Chapter 31

　　Dylan 　　The pain in my body wasn’t just from the terrible hangover thumping through my skull like a stampede of raging rhinoceroses. It struck me as I realized that Cherry had left the country. Bright afternoon light stole through the crack in my bedroom curtains, and I knew it had to be noon; Bert had told me that Cherry was due to fly out the day after my ascension ceremony. 　　As the harsh reality dawned that it was that day, loss pealed through me anew. After Cherry had left yesterday, I’d drunk so much that I couldn’t recall anything much from the latter half of the day. Blurry pieces of Bert talking to me and helping me back here to mine last night surfaced in my sluggish thoughts. 　　My hangover continued to make itself known, twisting my stomach, making my chest and back tight, and even my legs seemed to ache. But none of these afflictions compared to the one constricting my chest. My wolf seemed to feel the growing distance between Cherry and me too. My beast’s instinct was to