Chapter One

ERIN’s POV

"Erin, get up”.

"Lily, it's barely dawn”, Erin muttered, covering her face with a pillow.

"Three days, Erin. Three whole days, Lily squealed, bouncing on the bed. Her enthusiasm shook the entire frame.

"I know." Erin's voice came muffled through the pillow. "The entire pack knows and I’m pretty sure the neighboring territories know as well."

Lily tugged the pillow away.

"Have you decided on an outfit yet? I heard Mom say you’re going to the seamstress this morning. Oh! And we need to pick flowers for your hair. What if your mate loves wildflowers? Or roses? We should get both.."

"Lily”, Erin interrupted as she sat up, her brown hair a tangled mess around her shoulders. "Relax."

Her sister paused mid-ramble, then grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, I'm just so excited for you”.

Erin glanced at her fourteen years old sister who’d just shifted last month - a sleek russet wolf that matched her copper hair.

You shouldn't be. She thought. Erin forced a smile and ruffled Lily’s hair as she swung her legs out of bed. The stone floor felt cold against her bare feet.

"It’s possible I might not find a mate", she said.

"How can you say that?”, Lily asked, hopping off the bed and moving to Erin's wardrobe. She pulled out dresses to inspect. "You're not just pretty, you're funny, you're smart…"

"I'm unshifted”, Erin cut in.

Lily's hands stilled on a white cotton dress. She turned, her expression suddenly fierce. "What does that matter? Dad says the mate bond doesn't care about that stuff. It's about souls matching, not..not wolf forms."

Erin's chest tightened. She wanted to believe that. Gods, she wanted to believe it so badly it hurt. But she'd noticed the way pack members eyed her. She’d heard the whispers that followed her through the market. And, she’d seen the barely concealed sneers from girls like Sienna, who'd shifted at fourteen and never ceased to remind everyone about it.

"Dad's a romantic," Erin said, her tone light. "Reality is less poetic."

"You're doing that thing again”, Lily accused, crossing her arms and looking far too much like their mother when she was disappointed.

“What thing?”

"Making jokes to hide what you’re truly feeling."

”That’s not true."

"Liar. I’m your sister, I know you.”

Erin opened her mouth to argue, then closed it. There was nothing to argue. Her sister knew her too well. She stood instead, wearing her worn leather boots. "Come on. If we're getting dragged to the seamstress, I need food first and coffee, lots of coffee."

"Sis you are just eighteen, not eighty, in case you’ve forgotten."

"Yes but emotionally, I'm ancient”, Erin quipped back as she headed for the door, while planning her route to the market through the pack grounds.

The market was often a bit crowded with hunters returning from the hunt and vendors setting up their stalls. And Erin’s archenemy, Sienna and her cronies would be there, no doubt preening near the butcher's stand where the unmated warriors gathered.

Her jaw tightened as she thought about Sienna who disliked her for no reason. She thought about the cutting remarks she’d received from her since they were eight. Erin took a deep breath to clear her thoughts and smoothen her expression.

….

The girls went down the stairs together. At the bottom, the smell of fresh bread and honey hit Erin first. Her stomach growled loudly, reminding her that she barely ate dinner last night.

"You finally decided to grace us with your presence”, Thomas Arckwight said, looking up from his plate. His weathered but still handsome face lit up with a smile. Her father was built like an oak with gray threading through his dark hair.

"Yeah, all thanks to Lily”, Erin said, sliding into her usual chair, the wood worn smooth from years of family meals.

Cassandra turned from the stove, watching her family settle down for breakfast. She set a plate in front of Erin, two honey pastries, still warm, golden and glistening. Since childhood, it has been one of Erin’s favorite meals.

"Eat. You barely touched dinner last night”, her mother said softly.

Erin smiled at her mother as she picked up a pastry and took a bite. The sweetness slapped her tongue and she moaned faintly. "Delicious, thanks Mom."

Thomas reached over and squeezed Erin's shoulder. His hand was warm and steady. Those hands had taught her how to fish, track, and throw a knife. He smiled at Erin with a look that said: I love you.

"So." Cassandra settled into her own chair with tea. "Erin, you need to be at the seamstress shop by noon, and register your attendance with the Alpha's office before sunset."

The pastry turned to ash in Erin’s mouth as her mind turned to who she would most likely meet at the Alpha’s office.

Damien Arckwight - distant cousin, future Alpha, and Erin’s sometimes crush. It didn’t matter though as Erin felt Damien was completely out of her league.

"I can go with you," Lily offered quickly. "For moral support."

"Nah, I’ll be fine." Erin took another bite, forcing herself to chew. "It won't take long."

Thomas and Cassandra exchanged a glance, one of those silent parent conversations that happened in the space of a heartbeat.

"If anyone gives you trouble.." Thomas began with that voice of his that would make most people shiver.

"I know, Dad. Tell you immediately so you can have a 'friendly chat' with them." Erin cut in with a grin. "Your friendly chats are legendary. I’m pretty sure Brock still flinches when you walk by."

"That’s right." Thomas said. "That boy needed to learn respect."

"And he learned”, Cassand added. Her tone was mild, but her eyes were steely. "After his father made him apologize three times."

Lily giggled. "His face was so red."

The memory should have been satisfying. It was, in a way. But it also highlighted the problem, Erin needed her parents to fight her battles because she couldn't shift. She couldn’t challenge anyone herself or prove her strength the way the pack understood it.

"Eat your eggs, Lily." Cassandra pushed a plate toward her youngest. "You'll need the energy if you're weaving flower garlands all afternoon."

"I'm thinking white roses and silverleaf," Lily said, immediately distracted. "Maybe some moonflowers if we can find any. Wait, those purple ones that grow by the stream, what are they called?

"Wolfsbane," Thomas said dryly.

"Not actual wolfsbane, Dad." Lily rolled her eyes. "I’m talking about the purple flowers that look like wolfsbane but can’t kill us."

"Monkshood," Erin supplied. "Also poisonous."

"The other purple ones."

Erin caught her mother's eye across the table. Her mother looked like she was fighting a smile and failing at it terribly.

Erin chuckled faintly, searing this moment in her memory. With Lily debating flower arrangements and her father pretending to be grumpy about decorations, everything felt normal. The knot in her chest she’d woken up with loosened a fraction.

"Fine but whatever flowers you eventually pick," Thomas was saying as he reached for more bread, "please make sure they don't attract bees. Remember last year’s ceremony? Alpha Aldric got stung on the nose during his speech."

"How delightful," Cassandra murmured into her tea.

Erin snorted, covering it with a cough. Aldric Arckwight, Damien's father, was not a man who appreciated being laughed at. Even years later, the mental image of the stern Alpha swatting at bees mid-sentence was dangerous comedy gold.

"Mom," Lily gasped. "You can't say that".

"I didn't say anything." Cassandra's expression remained perfectly innocent. "I simply observed that nature is awesome."

Thomas suddenly coughed suspiciously.

Erin smiled, as warmth spread through her chest, melting the ice that had formed there since she woke up. This.. this was why she could face whatever came next. She felt certain that no matter what happened, no matter who mocked her, she'd always have her parents and sister.

"Want more pastries?" Cassandra asked, already reaching for the plate.

Erin nodded, her throat suddenly tight. "Yeah. Thanks."

Her father squeezed her shoulder again. This time, she squeezed back.