So Long, Stranger

My mate, Alan Cohen, who swore he loved me and vowed to give me the grandest Luna ceremony the pack had ever seen, had just turned me into the laughingstock.

There I stood, at the very center of what was meant to be my glorious ascension, while the entire pack erupted into jeers around me.

Three years ago, my birth parents had found me, revealing a truth I could hardly believe. I was the sole heir to the Bloodmoon Pack, the most powerful pack in the mysterious northern territories.

Mom held me in her arms, sobbing uncontrollably. "I've searched for you for many years, my daughter!"

Dad stood beside us, his eyes shining with tears. "Your mother and I will raise you to become an extraordinary heir, someone others will respect and admire. Come back with us to the Bloodmoon Pack. Will you?"

My heart swelled with joy, but even more with reluctance. I couldn't bear the thought of leaving Dexter, Hank, or Alan behind. So back then, I chose to stay with Hank's pack without a second thought.

The idea of venturing into some unfamiliar place didn't appeal to me at all. I would've much rather stayed where I'd grown up.

Besides, that strange new world—so powerful and fiercely competitive—felt overwhelming. I wasn't even sure I had what it took to be a worthy heir.

"Amy, we know this isn't easy for you. You're our only daughter, and more than anything, we want you to be happy and healthy. We understand why you'd be hesitant to come back.

"After all, we've been apart for so many years. But if you could return to the Bloodmoon Pack and help us lead it, it would mean the world to us," Dad said.

Mom and Dad looked at me with such hope in their eyes that it made something inside me falter.

But then I remembered how Alan had said he needed me, and I still hadn't repaid Hank for everything he did to raise me. How could I just walk away?

Over the years, the pack had been torn apart by infighting, and Hank, as Beta, often came home with fresh wounds.

I knew Mom and Dad had been quietly helping Hank handle all kinds of trouble behind the scenes. Without them, he probably would've been bedridden long ago.

But even so, I still turned them down and chose to stay with Hank. And now, the very reason I stayed had become the sharpest blade driving into me.

I stood alone at the center of the ceremony, surrounded by whispers and pointed fingers from the pack. Even as the crowd slowly began to drift away, Alan, Hank, and Dexter never came back.

When I reached out through the mind-link again, Alan finally answered. I'd hoped for something soft, something comforting. Instead, his words came sharp and angry.

"The ceremony isn't that big of a deal, Amy! Can't you tell Eden's barely holding it together? She's at her most fragile. She needs us!"

I opened my mouth to argue, but Dexter Parker's furious roar cut me off. "Stop being selfish, Amy! Eden just came back from that frozen hellhole. She needs our support! If you're not going to be there for her, then at least stop throwing a tantrum. That's it. We'll just hold the ceremony some other time."

Hank Parker nodded in agreement. "You're the one who drove Eden away three years ago and made her suffer. The least you can do is stay and think about what you've done!"

The second he brought up the past, something in me snapped. I turned and walked out of the ceremony.