Chapter 1The line for the skyride crept forward. Two seats left.
Ethan Orlando turned to the tourist next to him, all polished politeness, baring his neck just enough to seem harmless.
"Sorry, but the she-wolf next to you is my packmate. She's terrified of heights. First time on a gondola - she's here to beg the moon for luck on her grad school apps. Mind swapping seats with me? I need to sit beside her."
The tourist glanced at Ruth Reid's flushed cheeks and grinned. "Sure, dude. That's how I won my mate back in the day."
His eyes slid past Ruth to me, standing behind them.
"She with you guys too?"
Ethan, already settled in the carriage, seemed to remember I existed. His claimed mate. The one he'd scented first, four years ago.
He flicked a glance at me through the door. "Nope."
My wolf whimpered low in my chest.
I stood there, watching the tiny car climb toward the peak.
Seven years.
Seven years of trailing behind him and Ruth. Chasing their laughter. Chasing their scent. Chasing those art-house films I couldn't care less about.
This time, the path ahead was pitch black.
And for once, I didn't have the energy to follow.
I turned around. Downhill might be easier.
...
Workers pulled red caution tape across the entrance. A loudspeaker crackled: Last ride of the night.
Ethan knew. That's why he'd been so desperate to swap seats for Ruth. He'd already scented the end of the line.
I stood frozen in the visitor center, scrolling our group chat. Two photos. Just them.
[Made it to the top safe and sound! Diana, hurry up!]
[This dumbass actually waited in that whole line for those little good-luck charms. I told him it was stupid, but would he listen? A thirty-year-old wolf buying into this crap? So pathetic. Like I'd ever mate someone that desperate.]
In the photo, Ethan stood at the end of a long queue, totally out of place. My claws dug into my palm.
Before we left, I'd posted in the chat: The love charms and career charms here are supposed to be super lucky - would be great for good vibes.
I'd begged him to come with me. He'd replied cold: [Boring.]
Now he was standing in line without a word.
Ruth sent a video a moment later. [Bought them! Diana, this one's yours.]
The green charm said Career Advancement.
But I caught a flash of something in Ruth's hand at the edge of the frame. The pink one. The love charm. The one I wanted most.
My wolf let out a silent howl.
I didn't know what to feel. One was the wolf I'd given four years of my heat cycles to. The other, my pack sister for eight.
And somehow, neither of them ever actually scented my pain.
I locked my screen and found a corner of the lobby to wait.
Three hours.
Three hours I sat there, my wolf pacing under my skin, until my phone buzzed violently in my pocket.
The shuttle driver's voice exploded through the line. "Seriously? You said eleven on the dot. Look at the clock! I run a route - I don't do hourly. I got another fare booked for tomorrow. You think you can just ghost me and not cover my loss?"
The accusations hit like bricks. I checked the time.
Midnight.
I apologized profusely, then dialed Ruth. No answer. I tried Ethan. Six, seven, eight times.
On the ninth, he picked up.
"Where are you? Are you still on the mountain? Did something happen?"
A light laugh came through the speaker. "Told you! Pay up, loser."
Ethan's voice, resigned: "Ruth bet me you'd come looking. We're behind the Sunrise Overlook. Come find us."
Sunrise? Hide and seek? I blinked. "We said we weren't staying for sunrise. You have a train tomorrow, and I have work - "
"Diana." His voice went cold. "We finally get a break. Can you not kill the mood for once?"
My throat closed up. My wolf cowered.
I pressed my nails into my thigh - felt my claws threaten to break skin - forcing my voice steady. "Ethan. I missed the last gondola."
"Figure it out yourself."
In the background, laughter. Music. None of it for me.
A year ago I would've screamed. Thrown a fit. Maybe even shifted and howled my rage.
But now I just stared at the empty hall, and my chest felt hollow too.
What else was there? I wasn't like Ruth - brilliant, ruthless, willing to hide from her pack for years just to retake the GRE.
Me? I took the teaching job in Oakhaven. Stable. Fine. A quiet she-wolf in a quiet pack.
The only thing I'd ever fought for was Ethan. That crush from our teen years, when we first shifted together. I chased his scent for years. But every step I took pushed him farther. His heart was never my territory.
I closed my eyes. My wolf finally submitted to the truth.
My voice came out quiet.
"Ethan. We're done."
Chapter 2
Fireworks exploded overhead, drowning out my words.
The call went dead.
Then I realized - he'd already hung up.
I sent a test text. It failed.
I got up, stumbled toward the shuttle, and ate pavement. Hard. My claws scraped concrete as I tried to catch myself, but I went down knees-first.
The driver - pissed off a minute ago - saw me on the ground, hair everywhere, blood seeping through my torn jeans. His cigarette dropped from his mouth. He must've caught the scent of wolf blood.
He didn't say another word. Just floored it.
But his eyes kept darting to the rearview mirror. "I wasn't that harsh, was I? Kids these days..."
The warm glow of Oakhaven bled into view. Light hit my face, and my wolf finally uncurled from its defensive crouch. I remembered how to breathe.
Turns out climbing down from that mountain? Way easier than climbing up.
I'd spent my whole life running after them.
Ruth, bright and golden. Ethan, sharp and untouchable. Wherever they went, they were the center of the pack. Teachers' favorites. Everyone's darlings.
In high school, they'd ditch class together, perched on the gym wall, laughing at me for trembling at the height.
The pack elder caught us. I took the blame. Got dragged up during assembly as the cautionary example - the weak Omega wolf who couldn't keep up.
Then I applied to State U's most useless major, just to catch the same train as Ethan.
By the time I got there, he and Ruth had new hobbies. Rock climbing. BMX. Art films.
I stayed up all night, my wolf pacing under my skin, cramming reviews so I could fake my way through their conversations.
After I parroted something I'd read, Ruth winked. "Al's getting good, huh? Diana's finally catching up with the times."
Ethan cracked a smile - a rare crack in his icy mask.
Relief flooded me. The awkwardness smoothed over.
Three wolves. And I was the stray. The third wheel.
Back at my apartment, I couldn't sleep. My wolf refused to settle. I scrubbed every surface, trying to bury my scent, reorganizing drawers until sunrise.
Then I picked up my phone.
Ruth had posted.
[Freezing tonight. But at least someone's here to freeze with me]
A photo - golden sunrise over the mountain, silhouettes of people. The last shot was a selfie on the tour bus. Half a shoulder, visible. Ethan's.
I double-tapped it, even as my wolf snarled.
Then I grabbed the framed photo by my bed. Senior year. Class picture.
I was short, front row. They got shoved to the front by the crowd. I tried to duck back. Two hands pressed down on my shoulders - Ruth's claws light but insistent. She looped her arm around my neck.
"Come on, we're pack!"
Ethan grunted a cold "Yeah."
That summer after graduation, Ethan kissed me. I thought my years of pining had finally paid off.
Turns out he and Ruth had fought that week. She'd said something about studying abroad. He kissed me out of spite.
A third wheel squeezing into a two-wolf world.
Even the group chat was my idea - I got drunk and snatched Ethan's phone to make it.
But every time I sent memes or videos? Silence.
Ruth posted a weather photo once? Instant replies from me. Instant commentary from Ethan.
And he was my mate.
I blinked, but my eyes were already dry. My wolf had stopped crying.
I tore the photo out of its frame, claws shredding the edge, and dumped it in the trash. Left the group chat without a second look.
The door swung open. Their voices hit me from the hallway.
Ruth rolled her eyes, her wolf flashing briefly in her pupils. "Look, Diana's a lot, I know. But she's not a bad wolf. You need to go apologize, or I swear, I'm done talking to you."
Ethan let out a long breath, shoulders tense. "She wasn't like this before. If I'd known she was gonna be this needy, I never would've gotten involved with her."
The door opened.
Eye contact.
Chapter 3
Ruth shot him a look - sharp, Luna-like.
Ethan walked in stiffly, ears pinned back against his skull. He set a coffee and a bagel on the table. "Your usual. Black coffee, plain bagel."
Then he pulled a pink charm from his pocket. "Got this for you. So drop the attitude."
I took the unopened green one instead. My claws scraped the packaging as I pulled out my phone. "Thanks. How much? I'll Venmo you."
The room went dead.
Ethan blinked, brow furrowed, his wolf flickering behind his eyes. "Who pissed you off now?"
Ruth grabbed my arm, shaking it gently. Then she pressed a credit card into my palm. "Seriously, just take it. Go nuts. Let him foot the bill. Eight hundred dollars on a charm last night. And he was about to do it again - I had to snatch it out of his hand. He doesn't know how to flirt, he doesn't know how to apologize - he's useless. So don't bother being mad. Just spend his money and feel better."
Ethan crossed his arms, jaw tight. But he didn't stop her.
The card was cold against my palm. My wolf recoiled.
I set it on the table, grabbed the trash bag by the door. "I'm not angry. I have work. Excuse me."
At school, the teachers greeted me.
One of the newer wolves held up an extra coffee. "Ms. Winters, you want this? Black."
The teacher next to her snorted. "She can't do caffeine. Save it."
I smiled. A coworker I'd known less than a year remembered my dietary restrictions. Ethan Orlando - Alpha wolf, perfect recall - never had.
He just didn't care enough to scent what I needed.
After my morning classes, a text popped up.
[Changed my train. Lunch today?]
[Pick you up at school?]
I didn't reply.
But when I walked out, he was there. Car by the curb. Window down. That icy face.
He jerked his chin at the passenger seat. "Get in."
Ten minutes later. Same wolf who'd regretted ever meeting me this morning. Now acting like nothing happened.
He rattled off orders to the waiter like clockwork. "Start with these. You want to add anything?" He didn't pause for breath. "Ruth's stressed. GRE crunch. Don't bring up this morning again. After lunch, you apologize, so she doesn't spiral."
I took the menu. Didn't write anything down.
He'd noticed Ruth's mood. Hadn't noticed I'd left the pack chat.
The day I passed the Praxis, I'd wanted to drive over and tell him in person. He was on vacation with Ruth. She'd failed her GRE. He was comforting her. This dinner was supposed to be my celebration. It'd been waiting for months.
The joy was long gone. My wolf had stopped wagging its tail.
Hot pot arrived. Meat platters. Veggies.
Ethan dropped beef in my bowl, hesitated. "There's a reunion coming up. You free? We could visit the old teachers - "
His phone blared.
Ruth's voice, shaking. "Ethan, I tried to find the public library and I got lost. It's so empty out here - "
He was already on his feet, jacket on. "Stay put. I'm coming."
Halfway to the door, he glanced back at me. "I'll drop her off and come back."
I didn't answer. My wolf curled into a silent ball.
The restaurant closed. He didn't come back.
I went to school for evening supervision.
The teacher on duty with me - older, chatty, gray at her temples - grinned. "My son's single. You should meet him."
I paused mid-grading. My ears perked despite myself.
Smiled. "Sure. I've got time."
This time, I meant it.
