Chapter 1

On the day of my coming-of-age ceremony,

Seraphina, my "best friend", broke our promise.

She said she was going to the Red Sand Desert for the Blood Moon festival.

I stood at the portal to our pack’s Sacred Grounds, Ancestor’s Peak, in a panic.

She had promised to come with me to Moonlight Lake on the Sacred Mountain.

That’s where I was supposed to make my first-bite confession to Kael.

It was the end of a ten-year crush. A ritual meant to bind our fates together.

Uneasily, I looked at Kael, my childhood friend.

Kael was polishing his silver dagger.

He said casually, “Why don’t we go to the Red Sand Desert instead? I heard the Blood Moon there is incredible.”

I stared at him, then shook my head.

“Ancestor’s Peak has a moon too. If she doesn’t want to keep her promise, fine. We’ll go without her.”

Kael looked up and turned his claw-phone toward me.

The screen showed the payment page for a Blood Moon Feast pass.

He smiled. “That’s the problem, Elara. I don’t want to go anymore either.”

...

“Why?”

I bit my lip. Behind me, the pack Elders were already calling us forward.

The portal to the Sacred Grounds was about to close.

Kael glanced at his screen, smiling to himself.

“Check Seraphina’s HowlNet. I just realized Red Sand might be worth it.”

I opened her profile.

“You may not go to Ancestor’s Peak with me, but the moonlight in Red Sand is beautiful. Scars, sandstorms, and wolf howls will all become part of my awakening.”

Underneath was a photo of her bag and a one-way pass to the desert.

I looked up at him. “So that’s it? You’re leaving me behind to go with her?”

Kael sighed and rubbed my head, the way he always did. Like a big brother.

“Elara, I can’t protect you forever. You need to learn to hunt on your own.”

“I have my own instincts. My own wants. Those matter too.”

“The Blood Moon there is rare. I want to see it for myself. So don’t look at me like that, okay?” He held my gaze.

There was tenderness in his eyes. Resignation. Even pleading.

But not the possessiveness I wanted—the fierce, instinctive claim of a mate.

A bad feeling rose in my chest. Wolves with the same instincts always grow closer.

I wanted to grab his arm like before. “Kael, can’t you choose our pack’s Sacred Mountain?”

Can’t you choose me?