Chapter 1

By the time I, Ellia Levington, returned to the apartment, it was already late at night.

Fenrir Blake had just come out of the bathroom. His hair was still damp.

"Ellia, why are you home so late today?" He asked the question casually, but there was a hint of annoyance in his voice.

I looked at him without saying anything.

Perhaps my expression looked terrible, because for once, he continued asking more questions. "What's wrong? Did something happen?"

"Hmm." I nodded. I was reluctant to say another word.

He clearly hadn't expected such a perfunctory response from me.

After pausing for a second, he said flatly, "Okay. If nothing's wrong, I'm going to bed."

Fenrir fell asleep soon after.

The room filled with the slow, steady sound of his breathing.

He had always been like this. He never cared about my feelings or what was happening to me.

It didn't even matter if our marking ceremony was only three days away.

Thirty minutes ago, I encountered a rogue who had completely lost control.

I was terrified. I kept reaching out to Fenrir through mind-link, begging him for help, but there was no response.

Left with no other choice, I called him.

What I got instead was an impatient reply. "Ellia, don't use a rogue as an excuse to get my attention. I've told you so many times. Don't bother me after ten at night."

If a guard hadn't happened to be patrolling nearby, I might never have had the chance to stand in front of him again.

Not answering any calls or responding to anyone's mind-link after ten at night was the rule Fenrir had established. Even when we were deeply in love, he had never made an exception.

As his fiancee, I had always understood and respected his wishes.

But now, as I stared at his sleeping face, an overwhelming urge to find out the truth rose inside me.

I picked up the jacket he'd taken off and smelled it.

Sure enough, there was a sweet scent on it.

It was unmistakably Mia Lovegood's scent.

I tried to reach deeper into our mind-link, hoping to confirm the answer I already suspected.

I sensed Fenrir's calm, gentle wolf spirit. It was tightly wrapped around the lingering trace of another wolf spirit.

It really was Mia.

She was the pack's healer, Fenrir's mom's apprentice, and the childhood companion he'd grown up with.

All my questions suddenly had answers.

I immediately ended the mind-link. My heart pounded uncontrollably.

Such a deep intertwining of wolf spirits was supposed to be a privilege reserved for fated mates, yet Fenrir had shared that privilege with Mia.

Looking back, I realized how much of a fool I'd been.

Fenrir was the most handsome and strongest werewolf in Blood Moon Pack. He was also the Alpha admired by countless she-wolves.

I remembered how ecstatic I'd been when I first learned that I was Fenrir's fated mate.

Once I finally calmed down, I retrieved the invitation Mario Asher, my mentor, had given me.

He was the director of the Northern Pack's Institute for Ancient Architecture Preservation.

A few months ago, he'd repeatedly invited me to take a long-term assignment there.

At the time, I'd worried that Fenrir needed me by his side, especially on nights of the full moon when he needed my comfort more than usual.

That's why I'd never been able to make up my mind.

But now, everything about Fenrir no longer mattered to me.

This time, I was going to do what I wanted.