Chapter 1

Chloe, my best friend, tried to set me up with Ethan, an enforcer who grew up in the same pack as her. I turned her down flat.

I was recognized as the most promising young warrior in our entire pack; I didn't need anyone playing matchmaker for me.

But Chloe kept nagging and begging until I finally agreed to meet him just once.

To my surprise, the moment I laid eyes on him, sparks flew.

Before long, we completed our mating bond.

Yet when I was six months pregnant, my best friend suddenly dropped a bombshell on me:

"I lent him to you for all these years. Isn't it time you gave him back?"

Hearing those words completely stunned me.

Today was supposed to be my checkup with the Pack Healer, as I was already six months along.

My best friend had rushed back from out of town to be with me, and I had even planned on asking her to be my baby’s godmother.

Instead, the second she sat down, she threw that right in my face.

Past memories flashed before my eyes, one after another, as if mocking my stupidity.

In truth, the signs had always been there; I had simply chosen to turn a blind eye.

Whenever we attended the pack's Full Moon Festival together, Ethan's gaze would drift toward Chloe without him even realizing it. When Chloe danced, her skirt fluttering in the air, Ethan would stand in the corner with a drink, eyes glued to her.

I would walk up and ask him, "What are you looking at?"

He would snap out of it. "Oh, nothing. Just pack business."

Chloe would inevitably stroll over, link her arm through mine, and tease, "He's been like this since we were kids. He completely spaces out during Full Moon Festivals, just ignore him."

"Back when we were little, during one festival, he sneaked out to chase a rabbit and got hopelessly lost in the deep woods. I spent all night tracking him, and when I finally found him, he was bawling his eyes out under an oak tree."

"And that other time, when we went on a border patrol together. He insisted on acting tough and taking the lead, only to step right into a hunter's snare. He dangled upside down from a branch for half the day until I climbed up to cut him down."

"Don't forget the pack hunt contest! Trying to beat me, he took a shortcut and ran headfirst into a rogue grizzly. It chased him all over the mountain until I lured it away and saved his hide."

Back then, I actually thought this was completely normal. After all, they had grown up in the same pack. It made sense they shared stories I wasn't part of, and their closeness seemed innocent enough.

It turned out to be anything but.

Chloe left right after dropping that line.

I tried calling Ethan like crazy. Seven or eight calls, and he never picked up.

My mind drifted back to a time Chloe and I were walking near the pack borders. We had accidentally stepped into a neighboring pack's marked territory and were quickly surrounded by their border patrol. I identified myself and explained it was an honest mistake, but they refused to let it go.

I called Ethan over and over, but he never answered.

Eventually, an annoyed Chloe snapped, "Let me try!"

The call went through on the very first ring. "What's wrong, Chloe? Are you okay?"

Chloe complained, "Emily and I accidentally crossed the border, and their patrol is cornering us! Why haven't you been picking up your phone?!"

Ethan answered without missing a beat, "I answered the second you called, didn't I? I'm bringing a team over right now."

Back then, I assumed he just happened to look at his screen when she rang. Now I knew the truth—he simply never missed *her* calls.

I wasn't someone who gave up easily.

By the tenth try, Ethan finally answered.

The background was dead quiet, but his voice carried a faint trace of irritation that was hard to miss.

Had he always sounded like this whenever he answered my calls?

"Why haven't you been picking up?"

"I've been in the Beta's office going over reports. Didn't I just text you?"

I tested him intentionally. "Chloe came with me to my appointment."

He sounded completely oblivious to what had just happened, answering naturally, "Good, take care of yourself at the clinic. By the way, isn't she training in close combat lately? Tell her to take it easy so she doesn't flare up that old shoulder injury."

"She never told me she was hurt."

"And you call yourselves best friends? You don't pay any attention to her. She took a hard slam during the last pack sparring tournament and her shoulder never fully healed. You didn't notice?"

Oh, so you know every little detail about her. Did you know that I got hurt during that tournament, too?

I had cracked a rib and spent an entire month visiting the healer alone to get herbal poultices applied.

Chloe came to see me every single day, yet you never asked about me once.