Chapter 2

I spent the night lying in the house, but Rex never showed up.

Early the next morning, I went to Bramble Cabin alone to find the witch in the Blackwolf pack, Gloria Bauer.

I pushed the wooden door open, finding bundles of dried herbs hanging from the ceiling. Gloria was sitting by the stone hearth, stirring a cauldron. When she saw me, a flicker of surprise crossed her eyes.

"Lily? You're here so early. What's the rush?"

I walked up to her, my voice hoarse from a sleepless night but firm with unshakable resolve. "Gloria, I need a Moon Pact."

Gloria's hand froze mid-stir. She looked up. "What do you need a Moon Pact for?"

"I want to break the bond with Rex."

"Don't be stupid!" Gloria shot to her feet. "Do you even understand the backlash of a Moon Pact? If you use it to break the bond, both your wolves will suffer, and if it hits too hard, it could kill you!"

The tears I'd been holding back all night finally spilled over. Choking on sobs, I told her everything—the truth I'd uncovered, Lisa's lies, and Rex's betrayal. With every word, it felt like another tear in my heart.

Gloria listened in silence, emotion swirling behind her clouded eyes. At last, she let out a long, tired sigh. "Alright, then. If you're sure…"

She turned and pulled a silver-glowing scroll of beast hide from a hidden compartment in the stone wall. It was covered in ancient runes, each one etched with pact terms.

"Drop your blood in the center."

I bit my fingertip, tearing skin. A single bead of blood fell onto the scroll and was instantly absorbed by the runes.

Gloria raised her bone staff and began to chant. Slowly, the runes started to glow, casting a faint silver light across the room.

"Three nights from now, when the moon is full, the pact will take effect."

Gloria rolled up the scroll and handed it to me, her voice laced with quiet regret. "Make sure this is what you want. Once it's done, there's no undoing it."

I accepted the scroll, feeling as if the heavy weight that had been pressing on my chest had finally started to ease.

"I'm sure," I said at last.

After thanking Gloria, I stepped out of Bramble Cabin. The morning sun filtered through the leaves in thin, piercing beams, sharp enough to sting my eyes.

As I passed Firepit Square, I walked straight into a scene that made my chest seize.

Dad was tearing pieces of roasted venison and feeding them to Lisa. Jonah crouched beside her, gently brushing grass off her boots.

Next to them, Rex was speaking quietly with the pack's healer, his brow furrowed like he was carefully going over something important.

Lisa suddenly tugged on Rex's cloak, pointing to a patch of wild berries nearby.

Rex turned at once, picked the ripest ones, wiped them clean with a cloth, and held them to her lips. The tenderness in his eyes was almost too much to bear.

The four of them, sitting there together, looked like a painting—warm, whole, and picture-perfect. Meanwhile, I stood in the shadows like a forgotten stone.

Out of nowhere, memories surged up from within me.

When Lisa and I were little, we were both bitten by a venomous insect. Dad had carried her on his back, crossing three mountains to find the pack's healer. Jonah stuck to her side the whole time.

Of course, they left me behind. My wound swelled up to twice its normal size. In the end, it was an old werewolf passing through who couldn't bear the sight of me and carried me to the healer himself.

I lost count of how many similar moments I'd experienced.

It wasn't until I mated with Rex that I finally knew what it meant to be cherished. He'd always save his coziest cloak for me. On freezing nights, he'd wrap me in his arms, as if afraid the cold might steal me away.

I used to think that such tenderness was mine alone. But watching him feed Lisa those berries, it felt like something inside me was being quietly crushed.

It occurred to me that I was never the only one he was sweet to.

I'd barely stepped away from Firepit Square when Rex came looking for me. He reached out to pull me close. His voice was warm, like nothing had changed between us.

"Where have you been all morning? I've been looking everywhere for you."

"I just went for a walk," I said, slipping out of his reach.

"Oh, okay," he replied, not even noticing that I was giving him the cold shoulder.

He was just about to speak when Lisa's voice called out from behind him, "Lily, my health's been getting worse lately. The healer thinks it might be because my place is too damp. He suggested that I move somewhere warmer and drier."

I turned to Rex. Sure enough, he jumped in to explain. "For her health, I thought she could stay with us for a while."

"I'm really sorry for the inconvenience, Lily," Lisa added sweetly, her smile innocent but her eyes glinting with quiet triumph.

She was baiting me, waiting for me to snap, to lose it like I used to, so she could turn around and play the victim in front of Rex.

I just nodded coolly. "The place is big enough. Stay as long as you like."

Lisa's lips twitched as she smiled.

Later, Rex spent the whole day fussing over her move.

He had fresh felt mats laid down in her cabin, reminded her on more than one occasion to eat light, and made sure mosquito-repelling herbs were burned outside her cabin each night.

He remembered every little thing about me, but clearly, he knew Lisa just as well.

I sat in my cabin in silence. Suddenly, it all just felt ridiculous. There had been so many red flags, so many lies all this time. How was I only now starting to see the truth?

Later that night, Rex came in, quietly pushing the door open. He was holding a small basket of fat, shiny blackberries that only grew deep in Black Forest. I'd always loved them.

"Here, have a few before bed," he said, handing me the basket, his tone easy and unbothered. "You've been saying that nothing tastes right since you started carrying our pup. These might take the edge off things."