair of gray irises that were a lot more gentle than what I was used to staring into.

"Hello, dear," she greeted softly with a pained smile on her face as her gaze traced the shackles on my arms.

I cleared my throat, "Hello, Mrs. Kuznetsov. I know this isn't exactly an ideal–"

"I am so sorry," she choked out.

I blinked once, then twice, shocked by her tearful apology, "Pardon?"

She had a grimace on her face as she shook her head and stared at her feet, "I am ashamed of the position my son has put you in. Never in my lifetime did I expect him to treat his mate this way."

"Well, putting all of this aside for a moment, I can tell you Alrik has been a wonderful mate, and I give you full credit for it. The respect he has shown me and my job as a leader is the result of great nurturing."

I almost brought up the towel incidents as examples, but shut my mouth before the words escaped because I realized it would have been awkward to discuss with his mother.

"I'm glad he didn't fail you in that aspect," she said, smiling halfheartedly, "But you can't deny that he is failing you as an Alpha, and for that, I still feel responsible."

"Maybe he has failed me in that area, but I know that this," I shook my arms out, causing the chains to rattle loudly, "Is definitely not because of nurture. From what I've seen, this is something he came up with himself."

"She's right," Reece added from the side, "When he became Alpha, he believed that people would take him more seriously if they feared him, and that's how we ended up here. He's got it pounded in his head that strict pack laws are the reason for the pack's success and uses that as a rebuttal to anyone who tries to argue with him otherwise."

"And that's why I'm doing this," I said softly, "I need him to see that the ramifications for breaking the law are too harsh. Nothing's wrong with having strict laws, but the punishments have to be reasonable. The point is to get assurance that they won't break a law again, not scar them for life."

Alma sighed, reaching up to pull the stray pieces of hair away from my face, "You are one brave soul, my dear. I don't know how I can ever thank you for trying to change my son for the better."

I curled my lips into a small smile and nodded at the plastic container in her hands, "Well, that lasagna looks absolutely delicious, and I'm famished."

She let out a quiet chuckle and handed the container to Reece to hold as she pulled out a fork and knife, "At dawn, some of the elderly she-wolves come down here to feed the punished ones. But instead of waiting, I thought I would come down here with Reece and feed you while the food was still hot."

After peeling the lid off, she cut into the cheesy layers and lifted a forkful of the pasta up to my lips, "Once you eat, I'll braid your hair. I'm sure all of those flyaways are annoying you."

"That would be much appreciated," I mumbled, savoring the explosive flavor that gave my taste buds an orgasm.

As she continued to fuss over me like a mother hen, I couldn't help but smile. I truly had forgotten what it was like to have a motherly figure in my life. After all, I had many fathers, but not many mothers.

And after two centuries of aching from the missing bond, I think I finally found one.

***

The moon was taunting me. After so many evenings filled with waves of darkness, tonight was the night the stars came out to wink and glimmer in their own celestial dance as if they were celebrating.

My hand tightened around the glass of whiskey in my hand as my eyes narrowed on the constellations that appeared to dazzle more tonight than any other. My gaze was drawn to Lupus in particular, the very first constellation I ever learned to look out for as a child.

And instead of feeling a sense of serenity, I was jealous.

Jealous that Lupus was complete, and I was not because the only star that would complete me was hanging outside in chains, probably watching the night sky mock her as well.

"How long are you going to nurse the same glass in your hand? Look, the ice has even melted."

I glanced at the amber liquid in my glass and handed it back without even glancing at Reece, "Refill it then."

A soft patter of footsteps came closer, but the drink remained in my hand.

"What's on your mind?"

I brought the whiskey back up to my lips and took a sip as I muttered gruffly, "A lot of things."

"You can go see her, you know. She's still awake. I just took your mother to see her."

"And say what?" I snapped, turning around to face her, "Sorry you broke the law because you felt sorry for all those wolves?"

Reece frowned, "You think she did all of this only because she felt sorry for them?"

"Yes?"

What other possible explanation was there? It seemed that I was out of the loop on whatever understanding they had from this. All I knew was that Jaslynn had a very empathetic personality, and she would do anything to relieve people of their sorrows.

"Come on, Alrik. Where is that brain that you like to brag about? Are you that blind?" Reece asked, her voice rising with every question.

"Enlighten me, Reece. What is it that you understand from her actions that I don't get?"

"I can't tell you. That destroys the whole purpose."

"Then, there's nothing more to do this, is there?"

"There is, but you're just being a hardass," she snarled, "For fuck's sake, Alrik, your own brother left you over this, now your mate is physically in pain because of this, and you still don't get it? What is wrong with you!"

Pack Law – that was the answer to her riddles.

My brother left me over my version of pack law, my mate is in pain because of pack law, and I don't get it because I wrote pack law to make sure no one ever tried to double cross me.

"So that's what this is about."

"It's about damn time!"

"Jaslynn got herself punished to convince me to rewrite my laws?"

"Not rewrite, Alrik. Reform."

"And show the supernatural world that I've gone soft?"

I had a reputation that I've built up for the past century and a half. How were these changes going to benefit werewolf prosperity when all the positive results I have seen have come from the methods I have put in place?

Reece threw her hands in the air in exasperation, "And we're back to square one."

"No, I want to know what you think about my question."

She shook her head tiredly, "Alrik, there's a difference between having a weakness and having a bit of compassion. People won't see you as a weak person if you adjusted your laws as long as you don't give them a reason to believe that. Suppose you allow them to walk all over you, that's when they'll think you're weak."

I raked a hand through my hair in frustration and faced the window once again, letting her know that this discussion was over with because I had a lot to mull over already.

"Do me a favor, Alrik," Reece voiced quietly, "Go outside and watch Jaslynn. Think about what she means to you, what a mate means to a wolf, and why we consider our mates as a blessing from the Moon Goddess. I think those are the questions you need to answer first because you might not have a mate if you go on like this."

The door shut behind her, and my fingers coiled into fists at the thought of seeing Jaslynn hanging there.

I wouldn't be able to stand the sight, and neither would my wolf.

***

It was around one in the morning when I finally cracked and decided to just check on her to make sure she was alright so that I could put my worries at ease.

I hauled my ass through the back door and shifted into my wolf before jumping the fence to take the shortcut to the punishing grounds. There was a cold breeze that brushed through my fur, and the crunching noise beneath my paws grew louder as I sped up.

A few minutes later, the grounds came into view, and I trotted over to the chain swings where a familiar curvy body was arched in what seemed to be an uncomfortable position.

Jaslynn was fast asleep, her head tilted up to the sky and her eyes squeezed shut as if she was in pain. Her feet must have fallen asleep, and there was no doubt that her arms were sore from being held up for so long. Someone must have also braided her hair because the mass of curls was neatly tamed on her shoulder in a thick plait.

I studied her beautiful face carefully, hoping that by looking at her I would have the answers to my internal battle. But instead of finding answers, I realized that she was shivering.

And thankfully, I had come prepared.

I jumped onto the platform as quietly as I could, got on my hind legs, and used my snout to the nudge the blanket in my mouth around her shoulders and over her arms. Once I was done, I dropped back down, and she let out a soft sigh, mumbling incoherently as her cheek nuzzled the warm blanket.

I grunted in satisfaction as she appeared a little less uncomfortable and leaped off the platform to begin my run back to the house.

But before I ran off, I glared up at the moon for the second time that night, only to notice something odd.

The moonlight was angled directly at Jaslynn, creating an almost angelic glow around her.

And at that moment I realized that the moon and her stars weren't celebrating my sorrow, they were celebrating Jaslynn.