Chapter 1

At our marking ceremonies, my best friend's mate and mine both chose their childhood friend over us. However, after we turned to leave, they begged for forgiveness and pleaded with us to come home.

…

"Ellie, you look absolutely beautiful today." Roxanne Reed helped me arrange my dress, her eyes sparkling with genuine warmth.

Tomorrow was my marking ceremony with Lucian Nightshade. After being offered to the werewolf pack as a human, Lucian had given me protection and status.

Despite the pack elders' fierce opposition, he still wanted me to become his Luna. He also planned to officially mark me at tomorrow's ceremony.

I smiled mischievously. "Roxanne, I think Aiden will probably mark you soon too. Don't you think?"

"Then congratulations to both of us for finding happiness!" Roxanne and I hugged each other, teasing one another playfully.

However, this joy was immediately shattered by an unwelcome visitor.

"May I come in, future Luna?"

Seraphina Whitmore pushed the door open, her face even paler than the white dress she wore. "I came to offer you my blessings. Luke has waited 18 years for you. You deserve the best."

The name "Luke" felt like a barely perceptible thorn that pricked me lightly.

"Thank you." I maintained a polite smile.

"He used to be so lonely…" She began to lose herself in her memories. "Especially when he was taking care of me. My wolf has been weak since I was young. He spent so much of his primal energy keeping me alive.

"I'm just… I'm just so worried. What if my body acts up again later and disrupts your ceremony? What would we do then?"

"You think Lucian would abandon his Luna for you?" Roxanne shouted angrily.

Seraphina coughed weakly several times. Suddenly, she collapsed to the ground like a falling leaf, only to be caught by Lucian, who came running.

"Luke, I only wanted to offer Luna my blessings. My body's just too frail," she said weakly.

Before leaving, Lucian looked at me with disappointment. "You're about to become Luna. You need to learn to care for pack members. Don't bring those bad human habits into the pack."

That was the first time he had expressed dissatisfaction because of my human identity.

Roxanne immediately kicked over the clothes on the floor. "Seraphina was clearly warning you that she's going to cause trouble tomorrow!"

"That's what I think too," I said, feeling my heart sink.

Roxanne's gaze hardened. "We can't just sit here waiting for disaster to strike. Their advantage is also their weakness. I'm talking about their sense of smell. I got some herbs that can temporarily numb their senses when burned."

She pulled an inconspicuous small sachet from her pocket. "We'll carry this with us, just in case. If she dares to ruin your ceremony, we'll help her ruin it more thoroughly, then escape in the chaos!"

I gripped the sachet tightly in my hand.

"Alright," I said while looking at Roxanne, feeling determined. "Just in case."

Lucian, you'd better not let me down.