Chapter 1

It was a miracle I managed to make it back to the pack. My gown was in tatters, slashed to ribbons by brambles and stained with mud and blood. The excruciating pain I had been suppressing now tore through me like a thousand knives, forcing me to collapse weakly onto the ground.

Curtis Wilder and Ciara Silverfang were walking side by side down the street. She clutched the jewelry she had just purchased, a radiant smile on her face. As usual, he was carrying all her shopping bags.

Ciara spotted me first. "Willow, how did you wind up in this state?" she gasped dramatically.

Curtis' expression shifted, and he hurried over, pulling me into his arms. "Willow, what happened to you?"

Then, as if something suddenly clicked, he scratched his nose guiltily. "Ciara said you've been fooled twice before and wanted to see if you'd decline my invitation this time, so she deliberately picked a venue way out in the outskirts. I had no idea you'd actually go."

I stared at him long and hard. So, the date I had looked forward to with all my heart had merely been a cruel joke he and Ciara had played on me.

"Don't be mad, Willow. Your birthday is in three days. I'll propose to you then. I mean it this time!" he said earnestly.

In the past, my heart would've melted when I heard that.

However, I looked down at my battered, dirt-streaked body and shook my head calmly. "That won't be necessary. Let's break up, Curtis," I said softly.

Curtis was taken aback, his brow furrowed. "You're breaking up with me just because I didn't show up last night?"

Ciara slunk over and muttered, "This is all my fault, Willow. I just thought the Moon Goddess Festival was too boring, so I wanted to play a prank with Curtis. If you don't like it, I won't do it again. Please don't be mad at us."

Curtis immediately interjected. "What does this have to do with you? It was just a joke we played for the Moon Goddess Festival."

He turned back to me and said softly, "That's enough, Willow. Let's talk about this when we get home. Ciara is naive, so you need to be the bigger person here."

I burst into laughter. "She's egged you on to do so many awful things to me, Curtis. Why should I indulge her?"

His expression changed. "Stop making a scene, Willow! Ciara has already apologized to you. Why are you still hung up on something so trivial?"

My knuckles turned white as I clutched the torn hem of my gown. My finger, burned by silver from one of their pranks, still throbbed with a dull ache.

I had almost lost my life outside the pack's borders. Yet, in his eyes, it was nothing more than a trivial matter.

All of a sudden, I felt exhausted. "I've had enough, Curtis. We're done." With that, I pushed him aside and turned to leave.

Ciara's voice rang out behind me. "Hurry up and chase after her, Curtis. Didn't you say you can't live without her? Willow's leaving! Why aren't you stopping her?"

Curtis merely scoffed. "She's crossed the line this time. I'll let her head back and cool off first. Besides, she's not actually going anywhere.

"She has no one else to rely on but me in the Zephyr pack. Where else can she go when she's mad? Once she calms down, I'll coax her a little, and everything will go back to normal."

His words were like a sharp blade, plunging straight into my heart. He thought I was homeless, but he was wrong. I was the sole heir to the Alpha of the Dark Briar pack.

My father, Walter Hawthorne, was the strongest werewolf of the Dark Briar pack. I'd been cherished and doted on by the entire pack since I was a child. I was destined to step into Dad's shoes and reign as the new leader of the Dark Briar pack.

It had taken Curtis an entire year to court me. I'd been deeply moved by his persistence, yet Dad had sternly refused. "Willow, you're the future Alpha of the Dark Briar pack. You shouldn't abandon your duties for a male wolf."

However, my head was completely in the clouds back then. I went against Dad's wishes, renounced my status as heir, and followed Curtis to the Zephyr pack.

I'd foolishly thought home was wherever he was. But now, I knew I was wrong.