Chapter 3

I booked a southbound ticket.

After a full day and night of travel,I arrived at a small town on the southern border.

They say old wolves always want to return to where they came from.

But even a homeless rogue aches for the place she was born—even when there's no one left there waiting.

I rented a small cottage in town.

The local dialect felt both familiar and foreign.I'd left when I was still a child,and after years in the North,I'd forgotten how to speak it.

Luckily,the wolf living in the cottage next door wasn't a local either—he'd just gotten there before me.

One day at the market,I couldn't understand the old woman selling vegetables.He stepped in and helped me out.

The next day,I made some jerky and brought it over to thank him.

That's when I learned he was a painter who'd come here for inspiration.

He looked barely twenty,radiating youthful energy.

Away from the wolves and politics of the North,surrounded by this simple,quiet life,it hit me—I was only twenty-five.

All those years carrying the weight of being Luna for the Aldric Pack had made me feel decades older.

I bought flowers on the way home and filled my garden with tulips.I set a little rocking chair beside the garden bed.

It was modest,but it was exactly what I wanted.

The Aldric Pack garden was full of yellow roses—Rachel's favorites.The glass conservatory held a beautiful swing.Andrew had designed it for her,and no one else was allowed to touch it.

The old Alpha had once ordered the roses pulled out.Andrew had been furious.

"If the roses go,I won't come home."

After that,no one mentioned it again.Rachel and those roses became forbidden territory in the Aldric Pack.

That afternoon,someone knocked on my garden gate.

Austin stood there in a simple hoodie,a backpack slung over his shoulders.When I opened the door,his face broke into a brilliant smile.

"Daisy,I'm heading up the mountain to paint the sunrise tomorrow morning.Want to come along?Get some fresh air?"

He pointed toward the mountain behind us.I knew it—it was actually pretty famous.Most tourists who came to town came specifically for that mountain.

I was tempted.

"Don't worry!I camp all the time.I've got plenty of experience—totally safe."

His enthusiasm won me over,and I nodded.

Austin was as experienced as he'd claimed.The moment I agreed,he ducked back inside and emerged with another pack.He carried both sets of camping gear on his back,painting supplies in hand.

I offered to help carry something,but he refused outright.

"No need.I'm strong.This stuff weighs nothing."

On the way up,we talked—about the past,about the future.

My past was painfully dull.It revolved entirely around the Aldric Pack.Around Andrew.And in the end,I'd been nothing but a Luna in name only.

Austin was different.He had endless stories,boundless dreams.

"Life is one big experience.Right now,my dream is to become a famous painter,so I've got to give it a real shot."

"And just between us—I snuck out from home.If one day you notice your neighbor's gone,it probably means my family tracked me down."

I looked at him and laughed.

We were both runaways,it turned out.

The only difference was that he still had a family who'd come looking for him.My disappearance?Andrew would probably celebrate.

We reached the summit just in time for sunset.

Golden light poured over us,so beautiful it felt unreal.

I looked down at the town below,bathed in gold.Peaceful.Still.

Austin was already setting up the tent.

I asked him,"Sunset's beautiful too.Aren't you going to paint it?"

"I prefer sunrise.Every day is a fresh start—full of possibility and new life."

I sat on the stool he'd set out,watching him work,but my mind kept circling back to those words.A fresh start.

Leaving the Aldric Pack was the bravest thing I'd done in years.

But I'd been acting like a frightened fugitive.I'd run to this remote little town and buried myself in my cottage,never once thinking about what came next.Was I really going to waste away here for the rest of my life?

I was only twenty-five.The future was wide open.