Chapter 1

"Rose, you've been hiding in Blackstone City for seven years now. The alliance between the Rollins and Golden Packs cannot be delayed any longer. Are you willing to return to Golden Oak City for the union ceremony?"

"If you've found a wolf worthy of your bond in Blackstone City, we'll negotiate with the Golden Pack. Even if it means offering bloodline gems as compensation, we'll cancel the arrangement."

Rose lay motionless on the cold stone bed, her silver hair tangled and dull, her gaze fixed on nothing. The moonlight streaming through the window seemed to mock her exhaustion.

Silence stretched between them like a chasm.

Her mother's sigh crackled through the communication stone, and she was about to sever the connection when Rose finally stirred. She sat up slowly, raking fingers through hair that hadn't fully settled after her last shift.

"No need." Her voice scraped out, raw and hollow. "I'll return to Golden Oak City for the union."

The sharp intake of breath on the other end cut through the quiet. "But what about the wolves you've been protecting? How could you possibly agree to—"

"It's complicated," Rose interrupted, her tone flat as winter frost. "I'll explain when I arrive. Have the Rollins and Thorne families prepare the bonding ritual. Once I settle affairs here, I'll depart immediately."

She ended the call. A single tear traced down her cheek.

Rose wiped her face roughly, drew a steadying breath, and pushed open the heavy wooden door.

The celebration's roar crashed over her like a wave.

This was the coming-of-age feast that Zack Morrigan and Shawn Haynes had competed to throw for Sally David. They'd claimed an entire ceremonial ground, summoning every wolf leader and night guard in Blackstone City, determined to elevate Sally's status.

Wolf howls and drumbeats assaulted Rose's ears as she moved through the crowd. Her eyes swept past elegantly dressed wolves until they landed on a scene that stopped her cold.

A man in armor held a chalice of pack wine, his arm wrapped possessively around a girl's waist as he kissed her without restraint.

Zack and Sally.

Rose's gaze searched further, almost desperately.

At least Shawn wasn't there to witness this. That would have been unbearable.

As they finally broke apart, Sally's eyes lifted and locked onto Rose's.

She affected a bashful expression, pushing Zack away with delicate hands before smoothing her dress—the very dress embroidered with wolf clan symbols that Rose had gifted her. Sally picked up a goblet of fruit wine meant for humans and practically skipped toward the stairs, skirts gathered in her hands.

"Rose, have you rested? Here, I brought you fruit wine. I know your bloodline is powerful but you dislike the harsh spirits. I had this specially prepared for you."

Sally pressed the goblet toward Rose's lips without hesitation. Her mouth was slightly swollen, lips reddened from Zack's attention, each movement a calculated provocation.

Rose turned her head away, her voice cold. "Take it away. I don't want it."

Sally's fingers clutched at her skirts, panic flashing across her features like she'd committed some terrible offense. "Rose, you never treated me this way before. Have I done something to anger you?"

"You're overthinking it." Rose had no patience for this performance. She turned to leave, but Sally's hand shot out and gripped her wrist.

Rose tried to pull free. Failed.

"If you want to play the wounded innocent for sympathy, go find Zack and Shawn. I'm not interested. I find it revolting."

Rose shot her an indifferent glance, wrenched her arm free, and started to walk away.

The sound of shattering glass made her freeze. Fruit wine splashed across her boots, cold and sticky.

She whirled around to find Sally tilting backward, arms flailing.

Rose reached out instinctively to steady her, but Sally shoved against her palm hard, using the momentum to send herself tumbling down the stone steps. Glass shards—mixed with fragments of wolf bone that had been planted beforehand—bit into Sally's skin as she fell, her screams tearing through the feast hall.

The celebration died instantly.

Zack's face transformed. He shifted partially, gray-black fur rippling across his shoulders as he lunged forward and caught Sally's bloodied form, all composure shattered.

Shawn had just entered through the ceremonial archway. His eyes landed on Sally covered in wounds, cradled in Zack's arms, and something feral ignited in his gaze.

His eyes bled red. For a moment, black-crimson fur threatened to overtake his human form before he forced it back. His stare swept the hall and settled on Rose, a dangerous curve touching his lips.

Rose's brow furrowed, but before she could speak, Shawn's hand cracked across her face.

"Are you so jealous of Sally that you'd attack her on her coming-of-age night?"

The burning impact left her head spinning, cheek swelling instantly. Then Shawn's hands were on her shoulders, shoving her backward.

"I asked you a question. Lost your tongue? Deliberately harming pack members is forbidden by wolf law. Do you want to be cast out? Stripped of your bloodline and exiled?"

Zack tenderly licked at Sally's wounds—a wolf's instinctive gesture of care—before lifting his head to regard Rose with cold disappointment. "Alpha Rose, I always thought you were rational. Level-headed. I truly misjudged you."

His attention snapped to a nearby guard. "Summon the pack healer immediately. Spare no expense treating Lady Sally's injuries."

Sally's fingers weakly tugged at Zack's sleeve. "Don't make a fuss, Zack. Don't let this ruin the feast you and Shawn prepared for me. Just have the healer bandage me. I'll be fine."

Zack stared at her, momentarily stunned.

At her words, the fury drained from Shawn's face. He crouched beside her, fingers gentle beneath her chin. "Whatever you want. My personal healer is here with the pack. I'll bring him now."

Sally nodded, obedient and trusting.

An attendant approached through the dispersing crowd, carrying an ornate wolf honor medallion that Shawn had recently won in territorial combat.

"Lady Sally, this is the first Wolf's Honor medallion Lord Haynes has earned. He specifically requested it be presented to you."

Sally covered her mouth in feigned surprise, clutching Shawn's arm as she whispered, "I love it so much, Shawn. You're so good to me."

Zack lifted Sally carefully, nodding to the healer. "My chambers. Now."

With Shawn's approval, the healer hurried after them.

Before leaving, Shawn fixed Rose with a look that promised consequences. A silent warning not to come near Sally again.

The guests filtered away in uncomfortable silence.

Rose stood alone, the attendant's words echoing in her mind. She remembered years ago, when Shawn had just escaped his family's cruelty, eyes bright with desperate hope as he'd sworn, "Alpha Rose, wait for me. I'll earn the Wolf's Honor medallion for you. I'll prove myself worthy of protecting you."

Back then, she'd been the one they treasured. Only her.

Seven years ago, Rose had fled the arranged union with the Golden Pack, secretly altering her bloodline registration to settle in Blackstone City. As the Rollins family's only heir, she'd been indulged—her family purchased her a villa, ensured she never lacked resources.

The radiant silver-wolf Rose had drawn Zack and Shawn to her immediately.

One, a mixed-blood wolf with human ancestry, barely able to maintain human form, surviving as a night guard with nothing to his name. The other, an unwanted bastard son of the Haynes pack, his blackened-red wolf form unstable and violent.

Both had been drowning in mud when they met her.

For four years, wherever Rose went, Zack and Shawn followed.

They'd worshipped her.

With Rose's support and her family's resources, Zack had stabilized his shifts and awakened iron-claw abilities. He'd united Blackstone City's scattered night guards into a formidable pack.

Shawn had been worse off, his wolf constantly threatening to overtake him. Rose had used her own pure bloodline to suppress his violent nature, then leveraged Rollins influence to help him seize control of the Haynes family. Under her guidance, he'd become one of Blackstone City's most powerful alpha leaders.

Then Sally appeared and shattered everything.

Sally had been an Omega orphan Rose rescued. Rose had taken her in, taught her pack customs, even infused traces of her own pure bloodline into Sally's veins so she could withstand wolf aggression. She'd groomed Sally as a successor, knowing she'd eventually return to Golden Oak City and need someone to manage her interests here.

She'd never seen how Sally used that position to coil around Shawn. How she'd used Rose's introduction to Zack to ensnare him too.

Slowly, imperceptibly, their devotion had transferred to Sally.

Everything they'd once offered Rose—the reverence, the protection, the absolute loyalty—now belonged to that girl.

Zack, always frugal, had spent lavishly on this feast for Sally. Shawn, proud and untamed, would blush and yield at Sally's slightest word.

Their past favoritism had touched something in Rose. Made her believe she might choose one of them, claim a bond on her own terms rather than accept her family's arrangement.

Zack and Shawn had once fought each other bloody over her. She'd had no doubt that either would drop to his knees if she'd only asked.

But Sally's arrival had rewritten everything.

Rose pulled out her communication stone and checked the moon phase calendar. She reserved passage to Golden Oak City departing in three days.

Three days would be enough to reclaim what was hers, sever her ties to Blackstone City, and close this Chapterforever.

She'd return to Golden Oak City. Accept the union with the Golden Pack. And never think of these three again.