Chapter 4

At ten that morning, a black transfer vehicle bearing Frostland Academy's crest stopped outside my house.

Damian and the others, meanwhile, were busy helping Lyra prepare for her enrollment party.

The childhood mental bonds we'd formed during our first shift were still intact.

Four familiar scents lingered at the edge of my consciousness.

Not one of them had asked where I was.

The group chat, however, kept lighting up.

Rowan sent a photo of the decorations.

Pink balloons covered the walls, and huge letters hung across the center.

【MOONVALE FIVE】

【Aria, you have the best taste. Come save us. Lyra hates the backdrop.】

Julian replied:

【She's still throwing a tantrum. Stop indulging her.】

A moment later, Asher sent a photo of the cake.

Four black wolves surrounded one small white wolf.

【Let her freeze in the North for a few days. She'll come crawling back once she's had enough. We can make her watch the party livestream then.】

I didn't reply.

The transfer officer loaded my suitcase into the trunk.

“Frostland's Commander personally approved your early entry. He ordered us to make sure you arrive safely.”

“Thank you.”

I climbed into the vehicle.

Just before the door closed, another notification appeared in the group chat.

Lyra had changed the group name from Five Wolf Pups to Moonvale Five.

A second later, she posted a screenshot.

My old nickname in the chat had been Little Luna.

Damian had changed it himself when we were thirteen.

He'd told me that once he became Alpha, I would become the Luna standing beside him.

Now my nickname had been changed to:

Northern Outsider.

Lyra sent a laughing emoji.

【Just kidding. Aria won't actually get mad, right?】

Rowan replied immediately.

【If she doesn't like it, she can run back from the North and change it herself.】

Asher sent a string of laughing emojis.

Julian said nothing, but he liked Lyra's screenshot.

Damian was the last to respond.

【It suits her.】

The moment Damian said that, Lyra's joke became something else.

It became a judgment endorsed by Blood Moon's future Alpha.

From that moment on, I was no longer their Little Luna.

I was just the Northern Outsider.

I left the group chat.

A system message appeared.

【Once you leave, you will no longer be able to view the chat history. Confirm?】

Eighteen years of photos, voice messages, and promises were all still inside.

I pressed Confirm.

Then I deleted Rowan, Julian, and Asher from my contacts one by one.

When I reached Damian's name, a message from him arrived.

【Stop throwing a tantrum.】

【Come to Lyra's party tonight. And remember to finish her birthday video.】

Even now, he was still ordering me around.

I didn't answer.

I deleted his contact.

The transfer officer handed me a sealed security pouch.

“Please power off your phone.”

“Once this vehicle leaves Blood Moon territory, your five-year pack transfer will take effect. Your former pack will no longer be able to trace your location, and your former Alpha will lose the right to summon you through the pack bond.”

The moment I placed my phone inside the pouch, they lost the last way they had to contact me.

The vehicle pulled away from the pack manor.

When we reached the boundary of Blood Moon territory, the transfer officer spoke again.

“Once we cross the territorial line, the transfer becomes irreversible. Your childhood mental bonds will also be forcibly severed.”

“This is your last chance to change your mind.”

“I won't.”

The vehicle crossed the border.

Agony tore through my chest.

One by one, the four mental bonds snapped.

My wolf howled in pain inside me.

I gripped the seat belt so tightly my fingers went numb, but I never looked back.

Just before the final bond broke, Damian's voice slammed into my mind, stripped of all control.

【Aria, stop!】