Chapter 3 Jade tries to leave the pack, but an attack stops her.

Jade's POV

I swore I wouldn't cry over him again but the truth is, I did. Just once. Just enough to let it out before I built a wall so high even the Moon Goddess herself couldn't see over it. The next morning, I woke up with a pounding headache and a new mission: don't feel. Don't look. Don't hope.

I wasn't going to make a fool of myself again not for a man who couldn't even look me in the eye while discussing future Lunas.

So I got up early, threw on my work clothes, and scrubbed the entire southern hallway of the packhouse like it had personally offended me.

"Whoa," Kara said, stepping around the corner with a half eaten muffin. "Did the floor commit murder, or are you just rage-cleaning again?"

"Both," I muttered, dragging the mop in furious circles. She bit into her muffin. "Heard about the Luna interviews." Of course she had. The whole pack knew by now. Clara and her smug little entourage made sure of that. Word had spread faster than wildfire.

"So what," I snapped. "Let him pick his perfect Luna. Someone with noble blood and a tiny waist and no opinions."

Kara raised an eyebrow. "You're describing Clara."

"Exactly."

She paused, then said gently, "You know you could just... move on." I stopped mopping.

"I don't mean it in a bad way," she added quickly. "Just... maybe it's time. He made his choice."

No.

That's the thing. He hadn't.

Ewans had kissed me with his eyes. Touched me like I mattered. Looked at me like I was the only thing holding his world together-and then shoved me away like I was a ticking bomb.

But he'd never chosen and I was tired of waiting.

"Don't worry," I said flatly. "I'm done."

By the time I got to the training grounds, the usual group was already sparring. The sun blazed high overhead, and sweat slicked every back and brow.

Clara stood on the sidelines, pretending to observe training techniques while laughing a little too loudly at every dumb joke Marcus made. I ignored her and joined the sparring ring.

"I want Jade," said Rowan, one of the junior warriors.

"You sure?" someone muttered. "She almost broke Marcus's rib last week."

Rowan grinned. "Bring it." We squared off. I didn't hold back.

Every punch, every kick, every step I poured my frustration into it. I didn't think about how Ewans stood just beyond the field, speaking with the elder council. I didn't think about how his eyes flicked toward me every time I moved.

I especially didn't think about how my wolf purred when she felt his gaze on our skin.

Rowan was good. Fast. Strong. But he was distracted. He underestimated me.

I flipped him in three moves. The circle of watching wolves let out a collective groan.

"You okay?" I asked, helping Rowan up.

He groaned. "Remind me never to challenge you on a full stomach."

I smirked. "Noted."

As we reset the circle, I felt it. That shift in the air. That prickling awareness.

He was watching me. I didn't look. But I felt him.

Ewans.

Standing still. Silent. Burning holes through my skin from twenty feet away and then he did something that almost made me drop my stance entirely.

He stepped forward.

Just one step. Like his body moved before his brain could stop it but before he could do anything else, Clara was there grabbing his arm.

Smiling.

Pulling him back toward the council.

My heart twisted, but I didn't let it show.

Instead, I turned to Kara. "Let's spar."

She blinked. "Me?"

"You've been asking for weeks." She looked terrified. "I also like having bones that aren't broken." I laughed. "We'll go slow."

We didn't go slow. I needed to sweat it out. Needed to hit something. Needed to feel anything other than this suffocating silence between me and the man who refused to be mine.

Kara lasted longer than most. She was quick and scrappy, and her footwork had improved.

But I still took her down. We both landed hard, panting. She rolled over and groaned. "That's it. I'm retiring. Maybe I'll take up basket weaving." I lay there next to her, staring up at the sky. "I'd still spar you."

"You're insane."

"Probably."

The clouds drifted lazily overhead. I counted them. One, two, three...

"Why do I still want him?" I whispered.

Kara didn't answer.

She didn't have to because the answer was obvious.

The bond.

The mate pull.

The way he smelled like smoke and pine and power. The way he made my heart race even when I hated him. Heat didn't lie and my body was on fire.

That night, the dining hall buzzed again. Ewans hadn't officially announced anything, but everyone knew Luna selections would start the next morning. Some of the girls were already wearing dresses that screamed look at me. Clara wore silver silk, of course, and never left Ewans' side.

I kept to my corner, head down, serving trays and ignoring the sting in my chest.

Until I felt it again.

That heat.

That hum beneath my skin.

I turned and there he was.

Across the room. Watching me. Not Clara. Not the council. Me.

His jaw was tight. His eyes unreadable. I held his gaze for three long seconds.

Then I turned away. If he wanted to watch, let him. I wasn't going to beg.

I stayed late to clean. The others filtered out one by one until I was alone, wiping down the last of the tables.

The silence was a relief until I heard the door creak.

Footsteps.

I turned, breath catching.

Ewans.

He stood in the doorway, arms crossed, eyes unreadable.

"I thought you'd be gone by now," I said, forcing calm into my voice.

"I could say the same to you." I kept wiping. "Some of us still have jobs."

"Jade."

My name on his lips sent a shiver down my spine.

"Don't," I said. He stepped closer.

"I saw you today."

I laughed bitterly. "Yeah, I know. Hard to miss when you're practically burning holes in my back."

"You're angry."

"No," I said, tossing the rag into the bucket. "I'm done. There's a difference."

He flinched.

Good.

I turned to leave but he grabbed my wrist and everything-everything-exploded.

The bond lit up between us like lightning, crashing through my veins.

His hand was warm. Strong. Possessive.

I froze. He pulled me closer.

"Tell me to let go," he said.

I couldn't because I didn't want him to.

Our bodies were inches apart. My heart pounded against my ribs. I could smell him-smoke and pine and sweat and raw, desperate want.

"Say it," he whispered. "Tell me to stop."

I couldn't breathe. His hand slid to my waist. My fingers curled in his shirt.

And then-

I snapped out of it.

"No."

I shoved him back, hard. He stumbled, caught off guard.

"Don't do that," I said, voice shaking. "Don't touch me like that and then act like I don't exist."

"Jade-"

"No! You made your choice. You want to parade potential Lunas in front of the pack? Fine. But don't play this game with me." His expression twisted-guilt, anger, something else.

"You don't understand-"

"Then make me understand," I snapped. "Because all I see is a coward who's afraid of what he feels."

We stood there, breathing hard, tension thick between us and then the door slammed open.

Marcus burst in, panting. "Alpha! There's an intruder. North border."

Ewans straightened instantly. The Alpha mask slammed down over his features.

"Where?"

"Forest line. Fast. Strong. Not one of ours."

I didn't wait for orders.

I ran.

Shifted mid-stride.

Fur burst from my skin, claws hit the dirt, and I took off toward the treeline.

Whoever or whatever-this intruder was, I didn't care. I needed the fight. I needed to bleed something that wasn't him.

The scent hit me first.

Not rogue.

Something colder. Sharper. Wrong.

I skidded to a stop just as the figure stepped from the shadows.

Tall.

Cloaked.

Eyes glowing like frost.

Not a wolf.

Not human.

Something... else.

A low growl rumbled in my chest.

Then it spoke.

"Hello, Jade."

I froze.

"How do you know my name?"

But it didn't answer.

Instead, it held up a small silver vial.

"This is for you. A gift. From your real bloodline."

My blood ran cold.

"What are you talking about?"

But before I could move, it vanished into thin air-leaving the vial on the forest floor.

I stared at it.

Shaking.

My wolf whimpered.

Behind me, Ewans burst through the trees.

Saw the vial.

Saw my face.

"What the hell is that?"

I picked it up slowly.

"I think..." I whispered, voice trembling, "I think it's the truth."

To be continued...