Chapter 1

A week before my bonding ceremony, my sister went to try on her dress for it. Somehow, I ended up answering a call on her phone from my mate-to-be, asking her to meet him at a hotel.

The moment I heard the voice on the other end, I froze.

He called out a couple of times. When no one answered, he hung up.

The room went silent. I could hear my heartbeat pounding louder and louder, my chest growing so tight that I couldn’t catch my breath.

Although I had never seen this number before, perhaps Dylan had bought an extra SIM card without my knowing.

I followed the number in her message history and found their texts to be extremely intimate.

He called her “darling” and sent flirty, shameless lines—some so bold that they made me blush.

It didn’t match the unromantic Dylan I knew.

Then, a thought flashed through my mind.

What if this wasn’t Dylan? Maybe it was just someone who sounded like him.

After all, Leah was my sister. I grew up with her, and she was the closest werewolf to me besides my parents.

When she learned I was going to join the Northern Pack after the bonding ceremony, she cried in my arms for a long time.

“Florence, I don’t want you to leave. If you go, it’ll just be me at home.

“That Dylan doesn’t deserve you! And what if they bully you in the Northern Pack? If that guy dares lay a hand on you, I’ll fly over and beat him up myself!”

That night, we cried ourselves to sleep over our separation. As dawn approached, I took off the charm I’d always carried with me and fastened it around her neck.

I wiped her tears and said, “Don’t worry. We’ll definitely see each other again. I’m counting on you to help me at my bonding ceremony.”

Those promises were still vivid in my memory. I couldn’t bring myself to believe my sister would ever do something like this.

Then the strange number sent a single question mark. My fingers spasmed like I’d been shocked, and I immediately closed the phone.

I hesitated before finding Dylan’s number on my phone and calling him on video.

A moment later, he answered.

Dylan’s face filled the screen, smiling sweetly. “What’s wrong? Miss me already?”

He turned the camera toward his friends, who all waved at me.

“Florence! Missing our Dylan? Don’t worry. Once we finish this business meeting, we’ll send him right back to you.”

“With us around, he won’t have time to fool around.”

“Come on, guys, no way. Everyone knows Dylan only has eyes for Florence.”

They were Dylan’s puphood friends, the heirs of the pack elders, and his support once he became Alpha.

Dylan’s smile softened. “I know you miss me. But don’t worry, once I wrap up this deal, I’ll head straight home.”

Looking at his warm smile, the panic in my chest slowly loosened, replaced by a wave of warmth.

“No rush. Work is important. You’re going to be Alpha, after all.”

Shame pricked me. I couldn’t believe I had suspected Dylan over a random phone call. We were about to hold our bonding ceremony.

“I wanted to ask you something,” I said.

The familiar voice on Leah’s phone call replayed in my mind.

“What kind of she-wolf do you think Leah is?” I tried to keep my tone casual. “She might be seeing someone.”

Dylan blinked, clearly surprised. “I’ve only met her a few times. How would I know what kind of she-wolf she is?

“As for whether she’s dating someone, that’s got nothing to do with me.”

He let out a light laugh.

“Anyway, I’ve got contracts to go over. I’ll hang up first. I’ll bring you a gift when I get back.”

He ended the call.

I sat on the couch, everything around me feeling too quiet.

That one phone call had buried itself like a thorn deep in my heart.