I didn’t answer immediately.
Zeron didn’t rush me.
Then I spoke.
“The old laws say more than that,” I said, my voice steady.
Zeron’s attention sharpened.
“Yes,” he said.
“They state that a Celestial wolf and their mate are equal in all things,” I continued, letting that land without breaking it apart. The difference between those two truths mattered, and he understood that as well as I did. It wasn’t about rank alone, it was about balance.
That settled between us.
Different from the first statement, heavier in its own way. Zeron didn’t speak immediately, letting it sit the same way I had. Then he nodded slowly, once.
“Equal,” he repeated.
“Yes.”
There was no challenge in his tone, no doubt in his expression. Only confirmation, the kind that came from understanding rather than qu
