Chapter 4

Mom called the day after my final exams.

"You're not coming back for the Winter Solstice? Do you understand how important this festival is to the family?"

For the next minute, she told me how selfish and antisocial I'd become. Seraphina's tournament defeat was barely two weeks old. From the preparations filling our chat, my parents intended to give the pack something more flattering to talk about.

"All core members have to be present," Mom said. "What will the elders think of me as Luna if my own daughter refuses to come? What will they say about our family's discipline?"

I watched the gray sky through my window.

"I got an internship at a crisis management firm. They've asked me to help with a risk assessment for a Fortune 500 company this weekend. I can't leave."

"Crisis management? You're playing security guard for humans?" She scoffed. "Fine. Do whatever you want. But don't expect us to pay for your little human games."

She hung up before I could tell her what the work actually involved.

On the night of the Winter Solstice, New York's first major snowstorm kept me inside. I opened a pizza box at our small table while the family chat filled with photos.

For the glory of the Ironvale Pack! May the Moon Goddess bless our Alpha and Luna!

The estate's great hall glowed with firelight. The tables were covered with roast meat, wine, and champagne. Seraphina stood between our parents in a traditional gown.

At her throat was Grandma's wolf pendant—the one I'd left in her jewelry box.

Dad posted a solemn wish for the pack's continued glory. Then Mom sent a voice message.

"Everyone, move closer! The photographer's ready. We need a perfect family portrait!"

I took a bite of cold pizza and reached to close the chat.

An unfamiliar number appeared on my screen. The area code was from back home.

"Elara? Happy Winter Solstice!"

I recognized the elderly man's slurred voice. Dr. Mercer, the pack physician. After the Northern Trials, he'd come to stitch up my leg in private, despite my parents' indifference.

"Dr. Mercer. Happy Solstice."

"Didn't see you at the feast. Your mother says you're doing well in the human world. Good for you. You were always tougher than your sister. You could handle more pain."

"Was I?"

"Of course. You got through that first shift, didn't you? If you could survive that, you could survive anything." He paused, and I heard him swallow a drink. "Your mother certainly knew how to make a decision."

My hand stopped over the pizza box.

"What decision?"

"You don't know?"

I sat back in my chair.

"Tell me."

"You girls first shifted on the same day. Two shifts at once—twice the strain to manage. We only had one dose of Lunar Elixir. Incredibly rare stuff. It calms a rampaging wolf and protects the nervous system during the change."

I remembered being ten, lying on the floor, trying to scream after my voice had given out.

"One dose?"

"I told your mother to split it. Half for each of you. Enough to make the pain bearable for both. But she refused."

The room seemed very still.

"She gave it all to Seraphina?"

"Every drop. Said we couldn't divide our resources. We needed one perfect Alpha heir." He sighed. "Looking at Seraphina now, I have to admit your mother was right. Hard on you, of course. You passed out three times before the shift was over."

I pressed my free hand against my knee.

"My wolf," I said.

"Permanently damaged that day. That's why you heal so slowly."

He went on talking. I could hear his voice but couldn't follow the words.

All those years, I'd thought the pain had been normal. Something every wolf endured, something I'd simply been too weak to survive intact. I'd thought Mom and Dad had been so occupied with Seraphina that they'd forgotten me on the floor.

There had been medicine. The doctor had told Mom how to help both of us.

She'd decided I could go without it.

My leg ached under my hand. The bear had torn it open three years later, but the reason it had never healed properly went back to that first choice. I was still living with it, and Dr. Mercer was praising the result.

"Elara? Are you listening?"

I made myself answer.

"I'm here. Thank you for telling me. I need to rest."

I ended the call and sat beside the open pizza box. Outside, snow struck the window. I didn't know how long I stayed there before I could pick up my phone again.

I opened the contact marked Father - Darius. I blocked the number, then deleted the entry.

Mother - Marianne. I did the same.

I'd already deleted Seraphina's contact after the tournament, but her number remained in the call history. I found it and blocked it, too.

Then I opened Ironvale Pack Official. Messages praising the latest portrait filled the screen. Three smiling people. My family.

I left the conversation.

For once, I didn't keep the phone in my hand, waiting for someone to notice. I set it down and went to the window.

I had left their house. Now they would have to manage without reaching into my life whenever they wanted something.

---

Marianne — Ironvale Pack

Applause filled the great hall. Marianne held her wineglass and watched compliments arrive beneath the family portrait. The festival had gone exactly as she'd hoped. No one was talking about the tournament now.

Then she noticed who hadn't said a word.

Her second daughter hadn't even bothered to send a greeting.

"She's getting more difficult by the day," Marianne muttered.

She started to tag Elara in the chat, intending to reprimand her where everyone could see. She typed the first letter, then the whole name.

No match appeared.

Marianne checked the member list. Elara was gone.

She opened their private messages and typed:

What is your problem? First you refuse to come home, and now you can't even pretend to care? Reply immediately.

The message sat there. No “Delivered” appeared beneath it.

She stared at the screen, then tried calling. Elara didn't answer.