Chapter 3

Halfway through lunch, Caleb pushed his phone across the table.

“The Western Camp sent its registration notice. Decide when we should leave.”

The screen also showed several places Mia had selected. She wanted to arrive two days early to visit the nearby lake and forest.

I did not take the phone. “The notice includes the route. Decide for yourselves.”

Jace looked up. “You know the details better than any of us. Just take a look.”

“I have my own things to handle.”

Mia quickly pulled the phone back. “It’s all right. I’ll figure it out. I’ve never traveled that far, though. I’m worried I’ll make everyone late.”

“Ask me whenever you don’t know something.” Lucas cut her steak into smaller pieces. “You don’t have to be so careful.”

They spent the rest of lunch discussing her trip. When Mia asked whether the West was cold, Jace opened the forecast. When she worried that she had packed too much, Caleb promised to carry her bags.

I finished my meal in silence.

On the drive home, Mia sat in the front seat, reading through the camp curriculum.

“Am I asking too many questions?” she murmured. “Erin understands everything, but I can’t even decide when we should leave.”

“You don’t need to know everything.” Lucas’s voice softened. “You have us. Your only job is to be happy.”

I raised my eyes and saw his smile in the rearview mirror.

On my twentieth birthday, when he slid the mate ring onto my finger, he had said nearly the same thing.

“After we complete the marking ceremony, you’ll be my Luna. You won’t have to carry everything alone. I’ll take care of you.”

I remembered every word.

Later, whenever I was exhausted and told him I needed help, he would still pull me into his arms. But his answer had gradually changed.

“Hold on a little longer. Things will be easier when this busy period ends.”

Mia’s voice broke into the memory. “I want to adopt a cat when we move into the house near camp.”

“All right,” Lucas answered immediately. “Once we’re settled, I’ll go choose one with you.”

“Really? But cats shed, and someone has to feed them every day.”

“You won’t be caring for it alone.” He laughed. “We’ll do it together.”

My fingers slowly tightened over my bag.

Two years ago, I had told him I wanted a cat. Lucas frowned and listed every problem: fur, feeding, cleaning, scratched furniture. I promised I would handle all of it.

He closed his laptop and said, “Erin, we’re already busy enough. Don’t create more trouble.”

I deleted the adoption page I had saved for months and never mentioned it again.

Now Mia had barely begun to worry, and he was already promising to share the responsibility.

Caleb leaned forward to look at photographs of kittens on her phone. Jace said they could build a climbing wall on the patio.

The car filled with easy conversation as they discussed where the cat’s bed should go.

I had once imagined those details too. Lucas had rejected them before I could say them aloud.

I studied his profile. The pull between fated mates remained clear inside me. I had treated it as a guarantee, believing that one day he would keep his promises.

But every promise he made to Mia came without a request to wait.

My phone vibrated.

The Royal Court had sent my reporting notice.

Complete closed-program registration by five o’clock tomorrow afternoon. Your escort will contact you in advance. The Royal Court will process the transfer of your pack registration.

I read it carefully and confirmed that I would report on time.

Lucas glanced at me through the mirror. “Who is messaging you?”

“The registration office.”

He looked back at the road. “Then prepare whatever they require. And stop changing your mind.”

Mia showed him another kitten. He immediately lowered his head to look.

I turned off my screen.

Five o’clock tomorrow.

This time, I would honor my own choice.