Chapter 1

Lise ran her hand over the gown, delighted. "Mother, it even has our pack's crest embroidered on it!"

My mother hugged her and stroked her hair. "Of course, sweetheart. It's our pack's symbol, embroidered in gold thread just for you. Wherever you go, our blood runs in your veins. You'll always be one of us.

"It also shows your standing. When you join the Silver Moon pack, no one there will dare shut you out."

My eyes stung. So my mother did know how this world worked. The strong preyed on the weak, and without her own pack behind her, a wolf might never be accepted, even after joining another pack.

Yet I didn't even have a gown for my bonding, and she wasn't the least bit worried about whether my new pack would take me in.

My father turned away gruffly, a faint tremor in his voice. "If anyone bullies you, come home. The Gray Wolf pack isn't afraid of the Silver Moon pack!"

Just a few days earlier, he'd told me to settle into my mate's pack after the bonding and stop thinking about coming home.

I stood in a corner of the moon hall while my wolf whimpered mournfully in my mind.

I closed my eyes and swallowed my questions.

What good would it do to ask?

They'd only think I was competing with Lise for their attention.

Whenever that happened, my mother would lecture me. "No one is closer to you than Lise. It's your duty to look out for her."

I used to think they loved me, even if they loved Lise more. Now I could see they didn't care about me at all.

Lise and I were twins. Just because I saw the moonlight five seconds before she did, I was the older sister, the one who always had to give way.

Just because Lise looked more like them, they were convinced they owed her something and tried to make up for it by lavishing all their love on her.

As for me, they never seemed to feel they owed me anything.

I was the older sister, after all. I was supposed to be sensible, step back, and never fight for anything.

When Lise wanted to trade territories with me, my father simply gave her both.

When Lise wanted to shine at the spring hunt, my mother credited my kills to her and handed her the victory that should have been mine.

I'd thought my bonding ceremony would be one of the few times I'd have everyone's attention, but Lise insisted on having hers with me.

She said, "Elaine and I are twins. We were born on the same day, so we should be mated on the same day too."

To please her, they pushed my ceremony back a whole month.

Now she was the star again, and I was just her older sister. An afterthought.

When I snapped back to the present, Lise was curled up in my mother's arms, sweet-talking her.

"Mother, how about we go deep into the forest tonight, eat grilled bread, and watch the fireflies?"

My mother tapped her nose with one finger and said gently, "You're still such a pup."

Ever since the date for Lise's bonding was set, everything at home had gone her way.

She loved playing deep in the forest because it was full of mystery and adventure.

But everyone had forgotten that the deep forest was what I feared most.

When we were pups, Lise and I were playing there when hunters closed in on us. To protect her, I led them away on my own.

An arrow nearly pierced my heart. Despite the pain, I fled deeper into the woods and barely escaped.

No one came looking for me. The warriors didn't bring me back to the pack until dawn the next day.

From then on, I couldn't bear to go near the deep forest.

The first time I refused to go back, my mother threw bread at me. "It was one accident. Do you have to spoil everyone's fun?"

Their sighs hurt more than the arrow ever had.

After that, I never brought it up again. I followed them every time, my nails digging into my palms.

My father suddenly looked at me. "Elaine, don't just stand there. Go get the honey and bread ready."

All my life, they only remembered me when they needed something.

I nodded and left without a word.

At dinner, I was too frightened to eat. Lise took a bite of her grilled bread and looked at me, puzzled.

"Elaine, don't you like grilled bread and fireflies?"

My mother tore off a piece of roast meat and fed it to Lise. "Don't mind her. If you don't want to eat, Elaine, don't. Just don't blame us if you starve."

My father shot me a disgusted look. "The minute she gets here, she puts on that miserable face. She just wants pity."

I didn't try to explain that I was afraid. No one would listen anyway.

Afterward, I cleaned up the scraps as usual. Then my mother said, "Let's hold the Blood Oath trials tomorrow. We'll choose the finest warriors for our girl before she's mated, so she'll be protected in her new pack."

I stopped what I was doing and blurted out, "I'm going out tomorrow. I won't be back until the day after."

My mother gave a flat "Mm," and no one paid me any more attention.

My chest tightened. They'd never planned to include me in the first place.

In that case, I didn't need them at my bonding ceremony either.

I texted my mate, Campbell, "The elder says Lise and I have clashing lunar energies, and our wolves repel each other. The Moon Goddess says we should hold our bonding a day early."

Campbell texted back right away, "Okay. I'll arrange everything. Don't worry."