Mary Ann’s POV
The carriage ride to the southern lake was far too quiet.
Not an angry silence.
Not the cold silence that once filled every room Modric and I shared.
This silence was awkward.
Uncertain.
The kind that came when two people had known each other for years but had never learned how to speak without politics, resentment, duty, or pain standing between them.
I sat on one side of the carriage while Modric sat across from me.
He had dressed simply.
No ceremonial Alpha coat.
No expensive jewelry beyond his Alpha ring.
No flowers waited on the seat beside me. No gift box rested near his feet. He had listened when I said I did not want jewels or public displays designed to impress the pack.
Only the two of us occupied the carriage.
The guards followed far enough behind tha
