Chapter 3 Chapter 2

Five years. That's how long Sophia and I have been tangled up in this mess.

Five years ago, I was a college pup in Belmor Town. Me and my roommate went hiking, but I got separated. No signal, no way to reach him. Panicked, I was rushing down the trail when I slipped. Would've cracked my skull on the rocks if a she-wolf hadn't grabbed me-Sophia.

Her eyes were cool, like a still lake, her voice crisp and clear. "You okay?"

I couldn't breathe right, staring up at her. My heart was pounding, and not just from the fall. I was gone, head over heels, right then and there.

I'd twisted my ankle, so she helped me limp down the mountain, got me to a healer. I tried to get her number to thank her, but she shut me down cold. I didn't give up. Asked around until I learned she was my sister's friend, a tennis star. Jackpot. I chased her like a wolf after prey-showing up at her matches, cracking jokes, trying to make her smile. Nothing. The harder I tried, the colder she got.

Two years of that, and I was ready to let go. I was graduating, heading back to my pack, done chasing a she-wolf who didn't want me. Then, out of nowhere, she showed up outside my dorm. "Wanna form a sacred bond with me?" she asked.

Fireworks exploded in my chest. I said yes before she could blink, thinking she'd just been shy, that she felt something after all.

I was wrong.

After we bound ourselves, she wouldn't touch me. I figured it was her germ thing, that she'd warm up eventually. I tried everything-gifts, surprises, patience-hoping she'd let me in. Instead, she dodged me like I was a rabid beast.

Seeing her with that statue of Daniel, her body pressed against it, her voice thick with want? That was the final blow. She didn't just not love me-she loved someone else.

When I got home, eyes red and raw, I found her back from the old den, rifling through our safe. She glanced at me. "Where's that watch my mom gave you?"

I swallowed the lump in my throat, dug out the million-dollar timepiece from the bottom of the safe, and handed it over. It was a gift from her mom, Catherine, when we set our binding date-a matching set, meant for us.

"What's it for?" I asked, unable to stop myself.

She inspected it. "Daniel's got a fancy dinner tonight. Needs something sharp. You don't wear it anyway, so it'll look good on him."

My stomach twisted. "But your mom gave it to me."

It wasn't about the watch. I didn't wear it because it was too precious, not because I didn't care. And it was part of a couple's set-her and Daniel wearing them together? That'd raise eyebrows.

Her eyes flashed with annoyance. "It's a Lewis pack heirloom. Daniel's bound to our pack through my sister. It should've been his. Mom shouldn't have given it to you."

I went quiet. The Lewis pack and my Johnson pack are equals, and Catherine had approved of me, gifting us that watch set with a smile. Daniel, though? He's a lowborn wolf who lucked into the Lewis pack through Sophia's sister. Catherine never liked him.

Sophia grabbed the watch and strode out, tossing over her shoulder, "Don't make a thing of it. I'll get you another watch at the auction in a couple days to make up for it."

Before, I'd have been over the moon at the thought of her taking me to an auction, picking out a gift. Now? I just clenched my fists, bitterness flooding my chest. Whatever. We were breaking the bond soon. The watch would go back to her pack anyway.