Chapter 2

Three days after I sent the letter, the Northern Alpha, Cyrus, arrived at Blackrock Pack.

The North was the strongest pack in the pack. Cyrus also held a ruling seat on the Wolf Council.

Father rushed the elders to the Moon Tower to receive him.

Lila stood at the very front in her Watcher cloak, the Moon Seal gleaming against her chest.

Her silver-white hair caught the morning light like she'd been born to stand there.

I was at the back of the line, almost swallowed by the crowd.

When Cyrus stepped into the Moon Tower, the crisp scent of cedar cut through every wolf's pressure like a blade.

Father bowed first. The elders followed.

Cyrus's gaze swept across the crowd—but passed right over Lila at the front. Landed on me.

"Mara. It's been a while."

I didn't expect him to address me first.

Three years ago, I'd gone to the North as a visiting barrier mage. A vampire attack had broken out on the tundra—I'd drawn new runes on the Northern Moon Tower on the spot and sealed the breach myself.

Cyrus had watched the entire thing from the tower that day.

Now he looked at the cloak on Lila's shoulders. His brow dropped a fraction. Then his eyes found mine again.

"Blackrock's finest barrier mage is you—so why isn't the Moon Watcher title yours?"

I opened my mouth. Father jumped in before I could.

"Lord Cyrus, Lila carries the white wolf bloodline—blessed by the Moon Goddess herself. She is far better suited to protect the pack than an Omega."

Mother jumped in right after. "Lila has been handling the barrier work all these years. Mara only assists occasionally."

Kael puffed his chest. "Lila's constitution is weak because she's been draining her wolf spirit maintaining the arrays—she never once complained to the pack."

The elders chimed in one by one, heaping praise on Lila's sacrifice.

I listened to them weave lie after lie. My fingers curled tight.

Lila was indeed a rare white wolf.

But she'd been frail since birth—her wolf spirit practically useless.

The first time she tried drawing a rune, she passed out for an entire day.

In seven years, she'd never once stepped foot into the Moon Tower's core ward.

A true white wolf wouldn't be that helpless.

But everyone just said her bloodline hadn't awakened yet.

If Cyrus asked her to demonstrate on the spot, every single lie would crumble.

But this was an official pack meeting.

Blackrock was my home. The Fenravens were my family.

I kept my mouth shut.

Cyrus studied Lila for a long moment. Said nothing.

He seemed to see right through it all—but didn't call it out in front of everyone.

He walked straight through the crowd and stopped in front of me.

"I'm giving you my formal answer now—to your email last night."

Everyone turned to look.

"The North values strength above all. We judge by ability, not bloodline."

He leaned down, close to my ear.

The scent of cedar swallowed every other sound in the room.

"I don't believe Lila's barrier skills are stronger than yours."

His voice was soft enough that only I could hear—but firm enough to leave no room for doubt.

"The runes on Blackrock's Moon Tower are identical to the ones you left in the North three years ago. Mara—you will always have a place with us."

My nose burned, sudden and sharp.

"Take your time to think it over," Cyrus said. "I trust you'll make the right call."

He paused, holding my gaze. "He who cannot obey himself will be commanded by others."

His words hit like sparks in the dark—burning through the fog in my chest.

Here, I would always be Lila's sister.

But maybe I didn't have to be.

Cyrus left at dusk.

Lila finally returned the Moon Seal to me.

I looked down. A new name was carved into the back of the silver seal.

Lila Fenraven.

My thumb traced the engraving—slowly—until the sharp edge bit into my skin.

"Why did you carve her name on it?"

Mother wouldn't meet my eyes. Like she was explaining, or making excuses for them.

"The head elder said the Seal should record the Watcher's name. It's just a few extra letters—doesn't affect how you use it."

I turned to Lila.

"You think your name belongs on this Seal?"

Her eyes instantly went red. She grabbed the obsidian blade off the table.

"If it bothers you that much, sister, I'll scrape it off."

She raised the blade to the Seal.

"Even if it ruins the Watcher's symbol—I don't want you to be upset."

The tip barely touched the metal before Mother lunged forward.

"Don't be ridiculous! A Watcher's name can't be erased once it's carved—it's tradition!"

Kael's voice came down hard. "Lila needs this title to unite the pack. It's for the family. Why do you always have to make everything about you?"

Family. Again.

I lifted my head to my father.

"Then give me the silver fir pack east of the Moon Tower. That was supposed to be the Watcher's land."

Lila clutched her cloak instinctively. "No—that pack will eventually merge with the Alpha's jurisdiction."

Father didn't even hesitate.

"Lila is the future Alpha. Fenraven land stays with her."

The land they'd once promised me as compensation.

Just words thrown out without meaning. Not a promise at all.

Whatever faint hope I'd been clinging to—died that night.

I sent my formal reply to Cyrus.

Short. Clean. Like the cut I'd finally decided to make.

I've made up my mind.

I'm joining the North.