Chapter 1

The Moonhill pack is one of the strongest pack, and it places enormous importance on educating its people.

At eighteen, Susanna and I sat the entrance exam together.

When the results came out, Susanna cried for hours. I stared at my excellent score of 672, barely able to contain my excitement.

We had both applied to the Werewolf Noble Academy, the largest school in the Moonhill pack. Anyone admitted would eventually serve the Alpha King.

When the admission letters arrived, I raced into the living room with mine in hand.

"Mom, Dad, look. I got into the Werewolf Noble Academy," I exclaimed, waving the letter.

But when I pushed the door open, the room was empty.

Confused, I reached out to my parents through the mind link.

"Where did you go?"

Only after a short wait did an answer come.

"Susanna wanted to see the Academy first, get familiar with the campus, and visit Theo while she was there."

I stood frozen. Theo had promised to wait until I got into the Academy, then take me all over the city.

Susanna sent images through the link. Theo took her luggage and smiled at her.

"Welcome to the preparatory program. You have an excellent chance of earning full admission."

He handed Susanna a bouquet as he spoke. The flowers were vivid and beautiful, and the sight of them stung.

She accepted them hesitantly.

"Clara won't be angry, will she?"

Theo gave a soft laugh.

"She'll be fine. Her grades have always been excellent, and once she's admitted, she'll have years at the Academy. Missing one trip won't matter."

I clenched my fists.

I had studied myself ragged for that one promise. Yet they had already taken someone else to the city I had been racing toward.

Susanna's voice came through the link again. "I got into the Academy too, Clara! Mom and Dad were in such a hurry that they brought me along without waiting for you."

Then my mother's voice cut in over a separate link. "Don't tell Susanna you got in yet. She's happy right now. Don't spoil it for her."

I pressed my lips together. Their voices came through the link as if they were right beside me, and they had never felt further away.

I stared at Theo in the video.

I crouched down in the corner of the room and did not make a sound.

For the first time, I understood just how far away they all were.

So far away that I no longer wanted to follow.

Just before classes began, my parents announced that they were taking Susanna to school early so she could learn her way around campus.

They left very early.

Before leaving, one of them called out toward my room, "We're taking Susanna ahead. You're old enough to make your own way to school. Just let us know when you leave."

The house was quiet for a long while. Then my father opened a link.

"Clara, Susanna says she took the wrong suitcase and doesn't know the combination. What is it?" His voice echoed inside my head.

Airport noise crackled behind him. It sounded as though they had already arrived.

I sat on the couch with my head down.

"Our birthday."

Susanna and I had the same birthday, but that password had always meant only her.

Every password in the house had been chosen with Susanna's birthday in mind.

"Dad, my skin tonic spilled. Everything in the case is soaked," Susanna said over the link, irritation edging her voice.

"Never mind. Have Theo buy you more when we get there. He'll do anything for you."

My father's voice was gentle. "And Clara, stop losing your temper over nothing. Theo is a good young man, but you ignore him whenever he reaches out. When we arrive, I'll have him link you. Don't refuse again. Show some courtesy, would you?"