Chapter 1On the night of the Thanksgiving Moon, I sent a message to Alpha Luke Anderson.
"Alpha Luke, when are we going to announce me as your mate?"
But before he could reply, Dad suddenly lifted his hand and pointed toward a nearby moonlit lamp post, his voice sharp with surprise.
"Isn't that Luke? He's holding hands with a she-wolf. Looks like they're mated, huh?"
My heart slammed against my ribs. My wolf stirred uneasily.
Instinctively, I followed my parents' gaze.
The next second, I froze. My entire body went rigid.
Under the warm amber glow of the lamp post, Luke leaned down and pressed his lips to the she-wolf in his arms.
I recognized her scent - the new healer the Pack Elder had mentioned a few days ago, due to join our Healing Center next week.
Maybe my stare burned too hot, because Luke suddenly lifted his head.
The moment our eyes locked, his pupils dilated - then contracted. His throat bobbed twice, fast.
A few seconds later, he released the she-wolf and strode toward us.
"Alpha Reeves, Luna Reeves, let me formally introduce her. This is my intend mate, Adaline Ainsley."
When he reached me, guilt flickered in his gaze. He couldn't hold my eyes for more than a single heartbeat. His gaze skimmed over my face, then he turned to the she-wolf beside him.
"And this is Winnie, Alpha Reeves's daughter. She's like a sister to me."
Hearing that, I let out a low, bitter growl of a laugh.
So the she-wolf who had shared his den for 365 nights - who had secretly marked his scent on her skin - was nothing more than a sister in his words.
Adaline turned and smiled at me.
"Winnie, so nice to finally meet you. I'll be joining the Healing Center soon. I hope we get along."
She leaned into Luke, squeezing his hand, her eyes crinkling.
"Alpha Anderson is so busy. The Pack keeps him overwhelmed. I suppose he won't have much time for me."
My gaze dropped to the matching silver bands on their fingers - bond rings. My eyes burned, but I refused to let the tears fall.
Luke was indeed busy.
Busy lying to me about Pack duties on Thanksgiving Moon. Busy holding another she-wolf's hand. Busy kissing her - while I waited, heart pounding, for his reply to my message.
Luke's ears flushed crimson. He gazed down at Adaline, his voice warm.
"What nonsense? Even if I'm busy, I'll never neglect you. Has there ever been a time you needed me and I wasn't by your side?"
Hearing that, bitterness clawed up my throat. My wolf whimpered inside.
I remembered last week, when a fever burned through me at 39 degrees. I messaged him, begging him to bring me a healing draught. He replied that the Pack was swamped - told me to get it myself. And that was it.
So it wasn't that he had no time. It was that his time had never been mine.
Just then, Dad clapped Luke on the shoulder, his face beaming with a proud smile.
"This is wonderful. I've watched you and Nini grow up together. Now that you both have found your mates, we elders are truly happy for you."
He turned to me, his eyes warm.
"Speaking of which, Nini is also in a relationship. They've been together for a year, but she still hasn't told us who he is. Her mother and I even guessed it might be you - you grew up together, work at the same Healing Center, see each other every day."
Dad laughed heartily.
"But seeing your fiancée today, we finally realized it was all a big misunderstanding!"
Fireworks burst across the sky, their glow illuminating my pale, frozen face. My wolf wanted to howl - but I swallowed it down.
Luke answered without missing a beat, his voice smooth, laced with faint amusement.
"How could that be, Alpha Reeves? I've always seen Nini as a sister. She's straightforward - so I've looked out for her a bit more at the Center. I never dreamed it would cause such a misunderstanding."
I stared at Luke's smiling face, my chest tightening until I couldn't breathe. My wolf paced restlessly, clawing at my insides, but there was no escape.
Chapter 2
A year of secret mating. Three hundred and sixty-five nights of sneaking into his den, leaving my scent on his pillows. And all of it meant nothing when Luke said I was just a sister.
My wolf snarled deep in my chest, but I shoved her down.
I took a shaky breath, forced a smile onto my face, and stepped forward, linking my arm through Dad's.
"Mom, Dad, don't worry. By the Winter Solstice Moon, I'll bring my chosen mate home for you to meet."
Dad blinked, then his eyes lit up. He patted my hand, chuckling.
"That's my girl! I'll finally meet the wolf who stole my daughter's heart for an entire year."
Mom laughed and squeezed my fingers.
"Yes, do tell us ahead of time. I'll prepare a proper feast. We can't - "
But Luke wasn't listening. He was staring at Adaline, holding her hand like she was the only she-wolf in the world.
I watched the pure, unguarded happiness on his face, and a raw ache surged through my ribs - followed by a reckless, self-destructive urge.
I grinned and looked straight at him.
"Funny coincidence - my mate is also a healer. He even works at the same Healing Center as Alpha Anderson."
The air around us instantly turned to ice.
Luke's smile froze solid. Even with Adaline beside him, his eyes locked onto mine, his lips moving soundlessly. He mouthed one word:
"Don't."
A flashback hit me - those times we'd kissed in his office, and a knock would send him shoving me away. Then, terrified I'd feel hurt, he'd sneak a wink, pleading for forgiveness.
But now his eyes held only fear. Pure, naked terror that I'd ruin his future with Adaline - expose him for having two mates.
I looked into those familiar eyes, and my wolf let out a low, wounded whine inside me. My fingertips trembled.
I pulled my smile wider, turned away, and didn't look at him again.
"But he's pretty low-key. You'll meet him on Winter Solstice."
Luke exhaled so hard I could see his shoulders drop. He relaxed - though his ears still burned bright red. Guilt, or residual panic? I didn't care anymore.
Just then, Dad's phone buzzed. He answered with a laugh, agreed to something, then hung up and waved.
"Quinn's waiting for your mother and me at the gathering. Past midnight - perfect for an all-nighter."
Mom chimed in, "We'll head off. You young wolves have fun." She turned to me, concern softening her gaze.
"Nini, it's late. The border woods aren't safe alone. Let Luke see you home."
Adaline instantly wrapped herself around Luke's arm, beaming.
"Alpha Reeves, Luna Reeves, don't worry. Luke and I will make sure Winnie gets home safely."
A wave of nausea rolled through me. My wolf bared her fangs internally. I waved my hands.
"No need. My ride's already here - just around the corner."
I started to turn, but Luke's hand shot out and clamped around my wrist.
His grip was iron. He was putting on a show for my parents - and warning me, all at once.
"Alpha Reeves entrusted you to me. I have to see you home."
He yanked me toward his car and shoved me into the back seat.
The moment the door slammed shut, I watched him walk around, lean into the front, and buckle Adaline's seatbelt for her. His touch was gentle - so gentle. His fingers brushed a stray strand of hair from her temple, and he murmured, "Sit tight, little wolf."
Adaline looked up, looped her arms around his neck, and planted a kiss on his cheek.
"I know. Drive carefully, Alpha."
I sat in the back, my gaze sweeping over the interior - and my heart stopped.
Before, this front seat was mine. The dangling charm was something I'd searched three market streets to find. The photo on the dash was of Luke and me on our first Moon FestiNini trip. Even the air freshener carried my favorite citrus scent.
Now the charm was gone. The photo was replaced with a side-profile embrace of him and Adaline. The freshener smelled like roses - Adaline's scent.
The cartoon cushion I'd stubbornly forced on him? Gone. Replaced by a lace one that matched Adaline's dress perfectly.
He had purged every trace of me, piece by piece. A long, long time ago.
Chapter 3
I turned my head away, pressing my forehead to the cold glass. Outside, the moonlit forest blurred past in streaks of silver and shadow. My eyes burned raw, but I clamped my jaws shut and refused to let a single tear fall.
The entire ride was silent. When the car stopped at the base of my pack-housing den, Luke shoved his door open and came around to mine. He pulled it open.
"I'll walk you up."
He turned and shot Adaline a smile - soft, private. "Ada, wait here for me. I'll be quick."
Adaline nodded and gave me a little wave.
I ignored her. I stepped out and walked straight toward the entrance of my building without looking back.
Luke followed behind me in silence. The moon cast our shadows long across the gravel path - one ahead, one behind. Not close enough to touch, not far enough to disappear. Just like our entire year.
When we reached the door to my den, Luke finally spoke.
"I've already cleared your things out. They're stacked by the entrance."
His voice dropped lower.
"Ada's moving in. I can't have her know…"
My hand froze on the key. My fingertips turned ice-cold.
That den - the one we'd shared for nearly a year, where I'd picked the wall hangings myself, stocked the cold-storage with his favorite meats, folded our matching sleep-furs in the closet - was nothing more than a secret he needed to bury. Something Adaline could never find out.
I didn't speak. Didn't turn around. Just stared at the lock, my wolf pacing frantically inside me.
Luke hesitated behind me, then muttered, his voice scraping with guilt, "Nini… I'm sorry."
I finally spun to face him.
The dim hall light caught his face, and I saw it - a flicker of panic, quick and sharp, before he masked it.
I twisted my lips into the thinnest, coldest smile.
"Don't apologize. We were never really mates. We were just rut partners. That's all."
The word hit him like a claw to the throat.
Luke's face went dark. His hand shot out and grabbed my wrist - hard enough to make me wince.
"Winnie. Do you have to make it sound so filthy?"
I stared at him, and the chill in my wolf's gaze must have pierced right through him.
Filthy?
He'd lied about Pack duties on Thanksgiving Moon while his fangs were in another she-wolf. He'd scrubbed every trace of me from his den and invited his new mate into our shared space. He'd stood in front of my parents and told them I was just a sister.
Compared to that - my words were nothing.
Luke's jaw tightened, but he let go. He turned and walked away without another word.
The moment his footsteps faded, the strength I'd been clinging to all night shattered like dry bone.
I sank onto the cold ground, and the tears I'd held back so long finally broke free - hot and endless, streaking down my cheeks. My wolf let out a broken, silent howl deep in my chest. I pressed my hand to my mouth to muffle the sound, but it didn't matter. No one was around.
I crouched there, shaking, crying until my ribs ached and my throat went raw. The moon drifted across the sky, pale and indifferent. By the time the first gray light of dawn crept over the treetops, I had nothing left.
When the tears finally dried, I dragged myself inside, buried under my furs, switched off my moon-stone comm, and pulled the curtains so tight that not a sliver of light touched the floor.
I took seven days off from the Healing Center. Didn't tell anyone why.
For those days, I didn't eat. Didn't step outside. My wolf lay curled and quiet inside me, too wounded to stir. I only got up to drink a sip of cold water when my throat burned too much to ignore.
My stomach gnawed at itself, my limbs grew weak - but the hollow in my chest was bigger than hunger. It couldn't be filled.
On the evening of the fifth day, a single beam of sunset bled through a crack in the curtains, slicing across the floorboards.
I stared at that thin line of light for a long, long time.
Then something shifted. My wolf lifted her head.
I realized, all at once, that torturing myself wasn't going to bring anything back.
Slowly, I pushed myself out of bed and walked to the washroom. I caught my reflection in the mirror - and barely recognized the wolf staring back. My face was pale as ash. Dark hollows carved under my eyes. My lips cracked and dry. My hair hung in limp, dull strands. I looked like a wolf that had been starved and forgotten.
I turned on the hot water, let the steam fill the room, and scrubbed every trace of those days off my skin. Then I reached for my grooming kit - lined my eyes with dark pigment, brushed color onto my cheeks, and painted my lips a deep, defiant red.
When I looked up again, the wolf in the mirror had a spark back in her gaze.
I smiled - a small, sharp smile.
Then I pulled on a sleek leather dress, strapped on my heeled boots, and walked out the door into the twilight air.
