Chapter 4

Juliet's POV

Two more days went by before I worked up the nerve.

Late at night, alone in my studio. The cursor blinked at me. I'd been sitting here for twenty minutes, staring at the blank email like the right words would magically appear.

How the fuck do you ask to leave when you can't say why?

I typed something. Deleted it. Tried again. The first version sounded desperate. The second one was too formal, any Alpha would call Kael immediately to ask what was wrong.

By the fourth try, my hands were shaking so badly I had to stop and breathe.

Just keep it simple.

I wrote something short about wanting to develop my tattoo career, seeking artistic communities. It wasn't great, but it would work.

I copied it into five emails, one for each major pack I could think of. My cursor sat on the send button.

I could chicken out.

Then I went through and deleted everything. Browser history, drafts, trash folder. I even cleared the router logs.

Two hours later I climbed into bed next to Kael. He was already asleep, one arm reaching across to my side.

Please, someone take me.

The next two weeks were hell.

Every morning I woke up and pretended to be the perfect Luna. Hosted meetings, settled pack drama, organized dinners.

Every night Kael pulled me close and kissed my neck, right where his mark was, and I had to bite down on my cheek to keep from throwing up.

"You've been amazing lately," he said one night, fingers drawing patterns on my shoulder. "Everyone in the pack loves you."

"Thanks."

"But you seem off. Tired or something." His hand stopped moving. "Everything okay?"

I froze. Did he know? Did he find something?

"Too busy," I said. My voice came out normal somehow. "There's been a lot going on with pack stuff."

"Maybe we need a break. Weekend trip, just us." He kissed my forehead. "Let me take care of you."

"Sounds good," I lied. Everything I said was a lie now.

And every night after he fell asleep, I checked my email.

Nothing.

One week. Two weeks. Three.

None of the five packs wrote back.

Two in the morning. I sat in my studio staring at my empty inbox, willing a response to show up.

It wasn't coming.

I knew why. I'd known the whole time, but I'd been too desperate to admit it.

I was Luna of one of the strongest packs in the North. Kael's Luna. Nobody would touch my transfer request without his approval, and that meant documents with his signature.

I was stuck.

No. There's got to be another way.

I pulled up a map and started scrolling east. South. Looking for packs far enough away that Kael's name didn't mean as much.

Then I saw it. A cluster of packs on the east coast. I clicked one randomly.

Greenmoor Pack. Big pack, known for being progressive and having a strong arts scene.

I kept reading. My breath stopped.

Greenmoor Pack will host this year's Master Tattoo Championship in Golden Dove. Artists from across the country...

This year's championship. In Greenmoor.

If I got there, I could compete. And I'd be a thousand miles from Kael.

I was already typing a new email before I'd finished thinking it through.

Three days later I told Kael I needed to clear my head and drove to this tiny café on the edge of our territory. He didn't ask questions, just kissed my forehead and sent two guards to shadow me from a distance.

The café was pretty empty. I ordered coffee I wasn't going to drink and sat by the window, pretending to look at my phone while my brain went crazy planning.

"Hey, is anyone sitting here?"

A girl around my age stood next to my table, smiling. She had these warm brown eyes and her hair was pulled back messy.

"No, go ahead."

She dropped into the chair with this relieved sigh. "Thanks so much. It's packed in here today." It definitely wasn't, but whatever. "I'm Iris. Just passing through, heading back east."

"Juliet."

"Cool! Nice to—oh my god, did you draw that?" She was staring at my hands. I'd been sketching on a napkin without thinking about it. "That's amazing."

I looked down at the wolf I'd drawn. "Oh. Yeah, it's just something I do."

"You're a tattoo artist, aren't you?" She got all excited. "I can always tell. It's something about the way you guys move your hands."

I couldn't help smiling a little. "Yeah, I am."

"No way, that's awesome! I'm from Greenmoor Pack and we've got this huge tattoo scene there. You'd love it."

Everything in me went still. "Greenmoor?"

"Yeah! East coast. Super artsy, tons of creative people. Our Alpha's really into supporting artists, especially women doing their own thing. It's great." She studied me. "You should come visit. Or like, if you ever thought about relocating..."

She doesn't know I'm a Luna. She has no idea who I am.

"That sounds incredible," I said carefully. "But I'm actually a Luna here. I don't know if I could transfer."

"You're a Luna?" Iris just waved her hand. "Who cares? Greenmoor doesn't do all that traditional stuff. We've had other Lunas join before to do their own careers. Our Alpha thinks everyone should chase what they want, mate bond or not."

Is this real? Can I actually trust this?

"I applied there already," I said quietly. "But they haven't answered."

"You did?" She grabbed her phone. "What's your full name? I'll text my brother right now, he works in the Alpha's office. They probably just haven't gotten to it yet."

"You'd do that?"

"Obviously! Any pack would be lucky to get someone with your talent." She was already typing. "Don't stress about it. I'll make sure they actually look at your application."

I watched her send it. Something tight in my chest started to loosen.

That night Kael was in his office when I got home. I went straight to my studio and locked the door.

I pulled out the boxes from the back of my supply closet.

Everything was in there. Photos of my original designs with the timestamps showing I made them first. Screenshots of Kael and Selene's texts. Every piece of proof I'd collected over the last month.

It all fit in two small boxes. Easy to carry.

Next I went through the pieces I'd finished over the past three years. Most were too big to take with me, but I took photos of the best ones for my portfolio. Proof that I hadn't just been sitting around playing.

I grabbed a fresh sheet and started sketching Shattered Vows with all the details. A wolf tangled up in chains, each link carved with words. Forever. Love. Trust. Protect.

Lies. All of it.

"This is for you," I whispered at the drawing. "My goodbye present."

I hid the boxes in different spots around the studio where Kael would never look. Then I sat at my desk and opened my email.

One new message.

Greenmoor Pack.

My hands shook so bad I almost dropped my phone.

They'd reviewed my application. They wanted me.

I read it three times. I just needed Kael to leave the pack long enough for me to run before he could stop it.