Chapter 1

"Ivy, how late are you planning to stay up? We have to confirm your bonding gown in the morning. Don't show up half asleep."

Ethan's voice came from the bathroom, muffled by the running water.

I leaned against the headboard, my eyes on my phone.

Half an hour ago, Claire had posted the photos from tonight by the lake.

The last one was a screenshot of her chat with Lily. When she cropped it, she had missed a corner, and another group chat showed through.

A chat that had been pinned to the top for eight years. Moonlight Pact.

I zoomed in and read the last few messages.

"After the lake, let's hit the full moon dance at Moon Creek clearing. Just don't bring Ivy. Last time she danced, she stepped on half the pack's feet."

It was from my own sister, Lily.

Under it were four emojis, all agreeing.

Suddenly I understood why, every time everyone made plans, someone would tell me at the last minute that it had been called off.

The bathroom door opened, and Ethan came into the bedroom.

"What's wrong? Still upset about that little thing with the cocoa?"

He tossed his wet towel onto a chair.

I turned the screen toward him. "When did you guys make this group?"

Ethan glanced at it. The hand drying his hair slowed down for a beat.

"Where'd you dig that up?"

"Claire's post. It's been eight years, hasn't it?"

His face stayed calm.

"We made it back when we did the pack's wilderness trials. It was just for teaming up. Nobody really uses it anymore."

"Then why is it the one group I'm not in?"

Ethan sat on the edge of the bed and reached out to touch my face.

"Babe, why are you hung up on something like this?"

"We're bonding in front of the Moon Goddess tomorrow. You're not seriously going to pick a fight with me over some old group chat, are you?"

"We all grew up together. Who would ever treat you like an outsider? Come on. Stop overthinking."

He switched off the bedside lamp, turned his back to me, and went to sleep.

In the dark, I couldn't close my eyes.

My phone lit up.

It was Claire.

"Ivy, what time is the gown fitting tomorrow? I can come early and help you pick out jewelry!"

She added a heart at the end.

I stared at the message for a long time. In the end, I only sent back the time.

By two in the morning, the pine forest outside the window had gone quiet. I still couldn't sleep.

When I rolled over to grab my charger, I accidentally bumped the phone Ethan had left by his pillow.

The screen lit up. It was an old photo.

Under the branches of the old oak, Ethan had his arm around Noah's shoulders. Claire stood on his other side, and Lily and Kate were squeezed in front.

All five of them were grinning from ear to ear.

I remembered that day.

That winter, I had a fever that wouldn't break. Even my wolf, which hadn't fully awakened yet, was too weak to stir. I had to stay home alone to rest.

They went into the forest for the first snow and took this picture.

Ethan had changed phones several times since then, but he always kept it as his wallpaper.

After all these years, the memory he couldn't bear to let go of didn't even have me in it.

I turned his phone face down and put it back.

The next morning, Ethan got up earlier than usual.

He brought back two hot drinks from the coffee shop downstairs and made a point of handing one to me.

"Claire said she's coming to the bridal shop today too. She's got a good eye. She can help you figure out what works best for the bonding ceremony."

I took the paper cup and lifted the lid.

The thick smell of hazelnut syrup hit me.

I had never liked anything that sweet. I only drank my coffee black.

But a hazelnut latte was Claire's favorite.

"Ethan, are you sure this one's mine?"

He sniffed the coffee in his own hand, and his face went a little stiff.

"Just a mix-up. Want to switch?"

He held his cup out to me.

There was still a mark on the lid where he had just drunk from it.

I didn't reach for it. I only set the latte down on the nightstand.

"It's fine."

Ethan shrugged.

"Suit yourself. Just don't say later that I didn't get you breakfast."

He walked out of the bedroom with the black coffee.

I watched the steam slowly fade from the cup, and suddenly the whole thing seemed a little funny.

Ethan had spent so many years with me, and he still couldn't remember what I liked to drink. But he knew every one of Claire's tastes by heart.

A man who couldn't even tell which coffee was mine. And tomorrow, he was going to stand before the Moon Goddess and take me as his mate?