Chapter 1

On the eve of the sacred Full Moon Festival, I was pulling a late shift at the pack infirmary when Leah Brooks, one of our healers, leaned over the counter with a teasing grin.

"I swear, Rachel Grey, you are the luckiest she-wolf in the entire territory," Leah whispered. "Your mate, Karen Frost, certainly knows how to keep a romance under wraps."

My fingers froze over the medical charts. Mistaking my sudden stillness for bashfulness, she tapped her phone screen and slid it across the desk toward me.

"My friend works the front desk at the Plaza hotel," Leah gossiped. "She said Karen just dropped ten grand booking their fantasy penthouse suite for tomorrow night. He is definitely setting up a massive romantic surprise for you."

I lowered my gaze to the glowing screen. Staring back at me was a snapshot of a luxury hotel receipt. The signature scrawled across the bottom of the reservation was unmistakable. It belonged to Karen.

My knuckles turned stark white as I gripped the edge of the clipboard.

Ten minutes later, I stood alone in the freezing night air outside the clinic doors, pulling out my phone to dial Ben Taylor.

"Revoke all of Karen's pack access privileges and security clearances immediately," I commanded. "And while you're at it, get the elders on the line because I am filing a formal request to sever my mating bond."

*****

The line went dead silent for a moment before Ben let out a dark chuckle. "I told you years ago that man was rotten to the core. I am glad to see you finally woke up."

I ended the call without another word. A few nurses were still huddled nearby, gossiping about how all the unmated youths in the pack were preparing romantic confessions for the Full Moon Festival tonight.

I raised my eyes and swept my gaze over the room, keeping my voice low but sharp enough for everyone to hear. "I am allergic to fantasy suites," I stated.

The chatter died instantly. Every single pair of eyes snapped toward me in stunned silence.

I tossed the medical clipboard onto the front desk. "Everyone gets to clock out two hours early tonight. Stay safe during the festival."

Grabbing my trench coat off the back of my chair, I headed straight for my car and drove toward the pack center where the festival preparations were underway.

Tonight was the centennial Full Moon Festival, a sacred event where every wandering pack member returned home.

Karen, as my mate, was the head coordinator for the entire ceremony. It was a position of immense power that I had secured for him six months ago, fighting the pack elders tooth and nail to get it done.

The moment I parked, Cassie Morgan, the event floor manager, rushed over to greet me.

"Ms. Grey, what brings you here?" she asked. "Mr. Frost just told us he was heading out to double-check the ceremonial herbs and that we should not wait up for him."

I locked my car doors and walked toward the staging area. "I came to inspect the ceremonial artifacts. They are the core of tonight's ritual, and we cannot afford any mistakes."

Cassie trailed behind me, nodding eagerly. "Mr. Frost had a team run quality checks on them three times already. You have nothing to worry about. Everything is perfect."

I stopped dead in my tracks outside the temporary storage unit. The heavy door was left slightly ajar, and the muffled sound of hushed whispers drifted out from the shadows.

Cassie followed my gaze. "Oh, that is Lilith Blackwell, Mr. Frost's cousin. She just transferred here from a neighboring pack a few days ago, and Mr. Frost assigned her to help inventory the supplies."

I peered through the narrow crack of the door. Lilith was lounging casually on a stack of premium linens. Around her wrist hung a familiar wolf-tooth bracelet.

It was the exact same bracelet I had handcrafted for Karen right after our mating ceremony, using the fangs from his very first rogue kill. I had personally carved our intertwined initials into every single tooth.

Resting right at Lilith's feet was a massive designer shopping bag. Poking out of the top was the edge of a silk nightgown, the exact same limited-edition piece I had admired last month but held back on buying.

Oblivious to the tension, Cassie pushed the door wide open and announced my presence brightly. "Lilith, this is Rachel Grey. She is Mr. Frost's mate and the ruling Alpha of our pack."

The two pack members who had been counting inventory immediately dropped what they were doing, bowing their heads in deep respect and greeting me.

Lilith, however, remained exactly where she was. She slowly brushed her fingers over the wolf-tooth bracelet on her wrist, replying with careless indifference, "It is a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Grey."

I shifted my gaze to her wrist. "That is a lovely bracelet. I happen to have one just like it."