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Richard picked up on the second ring, as if he’d been expecting the call. “Richard, it’s Anita.”

“I know.” His voice was angry, closed, and tight.

“We need to talk.”

“I’m in the middle of something here, Anita.”

Fine, if he wanted to play it brusque and hostile, I’d play. “Where’s Gregory?”

“I can’t tell you that.”

“Why?”

“Because, you might try and rescue him, and you’re not lupa anymore. The pack would defend itself, and I don’t want you shooting holes in my wolves.”

“You leave my leopards alone, and I’ll leave your wolves alone.”

“Anita, it’s not that simple.”

“I got the explanation, Richard. You freaked when you found out Gregory may have infected me with leopard juice. You had your enforcers grab him, and you’ve charged him with killing your lupa. Which is just stupid, I’m not dead.”

“Do you know what the pack is voting on right now, right this minute?”

“Not a clue.”

“Whether I will be picking another lupa from the pack before the next full moon.”

“I guess you’ll need one,” I said, and even hearing myself acknowledge it made my stomach clench.

“A lover, Anita, they’re wanting to force me to pick a lover from the pack.”

“You mean we can’t date now?”

“That’s the vote.”

“Stephen, one of your wolves, and Vivian, one of my leopards, are living together. No one seems to care about that.”

“Stephen is one of the least of us. They wouldn’t tolerate cross-species dating for a dominant. And they certainly won’t tolerate it for their Ulfric.”

“Human is good enough to fuck, but not leopard,” I said.

“We are human, Anita. But we aren’t cats, we’re wolves.”

“So you won’t be dating me, or anything, now?”

“Not if I want to stay Ulfric.”

“What happens to the triumvirate?”

“I don’t know.”

“You’re going to give me up just like that.” I was suddenly cold, my stomach like a hard frozen knot.

“You’ve been out of my life for over half a year. How do I know that something else won’t scare you off again?”

“I planned on dating you both, Richard, on being with you both.” I realized as soon as I said it that I meant it. I’d made a decision and hadn’t realized it.

“What about a week from now, or a month, or even a year? What will scare you off next time?”

“I don’t plan on running anymore, Richard.”

“Nice to know.” I could feel his anger like something hot and touchable over the phone. Either his shield was leaking, or he’d lowered it.

“You don’t want to be with me anymore?” My voice was soft, hurt, and I hated it. Hated it.

“I want to be with you, you know that. You drive me crazy, but I still want you.”

“But you’ll still give me up,” I said. My voice was a little stronger, but not much. Richard was dumping me. Fine, it was his prerogative. I was a pain in the ass, I knew that. But my chest ached with it, damn it.

“I don’t want to, Anita, but I’ll do what I have to do. You taught me that.”

My eyes were hot. I’d taught him that. Great. If we were really going to break up for good, then I would not cry or beg. I would not be weak. My voice came out more solid, more sure of itself. My stomach was still in cold knots, but it didn’t show in my voice. The effort that it took to just sound normal over the phone made my chest tight. “You’re Ulfric, wolf king. Your word is law in the pack.”

“I’ve worked hard to make sure that everyone has an equal voice, Anita. I can’t pull rank now. It would undo everything I’ve tried to change.”

“Ideals are great in theory, Richard, but they don’t work too well in real life.”

“I disagree,” he said. His anger was already leaking away. He just sounded tired.

“I’m not going to argue things we’ve been arguing since we met. I’m going to concentrate on the things I can change. And no matter how much we want to, we can’t change each other, Richard. We are what we are.” My voice was uncertain again, full of some of the emotion I was feeling. “So, is Gregory okay?”

“He’s okay.”

“I want him back, you know that.”

“I know that.” His anger was making a comeback.

“Now that I’m not lupa, not pack, how do I get him back?”

“You have to