Chapter 2

After Ivy submitted her academy applications, Mom finally let out a relieved sigh.

Then she turned to me.

"Abby, go pick up the cake at the front gate."

Today was our eighteenth birthday.

Our official coming-of-age ceremony wouldn't be held until later. As the Alpha's daughters, Ivy and I were supposed to be formally welcomed into adulthood before the pack and its allied families.

But today was just a private celebration at the pack manor.

At least, that was what Mom called it.

Ivy and I were twins. We had been born on the same day, under the same moon.

But the birthday cakes in our house had only ever carried her name.

When I was little, I'd once asked Mom why mine wasn't there.

She'd stroked my hair and smiled.

"You're healthy, sweetheart. You don't need a name on a cake to know we love you. Your sister almost didn't survive when she was born, and her wolf has always been weaker than yours. We just have to give her a little extra love."

After that, I stopped asking.

The delivery driver handed me a three-tier cake covered in buttercream frosting.

A little white cat, Ivy's favorite animal, sat on top.

Beside it, written in delicate pink icing, were the words:

Happy 18th Birthday, Our Darling Ivy.

The receipt slipped out from beneath the box.

$1,200.

In my last life, the only present I'd received for my eighteenth birthday was a bracelet Adrian had ordered online for less than five dollars.

He'd fastened it around my wrist himself.

"Once I start making my own money, I'll get you something better. I promise."

I'd believed him.

When I returned to the pack manor, the living room was already overflowing with presents.

Ethan had bought Ivy a brand-new laptop.

Dad had given her the latest camera.

Mom had booked her a graduation trip across Europe.

Adrian was the last to step forward.

He took a velvet box from his pocket and opened it.

Inside was a watch with a beautiful moon-shaped dial.

Ivy's eyes lit up.

"Adrian! You picked this out yourself? It's gorgeous!"

Adrian glanced at me.

Only for a second.

Then he looked away.

"I told you. You deserve the best."

I recognized that watch.

Three months ago, Adrian and I had passed a jewelry store in the city.

I'd stopped in front of the window and stared at it for a long time.

The tiny stars scattered across the dial reminded me of the night skies I'd seen as a child, back when Grandma used to take me running through the countryside in our wolf forms.

I'd told Adrian how much I loved it.

He'd barely glanced at the display.

"Too flashy. Doesn't look good."

So that was it.

It wasn't that he thought the watch was ugly.

It just wasn't something he wanted to give me.

Ivy slipped it onto her wrist and admired it from every angle.

"It's pretty," she said. "But next time, I want something from a designer brand. Nobody can even tell how expensive this one is. Kind of a shame."

Then she held out her wrist toward me.

"Abby, what do you think? Isn't it beautiful?"

I nodded.

"It's beautiful."

Mom finally seemed to remember I was there.

She opened a drawer, pulled out an envelope, and handed it to me.

"Here, Abby. This is for you. Buy yourself something you like."

There was thirty dollars inside.

Ethan laughed, trying to lighten the mood.

"That's our Abby. She's always been the easy one. Never asks for much, never gives anyone trouble."

Dad smiled too.

"Besides, what's Ivy's is yours. You know how your sister is. She'll play with her gifts for a few days, get bored, and hand them over to you anyway."

In my last life, I really hadn't been picky.

Clothes nobody else wanted.

Leftover birthday cake.

Plans that got canceled at the last minute.

I took whatever they gave me and smiled as though it was enough.

This time, I placed the envelope back on the table.

"I don't want it."

Mom stared at me.

"What? It's not enough?"

Her expression hardened.

"Your sister's health has always been fragile. Is it so wrong for us to spend a little more on her?"

Dad's face darkened.

"Today is your sister's birthday, Abigail. Don't start making a scene."

I picked up my academy application guide.

"I have an appointment with my advisor. I'm leaving."

Adrian stood and stepped into my path.

"It's Ivy's birthday. Where do you think you're going?"

I looked straight at him.

"It's my birthday too. Am I not even allowed to decide where I go?"

Ivy's eyes immediately filled with tears.

"Abby, I'm sorry. I was so excited that I forgot to get you anything."

She looked down at the mountain of presents around her.

"You can have all of these if you want. Really. As long as you're happy, I'm happy."

Ethan stepped in front of her at once.

"Ivy, stop. You don't have to give her anything."

Then he turned on me.

"Abigail, everyone's here. Do you seriously have to embarrass your sister in front of the entire family?"

I didn't explain.

There was no point.

I left the pack manor and headed straight to Blood Moon Academy to meet Dr. Evelyn Carter.

She was the advisor who had been helping me with my application to Frostland Academy's advanced wolf-core research program.

The local academy applications I'd submitted were only for my family's benefit.

A year ago, without telling anyone, I'd begun preparing for Frostland's entrance assessments and competing in inter-pack academic tournaments.

In my last life, Frostland had offered me conditional admission.

It was one of the most prestigious research academies in the werewolf territories, thousands of miles away in the Northern Pack.

But Adrian had told me long-distance relationships never worked.

Ethan had reminded me that Mom and Dad weren't getting any younger.

"Don't be selfish, Abby. You can't just run off to the other side of the continent and forget about your family."

And I'd listened.

Not this time.

Dr. Carter handed me a scholarship application.

"If this goes through, seventy percent of your tuition for the next four years will be covered."

I looked down at the paperwork.

"But we'll need confirmation from your legal guardian."

My fingers tightened around my pen.

"I'm eighteen."

Dr. Carter sighed.

"I know. You're legally an adult now, and your parents can't decide whether you're allowed to enroll. But the financial aid office still needs a verified family financial statement. The guardian certification is part of that process."

She pointed to the next page.

"Frostland also requires documentation of your family's income and assets. You'll have to talk to your parents about that."

I stared at the forms.

I could already imagine what Mom would say.

Ivy needed more attention.

Ivy needed more money.

Ivy couldn't manage without me.

Still, I carefully put the paperwork into my bag.

I'd spent an entire year preparing for this chance.

I wasn't going to give it up because my family couldn't be bothered to help.

I had barely stepped out of Dr. Carter's office when my phone buzzed.

A notification from my bank.

[Withdrawal Alert: $15,000.00 debited from account ending in 0917.]

I stopped walking.

That account held the education fund Grandma had left me before she died.

Money she'd set aside specifically for my future.

I opened the transaction details.

The name listed under the withdrawal was unmistakable.

Ethan Blackwood.