Chapter 1

By the time I returned to the hotel, my stomach hurt so badly that I could barely stand straight.

A New Year’s Eve celebration was underway in the lobby.

Staff members in red-and-gold uniforms moved through the crowd carrying star lanterns, while children chased one another with festive cookies in their hands.

The receptionist saw how pale I was and hurried over to support me.

“Miss Bennett, would you like me to contact your companions?”

I shook my head.

“No. I can manage.”

Not long after I took my medicine, Ethan’s laughter came from outside the door.

“That last picture was the best one. They could use it to advertise the New Year’s celebration.”

The door opened.

When Rowan saw me sitting on the edge of the bed, his steps faltered.

Lily was wearing his coat and holding a glowing star lantern in her arms.

Ethan tossed a paper bag onto the table.

“We brought you dinner. Eat it while it’s hot.”

The food inside had already gone cold. Frosting and cookie crumbs clung to the top of the bag.

Rowan walked over to me, his gaze dropping to my boots, which were damp with melted snow.

“You went out?”

“Yes.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

His words sounded like a reprimand, but the way he watched me made it clear he was testing me.

I put my stomach medicine back into my bag.

“There wasn’t any bottled water in the room, so I went downstairs to buy some.”

The tension in his face finally eased.

“It’s crowded outside. Don’t wander off alone.”

He thought I had never gone to the central square.

He had no idea I had heard everything they said.

Lily placed another paper bag on the table.

Inside were three red star ornaments, three New Year’s commemorative pins, and three activity cards covered in stamps.

She pushed Rowan’s and Ethan’s toward them, then placed her own in the middle.

There was nothing for me.

When she noticed where I was looking, she seemed to suddenly realize it.

“I wanted to collect one for you, but the staff said you had to participate in the activities yourself to get them.”

Ethan waved his pin in the air.

“Besides, your stomach was bothering you. You wouldn’t have been able to enjoy any of it.”

Rowan added casually,

“Claire doesn’t like flashy little things like these.”

He sounded so certain.

As though he had not been the one who ran all over Shadow Pack with me when we were eighteen, searching for a star lantern.

Back then, he had promised to give me a new one every New Year’s Eve.

Four years had passed, and he had forgotten.

But Lily was holding the star lantern Rowan had personally won for her.

Two wolves stood side by side on its shade, with a sentence printed beneath them.

[Walk into the New Year hand in hand, together year after year.]

Ethan laughed.

“Rowan and Lily won that in the couples challenge.”

Lily’s cheeks turned pink.

“It wasn’t a couples challenge. We were paired at random.”

“You were randomly paired and still got all ten questions right?” Ethan raised an eyebrow. “Rowan even knew your favorite frosting flavor.”

Before Rowan could respond, Lily suddenly drew in a sharp breath.

Her new shoes had rubbed the skin raw on the back of her heel, and a small patch of blood had seeped through her sock.

Rowan immediately crouched in front of her.

“Why didn’t you say something sooner?”

“I was having so much fun that I didn’t notice.”

Rowan saw the bag of medicine beside me and picked it up.

“Do you have any bandages in here?”

The bag contained only my stomach medicine and anti-diarrheal pills.

He rummaged through it, then tossed it back onto the table.

“Aren’t you a healer? Why aren’t you carrying even the most basic first-aid supplies?”

I had brought the medicine I needed.

Why was I supposed to anticipate that Lily might need a bandage?

“There’s a first-aid kit at the front desk,” Ethan said.

Rowan was already helping Lily to her feet.

“Come on. I’ll take you downstairs and get that treated.”

Lily glanced at me, then looked up at Rowan.

“Claire has taken her medicine, so she should be all right, shouldn’t she?”

She quickly shook her head.

“You should stay with her. I can go to the front desk by myself.”

Rowan turned and tucked the blanket more securely around me.

“You’ve taken your medicine, so get some sleep. We can all go out together tomorrow.”

Ethan was already heading for the door.

“I’ll ask what time tomorrow morning’s New Year’s activities start while we’re down there.”

After the door closed, I opened my laptop.

The invitation Blood Moon Pack’s Chief Healer had sent me three months earlier was still sitting untouched in my inbox.

She had invited me to join Blood Moon Pack’s healing center and offered me an independent treatment room of my own.

I had never responded.

Rowan had promised that once he became Alpha, he would build a new healing center in Shadow Pack and appoint me as its Chief Healer.

After he proposed on New Year’s Eve, I would become his Luna and protect Shadow Pack at his side.

I had given up the chance to leave because I believed in that future.

But now, whoever Rowan chose to stand beside in the central square as the New Year began had nothing to do with me.

I opened the email and typed one sentence.

[I accept your offer and formally request a permanent transfer to Blood Moon Pack.]

After I sent it, a notification appeared on the screen.

[Your pack transfer will officially take effect at midnight tomorrow.]