Chapter 1So get this - the pack hospital is hosting a breeding donor event, and my future Alpha decides to sign up.
But here's the kicker: he specifically requests to sire a pup on Penny Anderson - his so-called "female best friend."
When I showed up at the pack house, I walked straight into their full-on pregnancy celebration.
Penny looked over at Robert Howard, all innocence and batting lashes.
"Oh my Goddess, wait - did you tell Stella yet?"
"I mean, whatever - not my problem. But females like her? Clingy psychos. What if she freaks out and rejects the bond before the ceremony? Don't come crying to me."
Robert slouched back in his chair, flipping his lighter, grinning like he owned the territory.
"Please. I'm about to claim the Alpha seat on the pack council. She's not going anywhere."
"Stella's been trailing me like a lost omega pup for ten years. She's a doormat. Telling her to leave me? Might as well tell her to throw herself off the cliffs at Moon Ridge. Trust me, babe - you're good."
The room erupted in howling laughter.
Something inside my chest just... went cold.
I pulled out my phone and called my father.
"Dad, withdraw the council nomination for Robert. I'm taking a different mate."
...
I shoved through the carved wooden doors and walked in.
Robert had Penny tucked against his chest, both of them staring at the ultrasound photo, murmuring about whether the pup would favor his wolf coloring or her eyes.
The second they caught my scent, every face in the room twisted like I'd rolled in something dead.
Robert's expression flickered with panic. He started to release Penny, but she clamped onto his arm and tugged him right back. Then they both crossed the room toward me.
"Oh, Stella! You're here - good. I was totally going to explain before your wolf got all twisted."
"So like, you know mating ceremonies aren't really my thing, right? But my parents won't stop howling about grandpups, and Jax offered to help. It's honestly not a big deal."
"If it bothers your wolf, we can talk it out. But please don't snap at him about it - he's just being a good friend."
Before I could get a word out, Elderess Howard rose from her seat, paws-up like she was soothing a skittish yearling.
"Stella, sweetheart, we all sat down and discussed this already. Penny's been pack-adjacent forever - she's practically family. She's not the type to steal someone's destined mate, trust me. So you can stop your wolf from bristling."
"And look, she's already carrying. You're not seriously going to tell her to reject her own pup, are you? Come on - you're a she-wolf too. Don't be heartless."
Watching them all bare their teeth in smiles to my face after ripping me apart behind my back made my stomach churn.
I yanked my bonding ring off my finger and hurled it at Robert.
"Elderess Howard, you've got this completely backwards. I'm just here to sever the betrothal."
"Robert, we're done."
Robert's face said it all - here we go again.
Made sense.
Ever since Penny came back from the Northern territories, I'd tried to break our bond like ten times.
And every time, I ended up soothing my own wolf and crawling back to him.
He probably figured after ten years of scent-marking me, I'd never find a stronger male.
He rubbed his forehead. "Seriously? You're gonna pull this here? Right in front of my pack?"
"Stella, you know my parents didn't even want me bonded to you at first. I'm the one who had to fight them - they thought your bloodline wasn't strong enough."
"And nothing's happening with Penny, so why in the Goddess's name is your wolf losing its mind right now?"
"Because you're siring a pup with HER! What if I went and let some rogue male breed me - how would your wolf feel?"
"Don't even FUCKING go there."
Robert's face flushed red, but a heartbeat later his voice dropped soft and coaxing.
"Look, it's not the same, okay? Just stop baring fangs over nothing."
I turned to leave. Robert grabbed my arm.
BANG.
Elder Howard slammed his fist on the table so hard the ceremonial plates jumped.
"Release her! Let her WALK!"
"My son's been providing for her all this time, and now she thinks she can strut around like her bloodline outranks ours? FINE. But don't come crawling back to this den later!"
Robert didn't follow me. Of course he didn't.
Chapter 2
I stepped outside into the freezing wind. It smelled like snow and pine - the same scent that hung in the air ten winters ago, when my wolf first keened for him.
Back then, my closest friend warned me.
"Robert Howard? Oh honey, he's like the hottest unmated male in the territory. Total lone-pup scholarship case - literally ALL he does is train and study healing arts."
"So many high-bloodline females have thrown themselves at him. He won't even flick an ear their way. Says he doesn't have time for mating drama."
"You really wanna chase that one? Girl... Goddess bless. You're gonna need it."
But I didn't care. My wolf wanted him.
So I hid my bloodline. Transferred into his healer track. Made it my mission to be wherever he was, every single day.
At the same time, I secretly had my father cover his training fees and den expenses through an anonymous elder fund.
I pulled strings to land him in elite research circles with top pack healers. Sent him to the Moon Summit medical conferences.
Turned down every high-ranking male my father introduced. My wolf only recognized Robert.
Eventually, it took. We "happened" to end up together - two wolves who looked like they stood on even ground.
After our training years, I made sure we both secured positions at my father's healing center - Mercy Run Pack Hospital.
I didn't move into the grand den my father gifted me. Instead, I curled up in Robert's cramped studio burrow near the medical wing.
For a while, things were good. Really good.
On cold mornings, if I refused to crawl out of the furs, Robert would haul me up and carry me to the washroom, brushing my hair while I grumbled.
After shifts, we'd walk through the pack market hand-in-hand, picking out fresh meat and fruit for dinner.
At night, we'd tangle together on the couch watching old pack broadcasts. I'd rest against his shoulder. He'd feed me slices of fruit peeled with his own claws.
But once Penny returned from the outer territories? Everything shifted.
She became his priority. Number one. No question.
The vehicle he bought with his first healer's pay? The passenger seat became Penny's by scent-right.
"You literally live right there. Walking won't kill your wolf."
One night after a late shift, some rogue male started stalking me through the back paths.
I called Robert, fangs chattering, my wolf whining for her mate to come.
He was already halfway to Penny's den.
"Babe, Penny's cramping BAD and she's alone. My herbal blend is the only thing that eases her moon cycles. Can you seriously not handle yourself right now?"
When the rogue lunged, I fought. I grabbed a loose stone from the path and cracked it against his skull. Blood sprayed hot across my face.
The next morning, I dragged myself out of the enforcer station. Robert wasn't there.
But I caught Penny's pack-circle post - two travel vouchers.
[Wasn't feeling my best, but he said "pack a bag" and now I'm here❤Some wolves just GET you, you know? ?]
The location tag? Silver Sands territory.
I'd been begging Robert to run there with me for years.
Every time I brought it up, he'd say, "Babe, we gotta save for the bonding ceremony, remember? Can't be throwing coin at vacations."
But for Penny? Coin didn't matter.
I swiped at my eyes and steadied my breathing.
Then I thought about all those pack dinners at his parents' den. I'd cook the meat, scrub the plates, serve every elder.
And the whole time, Elderess Howard would take her grandmother's bonding ring and slide it onto Penny's finger, crooning about how Penny and Robert would throw such beautiful pups.
One thing after another. I kept telling myself I could endure it. I loved him.
But I couldn't anymore.
If I was always going to be the rogue in their pack, then I wasn't going to keep bleeding myself dry for wolves who couldn't care less if I lived or starved.
Chapter 3
I ran back to the den we'd picked out together in the high-ridge territory - our "future home" for after the bonding ceremony - to grab my things.
But when I pressed my palm to the den-lock, it flashed red. Denied.
I was about to mind-link Robert when the heavy oak door swung inward.
Penny stood there wrapped in my sleeping furs, arms crossed, lips curled in pure annoyance.
"What are you doing here?"
Before I could snap the same question back, Robert appeared behind her and pulled her back against his chest, like he was shielding her from a rogue attack.
"Stella, don't blow this into a pack-wide scene. Penny's wolf isn't resting well because of the pregnancy, so I moved her into the den. It's quieter here."
"You've still got the old burrow - the rune-lease hasn't even expired yet. Just stay there till after the pup drops. Then we'll do the ceremony and you can move back."
I couldn't believe what was hitting my ears.
"I paid for HALF this den. Who the hell told you that you could just move her in without my consent?"
Honestly, this den cost way more than Robert knew. My father had covered eighty percent upfront so I wouldn't struggle.
On the territory scrolls, Robert and I each "paid half."
Robert's gaze slid away, guilt written all over his scent. Then Penny shoved forward, fangs flashing.
"Because MY name and HIS name are carved on the den claim - NOT YOURS!"
"The only reason I'm not howling for the enforcers right now is because of Robert! Otherwise your tail would already be tossed past the border."
I stared at Robert. He finally mumbled.
"Look, Stella... Penny and I - we've known each other since our first shift, okay? She's basically... she's pack-family."
"She's not taking a mate. She's raising this pup alone. I'm the sire, so I... I mean, I had to make sure she's protected."
"But we're still bonding, right? So who cares whose name is scratched on some den claim? Isn't what our wolves share more important than a piece of carved wood?"
I almost didn't recognize his scent.
I thought Robert just didn't love me as fiercely as I loved him.
Turns out, he'd been playing me since the first howl.
This was the male I abandoned my bloodline for? The wolf I keened over for ten years?
It wasn't worth it. Not even a fraction.
Seeing my eyes sheen over, Robert fished out a smoke-stick. Then he remembered Penny was carrying and quickly stepped aside to snuff it out.
Penny seized the opening. She got right in my face, jabbing her claw-tip into my shoulder.
"Goddess, I'm so sick of desperate she-wolves like you. Robert doesn't want you anymore - his wolf chose me."
"This is my den now. So either slink out on your own paws, or I'll summon the enforcers and let them drag your tail out. Your choice."
I moved to knock her hand off me -
She shoved me. Hard. Both palms.
I flew backward and crashed into the reflection pool.
Robert heard the splash and came sprinting. Penny flung her hands up, eyes wide as a fresh pup's.
"I didn't touch her."
Robert slowed to a halt, staring down at me coldly while I thrashed in the water.
"Stop faking. Penny's wolf isn't the type to pull that filthy rogue shit."
"Quit trying to guilt-leash me. Just haul yourself out."
I swallowed water. My leg seized with a cramp.
"It was her! Help... help me!"
Robert's expression flickered. He finally realized I wasn't acting. He started reaching for me -
But then Penny clutched her belly and wailed.
"Jax, the pup's kicking - it hurts!"
Robert froze. One second of hesitation.
Then he turned his back, scooped Penny into his arms, and carried her inside.
The den door slammed shut.
It felt like every door in my life slammed shut with it.
I don't know how long I fought to keep my muzzle above the surface. My vision started tunneling black.
Finally, strong arms hooked under me and hauled me out.
When I dragged my eyes open, I saw a face I knew but hadn't scented in forever.
