Chapter 1

Snow was falling outside the healing center, and a bitter wind cut straight through my clothes.

Snowflakes melted on my shoulders, soaking my thin coat.

My Alpha mate-to-be, Kieran, came toward me carrying a velvet gift box.

My childhood friend Lucas, the Pack's Beta, followed him with a huge bouquet of laurel flowers, Maisie's favorites.

They glanced at my soaked coat and frowned. Then they walked right past me and up the steps.

Maisie was standing there in her hospital gown.

Lucas gave her forehead a gentle flick.

"What are you doing out here in this cold? You have asthma. What if the cold air sets off another attack?"

"Oh, don't be mad! I saw your car from my window. I missed you guys too much to stay upstairs."

Kieran took off his thick wool coat and wrapped it around her, carefully pulling it closed at her neck.

Last week, I'd called him with a fever of 102.2 degrees. He'd been helping Maisie with her nebulizer treatment. He told me to drink more water and find a healer myself.

Maisie's eyes lit up when she spotted the box. "Is that for me?"

"Of course. Happy birthday." Kieran opened it. "I had the craftsmen at the Moon Goddess Temple make it for you. I ordered it three months ago."

Inside was a matching moonstone necklace and earrings. The pale stones gave off a soft glow, even under the gray winter sky.

Lucas grinned. "Look at the back. They even engraved your name on it."

The sight of that beautiful jewelry brought me back to my awakening ceremony.

Lucas had ordered a moonstone tiara for my awakening ceremony. He'd promised to put it on me himself and make the day special.

But just before the ceremony, Maisie said she might never awaken her wolf. She wanted to try on my tiara, just once, to see what it felt like.

Lucas took it straight from my hands and placed it on her head.

Apparently, even my awakening ceremony, something I'd only have once in my life, was theirs to give away. But Maisie's birthday deserved months of careful planning.

Maisie reached for the box, then looked past Kieran's shoulder and noticed me.

"Brielle? Why are you standing out in the snow dressed like that?"

Only then did Kieran and Lucas turn around, as though they'd forgotten I was there.

Lucas frowned. "Are you still sulking?"

"I'm not."

Maisie's eyes filled with tears. "Brielle, are you still upset about me and Kieran? It's okay. I won't ask him to be my mate anymore."

Kieran wiped away her tears. "Hey, don't cry. I'm here. The healer said you shouldn't get worked up."

Once he'd calmed her down, he finally made his way over to me.

"You're getting the wrong idea. Maisie and I aren't going to mark each other."

"She's never found her fated mate. She just wants to know what it's like to have someone by her side."

Before he could finish, Maisie coughed twice on the steps.

Kieran turned at once, cupped her cold hands in his, and tucked them into the pockets of the coat he'd given her.

I'd bought him that coat last year. Once, at the market, I'd slipped my arm through his. He'd pulled away, saying we hadn't held our bonding ceremony yet and shouldn't act so intimate in public.

Now he was warming Maisie's hands right in front of me.

He looked back at me.

"You're healthy. You can afford to wait. She can't."

"Once she's gone, we'll have our bonding ceremony."

A snowflake slipped down my collar. The cold seemed to go straight through me.

"Then wait on your own. I'm done waiting."

Lucas let out a scornful laugh. "Sometimes I wonder if you're even Maisie's sister. Look at the state she's in. Why do you always have to compete with her?"

A black car pulled up beside the steps, and my older brother, Jake, got out.

He saw Maisie standing in the wind and hurried over with a blanket. Then he handed her a clear case containing a rare herb.

Inside lay a silver-white Moonveil Blossom, its petals so thin they were almost transparent.

"I know how badly you've wanted to study herbs," he told her. "Your asthma makes it hard, but Moonveil Blossoms have no scent. The healer said it's fine for you to look at one."

"Next month, I'll take you to see Master Alden. He's agreed to spend a whole day teaching you how to extract its essence."

I stared at the flower and remembered the acceptance letter Jake had torn in half. It had been my chance to study herbalism at the Northern Werewolf Academy.

He'd thrown the pieces on the floor and asked how I could even think of going when Maisie had always dreamed of studying herbs but couldn't because of her asthma.

Maisie tugged his sleeve. "Jake, I think Brielle's still upset."

Jake finally looked at me. His brows drew together. "Mom hasn't eaten in three days because of you. Instead of going to see her, you're standing out here in the snow. Who's that supposed to impress?"

I wanted to tell him Mom was starving herself to force me to give in. But all I managed was one question.

"Jake, could you drive me home?"

"Maisie still has a checkup. I need the car."

I gave a small, bitter smile and nodded.

Jake glanced at my thin coat and added, "And Maisie's treatment next month is coming out of your paycheck."