Ryleigh knew what fate awaited her. Or at least she thought she did. There was no escaping from the prison, especially in her state, and she estimated she might last through one or two silverings – three if she flattered herself – before her body would give up on her.

She wasn't one to willingly accept other people's plans for her, so she decided to take control over the one thing she still could: her death. Starvation was a painful and tantalisingly slow way to go but at least it was better than silver, and at least she chose it. It was a weak plan at best, but made even more futile by the one thing she didn't see coming: her mate returning.

She was glad he did. Not because she'd missed him or wanted him or felt anything at all for him other than what fate made her feel, but because it blew new life into her escape plan.

Of course, in order to escape one needed to be able to walk, which was not a skill that came easily to her anymore. Once again her guards had taken her out of her cell. They dragged her along by her chains when her feet failed to keep their pace. They attempted speeding her up by poking the back of their spears into her ribs, then proceeded to kick her and jerk at her restraints. When all that failed to coax any sort of response from her, they realised it wasn't ill will that slowed her down, but sheer inability.

At that point she had no idea where they were taking her or for what reason. She assumed they were delivering her to the interrogation room to silver her again, and for the first time the prospect didn't inspire terror in her. She almost longed for it. Starving herself to death was taking longer than she thought and she was ready to relinquish autonomy over her life expectancy if that meant the pain would end.

It was only when they took her out of the prison that it dawned on her something else might be going on. A quick survey of the possibilities informed her it must have been her mate, which surprised her. She blamed it on her deteriorated health, but usually she was an accurate judge of character and when he left her to rot in prison two days prior she'd been certain that was the last she'd see of him.

If someone were to ask her how she got to the castle, she wouldn't have had an answer. Perhaps, by some miraculous show of strength, she walked herself there, or perhaps the guards had carried her. All she knew was that one moment she was in her cell, and the next she was in the throne room. Or at least she thought it was the throne room. The intricately decorated ceiling spun above her. Or at least she thought it was the ceiling. She wasn't quite sure of anything anymore. Well, there was one thing she knew for sure: she was already and irrevocably sick of the mate bond.

When she saw him – or at least, the parts of him that her speckled vision still managed to piece together – she went through such a range of emotions that she got even more nauseous than she already was.

Austin, too, was overwhelmed by an amalgam of emotions. He wanted to be anywhere but there, which, at least, he and Ryleigh had in common. He had racked his brain about it for the better part of the night, but simply couldn't understand why Julie would ask him to get his mate to Midnight Moon and to give her a chance for a month. A month. It was utterly ridiculous, but she had been insistent and he had never been able to refuse her anything anyway, and so he and Ellis had set out right after dawn, back to the castle.

"You understand and accept the terms, then?" Alder inquired, drawing Austin's attention away from his thoughts.

Austin nodded and glanced at his mate – the wolf of mystery. Despite his best efforts, he did want to know who she was. He wrote it off as his insatiable curiosity. It had nothing to do with her being his mate. He just naturally gravitated towards intrigue.

"I do," he said. It was only a month. He could bear the responsibility for a month. After that, he would reject her and return her to the castle, claiming fatal incompatibility as his reason, which would be the truth.

Against his will, his eyes strayed to his mate again. He hadn't thought it possible, but she looked even worse than the last time he'd seen her. She was lying on her side, looking small and helpless amidst her guards. She hadn't even made eye contact once, kept her eyes closed or fixed on the ceiling. It was like she didn't even know he was there.

"Then I release her into your custody," Alder said, smiling as though he was doing Austin a favour. As though this was some kind of honour – some kind of wish fulfilment – rather than the challenge it actually was. A challenge he had to bear for one month so he could trade it afterwards for a lifetime of happiness.

"Thank you," Austin said, and he even managed a smile.

Alder continued to say something about not underestimating her and keeping him posted on any developments, and he found himself nodding along and agreeing with everything the king said, while in fact he wasn't registering any of it. Why wasn't she looking at him? Was she so far out of it she really didn't know he was in the room? Or did she resent him for leaving her behind and did she ignore him on purpose? He couldn't blame her if that was true. The whole thing must have been as utterly confusing to her as it was to him.

All the arrangements complete, he and Ellis at last approached her. Her eyes were closed, but they fluttered open when Austin crouched down beside her. Her stare was like a punch to the gut. Her chest heaved in tiny pants and short pauses and his body tightened at the sight of her. Somehow her lack of breath seemed to deprive him of his own.

One of her guards handed him the end of a chain and he grasped it. Ellis took a hold of another one. Both chains were attached to the collar drawn around her neck and muzzle. The two others – she had been restrained with four chains when she entered – were let loose. Not that she needed chains at all. She wasn't going anywhere. In fact, she seemed so unable to move he wasn't sure how they were even supposed to get her back to Midnight Moon.

"Can she get up?" Ellis asked.

The question seemed to spark a new sense of determination in her, and she pushed to her feet. Austin's hands took on a life of their own for a second and reached to aid her, but he caught himself just in time and pulled back. How she managed to remain standing was beyond him, and how she was able to pad alongside them as they left was even more miraculous.

When their teleporter returned them to Midnight Moon, Austin's mate paused her step to look around her.  He tried seeing his home through her eyes. They were amidst a thick forest, but a massive space had been cleared of trees and packed with buildings. In the centre of the clearing was the pack house – a large mansion built with light-coloured stone and innumerable windows. Smaller buildings were scattered all around it with paths of tamped dirt connecting them and serpentining onwards into the woods, where she supposed more accommodations lied beyond her view.

"Come on," Austin said. 

People were peeking out from every nook and cranny of the territory. They gawked at his mate with unabashed fascination. Whispers fluttered around like leaves in the air, spreading gossip everywhere. Austin knew that within minutes, everyone would be aware of his mate's arrival - including Julie. 

The pack's prison didn't deserve the term. It was a small stone building set apart from the mansion and it contained no more than two dozen cells, two rows of twelve with a broad walkway between them. The cells were all empty. 

Ellis opened the door to the first cell, the one people coming in through the door would see first. Austin guided her inside, holding her chains so loosely she only needed to give a slight pull to get free. She walked herself inside the cell, slipping down until she was lying on her stomach. She dropped her head onto her paws and looked at her mate. He wondered what she thought of him. 

There was nothing left to do but to take off her chains. Austin awkwardly looked at Ellis, who made a gesture that said just get on with it. He took a deep breath and crouched down. Granted, she didn't look dangerous now, but he had seen how vicious she could be, and he wasn't sure what she would do if he released her from her restraints. With unsteady hands, he undid the chains attached to her collar, leaving only the contraption around her head. The clasp for that one was on the underside of her head, which he couldn't reach. Her eyes bore into his, almost as in challenge, and he swallowed hard.

"Come," he said, his voice a bit hoarse. "Lift your head." He reached out to her, which made a growl grumble in her chest. "Work with me."

She raised her head from her paws, but only a little. He was afraid to break eye contact with her, so his fingers blindly traced the chains, finding and fumbling with the clasp. She lied unmoving, her muzzle slightly tipped upwards. If she felt the same jolts every time they touched as he did, she didn't let it show. He unclasped the chains and drew them away from her head. Now free of any restraint, there was nothing stopping her from attacking him. But she only lowered her head back down, breathing a slow sigh.

There were so many things he wanted to ask, but instead he pulled himself upright and retreated backwards out of the cell, which Ellis locked after him. One month, he repeated like a mantra in his head. One month. 

_______

A/N: Our fated mates reunited. Fun times ahead. Well, at least if you like drama, which Austin doesn't  - poor guy. 

Thanks for reading!