Chapter 1

"Charlotte, the wolves look forward to your return. Would you consider returning to Silvermoon to come and complete the ritual with your fated Alpha?"

There was a long pause, then my mom continued, "If you don't want this ......"

Her voice drifted through the phone once more. It was calm but with that familiar thread of hope she always tried to mask. I sat on the edge of my bed, thinking about what she's asking me to do, and suddenly Nixi, my wolf, interrupted.

"We don't know whom they're binding us to," she said in an unfriendly tone and shook her head. "But Jaziel and Nolan, although they have been annoying lately, we know them, and we love them; they're for us."

I ran my fingers through my hair and began grinding my teeth, hoping she'd take a hint and shut up.

For years, I had refused. I'd fought tooth and claw against the idea of returning. Although I found my fated Alpha in a group of Alphas who came to a meeting three years ago when I went back to the Silver Moon PACK, I'm not sure if we're just bound by the Moon God or if we're actually going to fall in love. But now?

"I'll go," I said, surprising even myself.

There was a long pause on the other end. I could tell my mom was as surprised as I was.

"What?" Nixi blurted. "You're doing no such thing!"

"Can you just let me be for a second?" I replied to her, "Shut up."

When my mother finally spoke, I noticed a tremor in her voice. "You... you agree?"

"Yes," I replied, my tone a bit more steady now even though my chest felt tight. "I need two weeks to wrap things up here in Shadow Pack. Start preparing for the ceremony."

"You're not being reasonable, Charlotte." Nixi said. I quickly hung up the call before Mom could say whatever she wanted to say. The response I would've given would've been uncontrolled thanks to Nixi, and I couldn't let that happen.

As soon as the call ended, the noise from the music from downstairs seeped into the room. It was Sophie's birthday. Jaziel and Nolan had thrown her a party that made the entire pack buzz with excitement.

Nixi let out a frustrated growl, and her presence flared like an ache beneath my skin. "You can't leave them, Charlotte." This time her voice was faint, "We're connected to them. You cannot live without them."

"Have we even tried? With all that's going on with them and Sophie, are you comfortable?" I retorted.

She began to rain down her endless lectures, but I ignored her and leaned back against the headboard, closing my eyes, although she was giving me a headache.

A knock at the door shattered my fleeting peace, and before I could answer, the door creaked open and the scent of lavender and something sour—Sophie—drifted in.

"Charlotte," she said sweetly, and stepped inside with a slice of cake in her hand. "Everyone's downstairs asking for you. Won't you come join us?"

I opened my eyes and stared at her. Her curls framed her face perfectly, and she blinked those wide, innocent eyes in a practiced display of charm as she smiled.

"No," I said flatly, crossing my arms. My wolf whimpered in the back of my mind, and her resistance prickled through my body. I shoved the feeling down.

Sophie's expression changed, just for a moment, before her lips shook. "Do you hate me?" she asked in a voice that was nearly above a whisper. "I've been trying so hard to be friends with you…"

I felt a sharp pain race through my chest as Nixi growled in protest. She didn't want me to push Sophie away, didn't want me to sever the bonds we had with this pack because it'd break both Jaziel and Nolan's hearts. "They'll never replace us if we stay close," she murmured. "Please…"

I exhaled, cutting both Sophie and Nixi off. "Save the performance for Jaziel and Nolan," I said, moving toward the door. "It doesn't work on me."

Sophie reached out too quickly, and her hand got caught in the doorframe just as I tried to close it. The sound of the impact was sharp, and she gasped in pain, silencing the music downstairs.

Of course, that's when they arrived.

Jaziel and Nolan appeared at the top of the stairs almost as if they were waiting on guard for something to happen. I felt an ache in my heart when I saw them with worried looks. Nixi was eager to see what would happen next.

"Charlotte!" Nolan barked, "What the hell is wrong with you?"

Nixi's eyes widened. I didn't want to say I told you so; I just decided to play mute and let them take the blame on me.

"It's Sophie's birthday. Was this really necessary?" Jaziel asked, a frown spreading over her face.

Pain lanced through my chest, radiating outwards as Nixi let out a sad howl. Her anger and sadness coiled tightly around me, making it hard to breathe. "Fix it, Charlotte. You're hurting them. You're hurting us."

I gritted my teeth, not wanting to give in. "She pushed herself into my space," I said, though my voice shook. "It wasn't my fault."

Jaziel's eyes remained on me as if to say he couldn't trust me. He stepped closer to Sophie and inspected her hand, which was now swelling up. "Let's get that looked at," he said gently, his voice carrying concern that I hadn't heard in months.

"Fix it, Charlotte!" Nixi ordered in a shout, sending another wave of headache rushing through my skull. "It hurts."

"I'll do it!" I blurted more of a response to Nixi than an interruption to Jaziel's words.

Sophie's eyes widened. "You…will?"

Nolan moved protectively to her side. "Don't worry, Soph. I'll take care of this."

"No, let me," I interrupted, taking in a deep breath before releasing it slowly. "It's her birthday, and I've been busy. The least I can do is fix my mistake, right?"

A confused smirk formed around Sophie's lips. "I think you guys should give us some little girl's time," she chipped in, with her eyes solely fixed on me. "A walk perhaps?"

I gave her a faint smile, but the guys looked at me with a straight face and then at each other before stepping away from her. I could tell that watching her in pain was ripping them apart on the inside. My heart was aching; I didn't want them to feel pain, yet they don't even trust me anymore.

I walked over to my kitchen with her and applied some honey on the spot to help restore the finger to its original state much more quickly, and together we walked out into the woods as she wanted.

Every step away from Nolan and Jaziel gave me a painful feeling in my insides as if someone was pulling my lungs. The pain was unbearable, and I wanted to go back to them, but whenever they picked Sophie over me, the pain was more.

When I thought we were alone, against all Nixi's retaliations, I stopped and turned to Sophie, looking her in doe-like eyes. "Why do you do these things?" I asked her, earning a smirk from her.

"What are you talking about?" She asked, a smirk dancing around her lips.

I clutched my chest as the pain from the distance away from Jaziel and Nolan intensified. I couldn't go further. "We have to go back to them!" Nixi shouted, but I reminded her to shut up, hoping to combat this myself.

"Is that a brokenhearted person's celebration you're doing?" Sophie mocked as my breathing pattern faltered, and I bent further down. I saw her feet approaching, and her hand reached to push my hair behind my ear. "Because it fits you." She added, "They are mine now. You've had your time, so you better step aside."

I held my breath and got up at once, but because I did so in a swift motion, my head connected with her jaw by mistake, and she let out a loud scream. If ever my childhood friends wanted to kill me, this would be the perfect reason for which they would. I thought.

Chapter 2

I tried to reach and check up on her, but she stepped back and pushed me away.

Jaziel and Nolan appeared out of nowhere, racing to her side. "What happened?" They asked in fright while holding and examining her. There was a little blood on her mouth from the impact, and I knew it would fit as proof for her coming lie.

"She hit me," Sophie said, her voice trembling.

"What? No! I didn't." I hissed. Nixi's eyes widened in shock.

"I was only asking why she snapped my finger, and she said—"

"Sophie, be honest for once."

"Charlotte, shut up!" Nolan's voice thundered. "Are you insane?" He left her side and was approaching me with deadly eyes like a predator. "What is wrong with you?"

"I didn't do anything to her. I just—"

"What has gotten into you, Charlotte?" He asked, shaking his head in disappointment. My breath hitched. He wouldn't even listen to me, but she got a hearing. He held up his hand to my face, and I could see his lips trembling like he wanted to say something so badly but couldn't get himself to voice it. He dropped his hand angrily and turned to join Jaziel, who didn't even say a word to me like I was insignificant.

Tears drowned both Nixi's and my eyes. Nixi was frightened and heartbroken. "If they ever had care for us," she mumbled, "it's no more there."

Nolan tried to sound comforting despite the anger that kept invading his voice when he said to Sophie, "After the party, a few betas are having a bonfire fight night. We can go together, you and I; maybe it can help you forget."

Sophie sniffled, managing a shaky smile. "Thank you, Nolan. But promise me you'll be careful. I don't want you fighting anymore. It scares me when you get hurt."

He forced a smile, and his fierce expression softened completely. "If it makes you happy, I'll stop."

Laughter, not one of joy but of pain, came out of my lips before I could register it. They didn't hear. They were leaving, as if I didn't exist; nobody said anything else to me.

I watched them disappear into the trees before I began to retrace my steps back home.

I closed the door firmly behind me, resting my back against it in sheer exhaustion, and exhaled. For some reason, the music from downstairs became much louder and unbearable. It sounded amplified in my head, and Nixi hated it too. She began to growl, ordering me to do something about it.

I slid my earbuds into place so I could shut out the sound of the music or at least reduce it. I remained beside the door for a while, staring blankly ahead. The decision to leave Shadow Pack and everything tied to it had already been made, and Nixi, after what we just experienced, didn't want to stay either. Returning to Silver Moon Pack and holding a ceremony with my fated mate and running my mate's Pack together was my next step.

The life I hadn't lived yet awaited me, and I had to start wrapping up the life I was leaving behind. First, my work. I walked over to my desk and smiled when the cool moonlight penetrated through the tall windows when I opened my laptop. Resignation emails didn't write themselves, and I refused to leave loose ends behind for others to clean up.

The hours passed in a blur of typing and organizing. The music from below faded eventually as it got darker outside, and the only sounds were the soft clicking of the keyboard and my own steady breathing. By the time I leaned back and stretched, the sky outside had turned inky black, and the silence in the house was complete.

I removed my earbuds, setting them on the desk, and reached for my phone, but I caught sight of a peculiar envelope at my door. "Who could it be?" Nixi asked.

I went to pick it up and noticed the surface bore no writing, but I recognized it instantly—Jaziel's scent was all over it. My heartbeat quickened as I opened it.

Inside was a letter, written in Sophie's neat, flowing handwriting.

"Dearest Jaziel,

I don't even know where to begin thanking you for the incredible gift. The necklace is stunning, and I could feel the thought and care you put into choosing it just for me. When I wear it, I'll always think of you and the bond we've shared since I joined Shadow Pack.

You've been more than a friend to me—you've been my rock, my support, and someone I can truly rely on. I've never felt more at home than I do here, and that's because of you. Thank you for making my birthday so special. I'll treasure you and this gift forever.

With love,

Sophie."

I stared at the words, and the feeling that proceeded felt like I was going to die. I was honestly jealous of her, but surpassing it was anger. She had stolen them from me and made herself the center of their universe.

"A necklace, huh? They must be pretty close." Nixi whispered. I could tell she was equally heartbroken.

"Let it go, Nix; we'll be okay." I replied but quickly wiped tears off my face when I heard the door creak open.

The door opened, and Sophie appeared. Her eyes landed on the letter in my hand, and fake surprise spread over her face.

"Oh no! You weren't supposed to see that," she said, reaching out to snatch the letter from my hands. Her fingers brushed against mine as she seized it, but her smirk was unmistakable. "Silly me. I must've delivered it by mistake. I hope you didn't read it."

I clenched my fists, biting back the words that wanted to come out so badly. She turned away, humming softly.

Nixi growled within me. "C'mon, Love, let her have her games. She's not worth it."

I held my breath for a few seconds and released it to help me relax as I repeated Nixi's words, "She's not worth it."

The next morning, I woke early and made my way to the Pack office. My neatly signed and folded resignation letter was handed in without much fanfare. They asked why I was leaving, and I gave them the official reason: family obligations. It wasn't a lie.

When I returned home, I started clearing out everything that connected me to this chapter of my life. I pulled out the old photo albums first. There were so many of them, and each one held a memory I'd once cherished as well as the scents of Jaziel, Nolan, and myself. There were childhood snapshots of Jaziel and Nolan flanking me as we played house, pretending to be my protectors. In another, they stood behind me at a school ceremony, holding my awards and grinning like they were the ones who'd earned them.

Vacation photos came next—beach trips, snowy mountain adventures, and some late-night bonfires.

I ran my fingers over one picture in particular. It was from our last vacation together, a time when the cracks were just beginning to show. We'd gone to the lake, and Jaziel and Nolan had spent hours arguing over who got to take me kayaking first. I remembered feeling overwhelmed, unsure how to choose between them. Back then, I'd thought their protectiveness meant something.

I smiled when my eyes landed on the match on the table. "I wish my paws could do it." Nixi commented. She was clearly on my side now.

The photo landed in the trash bin, forming a mountain of pictures, broken and messy.

I struck the match and watched as the fire caught. Flames licked at the edges of the photos, curling them into blackened fragments.

I was still watching the fire when the door swung open behind me. Jaziel appeared at the entrance, and seeing the burning photos, his eyes widened. "Charlotte, what are you doing?"

I stared at with a calm look that had managed to show up at once. "Clearing out old junk."

He drew closer to observe, but what was strange was that he didn't have a scent or that perhaps my nostrils weren't functioning properly. "These aren't just junk," he spoke in a raised voice. "They're our memories!"

Nolan appeared behind him, and when he'd seen the photos, his mouth went wide open. "Why are you burning them? Charlotte, what's going on?"

"Hypocrites." Nixi mumbled.

I shrugged, turning back to the fire. "They're moldy. Better to get rid of them than let them rot."

Jaziel looked like he wanted to argue, but Nolan was faster. He tried to reach for the remaining stack of photos, but I let them slip through my fingers, straight into the fire.

"Charlotte!" Nolan shouted, and quickly he reached into the flames, only to pull back with a hiss of pain.

Even Jaziel, who was usually the calmer of the two, looked sad. He looked at me, and then at the fire, before his mouth opened and he pointed a finger at me as if he was readying himself to articulate everything on his mind. I waited, but nothing came out. He sighed, and his lips closed like he didn't know what to say. He shook his head and let down his hand, then looked away.

"Why does this bother you so much?" I asked. Both Nixi and I couldn't understand why they were behaving like this. I was right in front of them; the very person that shared all those fun times with them, traveled everywhere, and experienced everything documented in those flaming pictures with them, and they're worried about pictures?

Nolan looked at me with eyes reddening like he was going to kill me for committing a capital crime, but I just smiled at him.

"Those are… what we've been through together, everything we've done to

gather—memories, Charlotte, that's what they are, and you've burnt them up in the name of what, moldy?"

Chapter 3

I stared at the two men standing in front of me, their faces painted with confusion and something close to panic. It was almost funny. For years, they'd always noticed when I was hurt or struggling. These days? It was like they didn't see me at all.

To them, I was strong. Unshakable and untouchable.

So, they thought they could make choices that chipped away at my heart without ever looking back. And me? I was supposed to smile through it all.

I looked down at the pile of burned photographs and didn't let my smile fade. Now, they were ash, just like the bonds we used to share, which had now been severed thanks to them. That could be the only rational reason why Nolan and Jaziel were in my room, but their scent wasn't.

The two, though, seemed far more concerned with the ashes than they ever were with me.

"They're just photos," I said, forcing myself to keep the calm facade intact. "We can always take new ones."

Jaziel blinked at me, like he was trying to figure out if I was just trying to make a joke out of what they deemed ‘serious,' but I just gave him a blank, straight face. "If they are gone now, perhaps we will just have to make more memories," he said after a while of thinking, trying to find some middle ground.

"And this time," Nolan added with far too much enthusiasm, "we can include Sophie. She's always said she's never had many photos of herself growing up. It'd mean a lot to her."

There it was. Sophie's name again. Even when she was nowhere near my room, her presence was wrapped around the two like skin.

It hit like a sucker punch, the kind of blow that left you breathless and reeling. Nixi growled in the back of my mind, saying how pissed off she was at Nolan for bringing Sophie up again.

My upper and lower teeth pressed tightly against each other, and I swallowed the bitter taste of jealousy that rose in my throat. Instead of answering, I forced a neutral expression and gave them a nod.

To them, my silence was agreement. They visibly relaxed, stepping away from the fire as if the tension in the room had evaporated.

But as they turned to leave, their eyes landed on the stack of boxes sitting by the doorway, which they hadn't noticed when they first came in.

"What is all this?" Nolan asked, turning to me.

"Packing," I replied straightforwardly, crossing my arms and leaning back slightly against the wall.

"Packing for what?" Jaziel inquired with concern as he approached the boxes. Why did he suddenly sound like he cared?

"I resigned from my job today," I answered.

A loud silence fell on the room, as if I had just dropped a time bomb. They both froze, and their eyes snapped to mine. For years, they had known how much I loved my work. They knew how much of myself I'd poured into it. I would even be surprised at me if I was in their shoes and didn't know what I know now.

"You… resigned?" Nolan managed, incredulous.

I shrugged, faking a small smile. "Look, you guys, it's nothing huge. It was time for a change. Nothing to worry about."

Before they could ask more, Jaziel's phone rang loudly in his pocket. He hesitated at first, but his lips suddenly pressed into a thin line before answering.

"Hello?"

Even from across the room, I could hear Sophie's voice. She sounded very frightened, and her breaths were coming in quick gasps.

"Jaziel!" she cried out, in a trembling voice. "There's a pack of rogue wolves. They are chasing me through the woods. They're circling now and growling—" She broke off with a sob. "I'm so scared! Please?"

My eyes widened, and my wolf immediately howled in irritation.

"She's lying," Nixi growled. "There are no rogues. She just wants them to come running. Say something. Stop them."

Both Nolan and Jaziel hesitated. They didn't want to go after her. The door was right there, but walking out looked a bit harder for some reason than the adrenaline with which they rushed to it in the name of Sophie.

"Charlotte, it's their wolves. They're preventing them from leaving." Nixi's voice was one of excitement. "They want us."

"She shouldn't be alone if rogues are nearby," Nolan said, forcing his brows to close and killing the little light of hope Nixi had seen. "Sophie, find a place to hide. I'm coming right now," he added before the line went dead.

Jaziel hesitated for a fraction of a second before following Nolan's lead, though he still wore the look of a confused man on his face.

"They don't want to go," Nixi snarled at me. "They know something's off. Call her out, Charlotte. Poke holes in her story."

I shook my head, forcing myself not to let the words in my throat escape. It sat there, heavy and burning, but I buried it. A part of me knew that this wouldn't change anything—or at least, that's what I told myself.

Nolan was already halfway to the door when Jaziel turned back to me, and with a hard-to-read expression, he asked in a neutral tone:

"You'll be okay here, right?"

"Of course," I replied quickly, keeping my face as blank as possible, even though his sudden concern caught me off guard.

For a moment, it seemed like I saw a look of disappointment in his eyes. It was brief, there and gone before I could be certain.

And just like that, they were gone.

The silence they left behind wasn't the comforting kind. It wasn't even neutral. It was suffocating, wrapping itself around my chest like a vice.

"You should have stopped them," Nixi growled. She was furious, and her anger set my body on burning heat just beneath my skin.

I clenched my fists tightly, pressing her agitation down until it was nothing more than a dull hum at the back of my thoughts.

Instead of addressing her, I grabbed my phone and dialed a familiar number.

"Charlotte, sweetheart, what's wrong?" My aunt's concerned voice greeted me.

"Nothing," I responded. "I just needed to hear your voice."

We talked for a while, and I told her about my decision to leave, but I didn't share with her that I was about to hold a ceremony with an Alpha to officially become his Luna. This person is neither Jaziel nor Nolan.

"Do Jaziel and Nolan know you're leaving to get married?" she asked gently. I could almost picture her waiting anxiously for a positive answer.

"No," I admitted, my voice barely going up. "And I don't want them to know. Not yet."

There was a long pause on the other end before she sighed.

"I always thought you'd end up with one of them," she said wistfully. "Those boys adored you, Charlotte. Anyone could see that."

"Once, maybe. But things change."

She didn't push further, and for that, I was grateful.

We said our goodbyes, and I hung up. I leaned back against the cushions for a while and couldn't tell when I drifted to sleep, but my phone rang again after a while.

It was an unknown number. I hesitated a bit before answering.

"Charlotte," I spoke.

"Greetings, ma'am," a feminine voice spoke on the other side of the line. "This is a follow-up call to be sure you received your package and get your review on our delivery services."

"What package?" I asked, confused. I hadn't ordered anything online, so what package was it?

"Oh, my apologies. Well, according to the buyer, it's a surprise, so I cannot give you any details yet. I'm sure our delivery service will be there any minute. Thank you for your time, Ms. Charlotte. We'll get back to you soon."

As soon as the call ended, the doorbell rang. I opened the door, expecting a teenager in a fancy delivery uniform, but no.

Sophie.

Her saccharine smile spread across her face as she held the box in her hand.

"A delivery boy left this for you," she said in a syrupy-sweet voice, although her eyes sparkled with something darker.