CHAPTER ONE

Elara’s POV

“What do you mean you’re cancelling your birthday party because of a guy?” Anita’s voice came sharp, her brows lifted high in that disbelieving way she always did when she thought I was making a mistake.

I exhaled, clutching my phone tighter, the screen still open to the last call I had with Jude. “It’s not just any guy, Anita,” I said, maybe a little too loud, my chest aching with the weight of it. “That’s my boyfriend for crying out loud. Jude had an accident.” My throat tightened as I spoke, but I forced the words out.

Anita frowned, shaking her head like she couldn’t understand me at all. “So you’re going to cancel your own birthday party? Elara, do you even hear yourself right now?”

“Yes, I hear myself,” I shot back, leaning forward, my voice breaking. “What kind of girlfriend would I be if my boyfriend had an accident and I still went on with the party? Laughing, dancing with other boys while he’s lying in a hospital bed? Do you know how heartless that sounds? As a matter of fact, I’m going home.”

Anita’s mouth fell open. “Home? Now? But you’re not supposed to leave until after this week. After our final project presentation!”

“Fuck the presentation,” I muttered, my thumb swiping over my phone. A notification pinged and I lifted the screen to show her. “Olivia already booked my ticket—she just sent it. I’m leaving tonight.”

Anita stared at me like I had lost my mind, her lips parting, her eyes searching mine as if she wanted to drag me back into reason. “Elara… you’re seriously doing this?”

I met her stare, my chest still burning with the memory of Jude’s tired voice. “Yes, Anita. Jude is more important than any presentation, any birthday party, any stupid cake. Besides, you can cover for me during the presentation. You owe me plenty, remember?”

She sighed and leaned back, running her fingers through her hair. That look in her eyes… it wasn’t just frustration. It was something else, something heavier, like she knew more than she could say. But she didn’t stop me, and that silence was all the permission I needed.

I packed quickly, hardly aware of my own hands folding clothes into a bag. The plane ride was only forty-five minutes, but it felt like forever. My thoughts spun in circles—Jude, bandaged and pale, Jude’s smile when he’d see me walk in, Jude needing me in a way that made my heart tighten. I wanted to surprise him, to make him feel loved, to remind him he wasn’t alone.

By the time I landed, the sky had darkened and the streets glistened with thin layers of rain. I stopped at a little shop and picked up the things I knew would make him smile—his favoritecandies, a warm scarf, a book he’d been talking about for weeks.

When I reached the pack house, the air shifted. It was something new, a scent I had never perceived there  before—rich with pine that got my heart racing. I slipped inside like I belonged, because I did. The halls were familiar, my footsteps echoing softly as I moved toward Jude’s room. Nobody stopped me; they never did. His room had always been my second home, the one place I could walk into without knocking.

I knew he would chose to have his treatments at home, because he hated hospitals and so I didn’t have to bother asking which hospital, I just continued to his room.

The closer I got, the stronger the air became—sweet, intoxicating, almost dizzying. A scent I had never felt before clung to me, burrowing deep into my senses. It was sweet like fruit, sharp like citrus, and I could only think of pineapple for some strange reason. My chest tightened as I paused at his door. The music was already spilling into the hallway—loud, reckless, typical Jude even when he was supposed to be recovering.

I smiled faintly, shaking my head at him. Even sick, he couldn’t let go of his music. But when I pushed the door open, the smile died instantly, and everything I carried slipped from my hands to the floor.

The sight before me stole the air from my lungs. Jude—my Jude—lay sprawled on the bed, the blanket tangled around his waist. And there, pressed against him, her bare skin glowing in the dim light, was Lily. My rival since high school.

The word ripped out of me before I could stop it, trembling, raw, the truth of it sinking into my bones. “Mate?”

Jude jerked up, his eyes wide, panic flashing across his face. “Elara?” he said, clutching the blanket tighter. He hadn’t expected me. He hadn’t wanted me here.

I staggered forward, tears already stinging my eyes. “I was supposed to be at my party if not for you. If not for your call telling me you couldn’t come because of an accident. I left everything because I was fucking worried about you! And this—” my voice cracked as I pointed at them, “this is what you were doing?”

“Elara, watch your tongue!” he barked, his tone sharp, commanding.

I laughed bitterly, shaking my head as the tears slipped free. “Oh, I’m sorry… mate. I didn’t realize I was the side chick in this story.”

His face hardened, his jaw clenching. “You’re overreacting. You’ve been away for so long—what was I supposed to do?”

And then Lily, smug as ever, leaned forward, her voice dripping with venom. “Jude, isn’t it time you told her the truth? Didn’t your parents warn you to stay away from her weak wolf? You’re the Alpha’s son—you’re supposed to be with someone strong, someone worthy of the throne.”

The words cut through me like claws. My voice trembled as I turned to him. “Is that true, Jude? You knew all this time… and you said nothing?”

He slipped into his pants, his eyes colder than I had ever seen them. “Don’t play the victim, Elara. You always knew you were weak. But you still expected me to mate with you. Isn’t that selfish?”

The tears blurred my vision, but the truth was sharp enough to see clearly now. He wasn’t my shield, my anchor. He was just like the rest of them, the ones who had always whispered behind my back, branding me as less.

I stepped forward, every word shaking but firm. “If that’s the truth, then let’s end it here and now. Reject me.”