Chapter 3

Georgia's POV

The next morning, Ethan came to my room with two cups of coffee.

I was standing on a chair, taking down the photos on the wall one by one.

They told the story of our five years together—our first hunt, the rings we exchanged under the moonlight at our coming-of-age ceremony, and the day we stood before the pack to receive their blessing.

I placed the very last photo into a cardboard box.

Ethan leaned against the doorway and watched me for a while before speaking in his usual casual tone. "Still mad? Lily kept saying she was scared last night."

I set the photo down gently, careful not to crack the glass. "Scared of what?"

"That you'd really cut ties with her." Ethan frowned slightly. "She just likes pulling pranks. She never means any harm. You're her sister. You don't have to take everything she does so seriously."

I looked at him. "She wrote those words on my back and posted the pictures in our family group chat."

"It'll wash off," Ethan argued.

"It was mixed with wolfsbane ash," I said, my voice rising.

His gaze fell on the tattoo on my back, and for a moment his expression flickered. But it hardened almost instantly as his brow furrowed, as though he'd decided I was just angry and blaming Lily unfairly.

"You're only saying that because you're upset. Lily may not know when to stop, but she'd never use something like that. Look at you. You're standing here just fine."

Before I could respond, his eyes swept over my tattoo, and his frown deepened. "So you went to a witch and covered the whole area with a tattoo?"

"It's my body," I shot back.

"I know." He sighed. "It just looked better before."

I said nothing.

Ethan picked up one of the coffees from the table, pushed the straw through the lid, and held it out to me.

"I told you before. I like your skin just the way it is, pure and flawless. After our mating ceremony, you really shouldn't mess around with weird stuff like this."

I didn't take the coffee.

He didn't seem to realize there was anything wrong with what he'd said. He went on, "I know you've always been independent and like doing things your own way. But once you're officially my mate, it would be better for you and our family if you reined yourself in a little."

I asked calmly, "So you knew what Lily was planning to do to me beforehand?"

His hand froze for a split second.

"Kind of." He quickly recovered and smiled. "She asked me a few days ago what would get the biggest reaction out of you. I just mentioned that you've always been particular about your back and hate it when people make fun of you."

"You knew how careful I'd been to keep my promise to you for five years."

"Of course I did." He looked puzzled. "That's what made it fun. If she'd messed with something you didn't care about, you wouldn't have reacted."

Inside me, Nyx went quiet. She didn't roar with anger or urge me to cut ties with Ethan. She had simply lost all trust in him.

The room fell silent for a moment.

Ethan smiled, apparently taking my silence as a sign that I was giving in.

"Stop scowling. You're always way too cold and composed anyway. Lily's the only one who can actually make you act like a real person with real emotions."

Like a real person with real emotions?

So to him, humiliating me and making me suffer was just a way to get a reaction out of me and make me "act like a real person".

Footsteps sounded outside the room. Lily walked in holding a coat, just in time to hear Ethan's last words.

"Georgia, see? I told you, Ethan knows exactly how to push your buttons."

She walked over and stood close to Ethan, smiling as if she were sharing some proud little secret. "Remember that white dress you wore to meet his parents for the first time last year?"

Ethan's smile vanished instantly. "Lily."

"What?" she asked, completely oblivious to his warning tone. "You told me to spill red wine on that dress. You said Georgia cared about it more than anything else, so I shouldn't mess up her other stuff."

My fingers froze on the edge of the photograph.

Last year, when I attended a formal dinner with Ethan's family for the first time, I had worn a white silk dress out of respect. When Lily bumped into me with her wineglass, red wine spilled from my chest all the way down to the hem.

The party lasted two hours, and Ethan's mother watched me with cold, critical eyes the entire time.

After we got back to our place, I stayed in the bathroom, trying to clean the dress. Ethan had wrapped his arms around me, whispering that Lily was young and didn't know when to stop. He promised he'd talk to her.

As it turned out, that accident had never been an accident at all.

"And the year before that—" Lily started again.

"Enough." Ethan cut her off sharply.

The room fell silent.

He had finally realized this had gone far beyond a harmless joke, not because I'd been hurt, but because his secrets were being exposed.

"That was years ago." His voice hardened. "You're not seriously still upset about something like that, are you?"

Lily stood beside him and muttered, "Exactly. You can really hold a grudge, Georgia."

I looked at the two of them. I didn't cry or demand an explanation. I simply nodded. "Fine. I'll let it go."

Ethan's shoulders visibly relaxed. He stepped toward me and pulled me into his arms.

"That's better. Once you've cooled off, we'll go over the details of the mating ceremony. The job offer from the Northridge pack doesn't matter. You'll be my mate soon. There's no reason to leave just because you're upset."

I didn't pull away. I just kept my eyes fixed on the pale marks on the wall where the photos used to hang.

When I didn't respond, Ethan didn't press the matter.

After he left, I called the coordinator handling the mating ceremony. "Cancel the ceremony."

The coordinator went quiet for a couple of seconds before asking, "Are you sure you want to cancel? The venue and ceremony supplies have already been booked and paid for."

"Yes. Just cancel it," I replied, my voice firm.

I'd paid the deposit myself. After the cancellation fee was deducted, the rest was refunded to my account.

Next, I put the spare key to Ethan's house, the spare credit card he'd given me, and the ring meant for our mating ceremony into a plain manila envelope.

I didn't leave a single note of explanation.

Being fated mates was nothing more than an instinctive bond given to us by the Moon Goddess. It was never a reason for anyone to hurt me.

Lily poked her head in from the hallway. "Georgia, we're having pizza tonight. Mom ordered your favorite black truffle pizza."

I closed the envelope and slipped it into the side pocket of my suitcase.

"Okay."

She didn't notice half of my closet was already empty. Nor did she realize that I had packed all my papers, clothes, and work materials I needed for my move to the Northridge pack, not to Ethan's place.