C8

It was the worst time in my life. I had a fairly happy life, but that last year at the academy, after that Blood Moon Mating Festival night, things turned dark, and it took me a long time to get through them.

But no matter what, I still loved my mother. She was a good and caring wolf to me my entire life. I couldn't punish her for something she had done when she was barely twenty. Wolves make mistakes. God, just look at me! How many mistakes have I made?

Except for Kairo Adeyemi. That man was cold as ice and never made a mistake.

Mom finally lost her battle one month before I finished school. In the span of a few months, my heart broke with the loss of my mother and the alpha man I lusted after since my first year.

I graduated at the top of my class and walked across the stage feeling more alone than ever in my entire life. It was also the last time I saw Kairo, who came to support Zuri. Ironically, she avoided him, and for the first time, so did I.

"How are you?" Her pale blue eyes searched my face, and suddenly I felt too vulnerable. Too exposed. Ever since all that trash happened with Callum, I had seen pity, envy, and glee on people's faces. I ignored it. But not a single wolf had asked me how I was actually doing.

A lump formed in my throat again, and my lip trembled. I shouldn't have been thinking about Kairo or my mother. I wasn't sure whether I was numb or if it was something else, but this thing with Callum didn't hurt as badly as it did with Kairo. The worst part about what happened with Callum was that after two years, he couldn't even give me the courtesy of telling me I wasn't enough. He preferred for me to find out by witnessing it and walking away from him.

Tears stung my eyes, and I blinked hard, trying to hold them back. I felt the need to hide from the world's prying eyes and lick my wounds.

"Fine," I barely got the word out.

The look she gave me told me she didn't believe me at all. We had been moonbound sisters since our first day at Moonridge Academy. We were roommates our first year and stuck together from that first day. We were put together by happenstance. I didn't know the connection between my mother and Zuri's family when we met. It was the universe's own cruel joke, and I was right at the centre of it.

It still didn't change the fact that Zuri and I got super close. We grinded together through all-night study sessions, tough exams, cried our hearts out after boys, and ate our way through a lot of sweet treats when we were sad. Needless to say, she knew when I was lying.

"No, you are not fine. And we are going to do something about it."

The look on her face told me she wouldn't take no for an answer. I just hoped she wasn't up to something. Usually, she was. During the first few years of academy life, we were always up to something and getting into trouble. Living near the main territory gave us a lot of opportunities to enjoy the big pack life and party hard. Trouble just followed us. It was her oldest brother who usually bailed us out.

Don't think about him now, I ordered myself.

"If you are thinking about drinking all night in a tavern," I told her in resignation, "I can't. I don't have that same strong wolf tolerance level anymore. Besides, there are reporters on each corner just waiting to attack."

I was just tired. I needed time to rebound and form a new plan. Yes, that was all I needed. Fuck, I am doomed. The last time it took me several years to recover. But now I have experience, I told myself. I should be able to rebound faster. Besides, there was a lot more that happened after Kairo dumped me after our one-night stand.

My mother's illness. The secrets. Skeletons that came out into the open.

"I think you should come to Silvermoon Hollow with me." My eyes snapped to Zuri in shock, and I started shaking my head. "Hear me out," she quickly justified. "That valley has a different tempo and a different audience from this place. Most wolves there probably won't even recognise you or know who Callum Hayes is."

A pang of hurt hit my chest. How could he have done that? He literally just asked me to live with him and then did this? It made no sense at all.

"Nia, are you listening?"

I blinked my eyes, looking at her perfectly styled hair. She looked so put together, just like her life. On the other hand, my whole life was a complete mess. I was a disaster on two legs.

"You look really good," I mumbled, unsure what else to say.

"That's because I haven't had my heart just slashed in the most public way possible."

I strode to the couch and sat down in the corner, folding my legs underneath me. It was the first week of October, but I felt cold. Probably because the pack house cooling system was turned to freezing temperatures.

"Come to Silvermoon Hollow with me," she repeated, her voice soft. "Is there anything else for you here? Would anyone miss you?"

No, there wasn't anything else for me here. And no, nobody would miss me. I had a job as a healer apprentice and a good team. I lost it. I had a boyfriend. I lost that too. I thought our relationship had graduated to the next level when he asked me to move in with him.

I couldn't afford to have a job. Rent in this city area was outrageously expensive. Between rent and my academy loans, I was barely surviving. But my work and Callum made it all worth it. At least that was what I kept telling myself for the past few months.

Now, I just couldn't wrap my head around Callum's betrayal. The soft words he spoke that last night we spent together before he went on his guard trip kept replaying in my mind. What did I miss?

"Nia?"

My eyes burned, and I felt a tear escape, rolling down my cheek. I wiped it with the back of my hand, angry at myself. Zuri sat next to me and wrapped her arms around me.

"I'm sorry," she murmured. "I should learn to be more sensitive. I didn't mean it that way, but you have been saying how you contemplated moving. Maybe this is a sign from the moon."

"It's just so pathetic," I whimpered, feeling sorry for myself. "If I left this territory right now, nobody would even miss me or notice me gone."

"The pack gossips would," she attempted to joke.

I gave her a wobbly smile at best. "I just don't understand what happened."

"He's a jerk who doesn't deserve you," she spat angrily. "Come to Silvermoon Hollow with me. You could stay with me while you look for a healer opening. It could be school all over again."

Despite a heavy heart, I chuckled. "You really want to relive those years?"