On the day of my coming-of-age ceremony, Seraphina, my "best friend", broke our promise. She said she was going to the Red Sand Desert for the Blood Moon festival. I stood at the portal to our pack’s Sacred Grounds, Ancestor’s Peak, in a panic. She had promised to come with me to Moonlight Lake on the Sacred Mountain. That’s where I was supposed to make my first-bite confession to Kael. It was the end of a ten-year crush. A ritual meant to bind our fates together. Uneasily, I looked at Kael, my childhood friend. Kael was polishing his silver dagger. He said casually, “Why don’t we go to the Red Sand Desert instead? I heard the Blood Moon there is incredible.” I stared at him, then shook my head. “Ancestor’s Peak has a moon too. If she doesn’t want to keep her promise, fine. We’ll go without her.” Kael looked up and turned his claw-phone toward me. The screen showed the payment page for a Blood Moon Feast pass. He smiled. “That’s the problem, Elara. I don’t want to go anymore either.” ... “Why?” I bit my lip. Behind me, the pack Elders were already calling us forward. The portal to the Sacred Grounds was about to close. Kael glanced at his screen, smiling to himself. “Check Seraphina’s HowlNet. I just realized Red Sand might be worth it.” I opened her profile. “You may not go to Ancestor’s Peak with me, but the moonlight in Red Sand is beautiful. Scars, sandstorms, and wolf howls will all become part of my awakening.” Underneath was a photo of her bag and a one-way pass to the desert. I looked up at him. “So that’s it? You’re leaving me behind to go with her?” Kael sighed and rubbed my head, the way he always did. Like a big brother. “Elara, I can’t protect you forever. You need to learn to hunt on your own.” “I have my own instincts. My own wants. Those matter too.” “The Blood Moon there is rare. I want to see it for myself. So don’t look at me like that, okay?” He held my gaze. There was tenderness in his eyes. Resignation. Even pleading. But not the possessiveness I wanted—the fierce, instinctive claim of a mate. A bad feeling rose in my chest. Wolves with the same instincts always grow closer. I wanted to grab his arm like before. “Kael, can’t you choose our pack’s Sacred Mountain?” Can’t you choose me?
This time, he pulled his hand back without hesitation. “Just this once, okay?” Behind me, the Elders were already urging me on. I looked at him and said nothing. All I could think about was the ceremony I had prepared for him— the moon phases, the Sacred Grounds, the ancient rites, the seven-day plan I had rewritten countless times, all for one purpose: to tie my fate to his. Was I really supposed to give that up? Not just the ritual. But him. Just like that? I turned away, biting back a sob, with one thought stuck in my head: why had Seraphina chosen now to break our promise? If she hadn’t, would he have gone with me? Kael raised a hand, then lowered it again. My throat tightened. “Then let me go to the Red Sand Desert with you, okay?” He said nothing for a long time. At last, he began, haltingly, “All right—” I was already moving. Bag in hand, I ran into the portal without looking back. We had grown up together. I knew what his silence meant. His furrowed brow had always been more honest than his words. He didn’t want the desert’s Blood Moon. He wanted the one waiting for him there. In the end, we were the same. After the coming-of-age rite, we had both wanted to give our first bond to the person we loved. I ran as if I could leave betrayal behind.
The Sacred Grounds was too pure for a lone wolf like me. Its power hit too hard, and the wolf power inside me began to slip out of control. My body burned as if I’d been thrown into flame. A red glow pulsed beneath my skin. I’d even had three nosebleeds. I crouched by the mountain path, clutching a moonstone and drawing in its faint energy. At that very moment, in the Red Sand Desert, Seraphina twisted her ankle during the festivities, and Kael carried her to the healing tent. Later, she posted a message: Lucky I had you. You value my life more than I do. That was why he had taught me to hunt alone. So he could go take care of another wolf. I heard it from the other young wolves too. Kael and Seraphina had taken the same Griffin Express to the Red Sand Desert. So it hadn’t been impulsive. Maybe he had known from the start— I was going to confess to him at the Sacred Grounds. Maybe Seraphina had told him. During coming-of-age season, travel passes to the major territories were almost impossible to secure. Kael’s trip to the Red Sand Desert wasn't last-minute. He and Seraphina had booked it together long ago. I covered my face, wanting to cry, but I was too drained to manage even that. I lay in a cave at the Sacred Grounds all afternoon. Only then did I have the strength to call Kael. The call connected almost immediately. Kael answered. Distance and interference blurred his usually gentle voice. The moment he spoke, tears spilled down my face. “Elara? What’s wrong?” “Are you having fun over there?” Fun? I had spent the whole afternoon miserable on a freezing stone bed. He must have heard the hurt in my silence. He sighed and gave in. “I’ll stay in the Red Sand Desert for three days. Then I’ll come to the Sacred Grounds for the other four, all right?” “Don’t worry. I won’t leave you behind.” I could hear howls and laughter in the background. Then Seraphina’s voice drifted over the line: “Which compartment did you put my silver-thread armor in?” I froze. My mind went blank with a roar.
They were staying in the same tent. I suddenly remembered that I couldn’t reach Kael for three hours before we left. Was that because he was helping Seraphina pack for the desert? After the call ended, I replayed everything like a maniac. When did those two, who supposedly couldn’t stand each other, get this close? Back in the pack, they were almost hostile. I was always the one stuck in the middle, smoothing things over. He was the disciplined future Alpha. She was the charming social butterfly. Kael was always glaring at her, complaining that she distracted me and pulled me into pointless social drama. While he trained me in combat, Seraphina kept distracting me with one novelty after another. It was like making Kael mad was her favorite hobby. And then it hit me. I had been stupid. That whole “sworn enemies” thing? It wasn’t hate. It was attraction with claws out. That edge between them was never disgust. It was chemistry. I covered my face as tears streamed through my fingers. My communicator buzzed again and again. Some friends who knew about my first-bite plan saw Kael and Seraphina’s photo on HowlNet and immediately messaged me: “What’s going on?” “Weren’t you and Kael supposed to be at the Sacred Grounds? Didn’t Seraphina say she was coming with you? How did the two of them end up chasing the Blood Moon in the Red Sand Desert instead?” “Oh my God. How did your first-bite ceremony turn into their little hunting trip? Elara, and you’re just letting this happen?” What could I do? I forced myself to reply calmly: “What else? They’re going to become mates.” The private channel erupted. Message after message flooded in, each more incredulous than the last. After all, how could a fated bond between childhood sweethearts lose to someone who came out of nowhere? That fairy-tale perfect match burst like foam in the moonlight. I didn’t know the answer.
On the second day of the journey, I finally made myself leave the cave. I slung on my pack, took an old hide map, and set out alone across the Sacred Grounds. I climbed the snowy peaks to watch the legendary golden sunrise spill over the mountains. I still couldn’t get used to Kael not being there. Sometimes I would be walking, and tears would fall before I even realized it. At a windy mountain pass strung with prayer flags, someone rode by on a massive black wolf. He noticed my swollen eyes and stopped in front of me. When I looked up, a white khata was already hanging before my face. I knew what it meant. I had read enough before coming here. It was one of the purest blessings in this land. In broken Common, he said, “Why sad? You are beautiful when crying. Beautiful when smiling too.” “Beautiful lady, why unhappy?” Kael had always known how to comfort me. This stranger clearly didn’t. His bluntness only made me more irritated. So I turned away and kept walking. Behind me, the giant wolf’s paws pressed steadily through the snow. Not too close. Not too far. The words I'd posted in our private channel kept spreading. Eventually, they reached Kael and Seraphina in the Red Sand Desert. That night, they both posted a response. “Not mates. Just friends with the same taste in hunting.” The moment I saw it, my heart steadied. Kael never lied. If he had truly chosen a mate, he would have told the whole pack. I sent the update to my friends at once, almost giddy with relief. Then came the blow. Both posts were visible only to me. It wasn’t a public clarification. It wasn’t an announcement to the pack. It was only meant for me— a quiet message telling me to stop.
Three days later, Kael finally came to the Sacred Grounds. Seraphina came with him. Whenever she saw me, she looked like she wanted to speak. In the end, she stayed silent. The trip grew stifling after that. Only Finn, the Northern wolf, ever broke the silence. Every day, he brought me a white khata. Kael caught him a few times. Every time, he looked annoyed and told him to get lost. He thought Finn was after something. He told me to stay away from him. But Seraphina reacted strongly to the Sacred Grounds’ pure energy, and Kael no longer had time for me. He stayed by her bed, carefully using his own power to steady hers. Watching him, I felt a sharp ache. I had been miserable when I first arrived too. No one had looked after me like that. Finn saw my tears and tried to comfort me in his clumsy way. “Want to ride Blackwind? He is very gentle. When you are done, he will take you back.” This time, I didn’t refuse. I didn’t even complain about how bad he was at comforting people. I rode the giant wolf to Moonlight Lake below the Sacred Mountain. They said the lake was like a mirror, able to reflect a werewolf’s past and present life. Kael and I had been called fated since childhood. All the grown-ups said our bond came from a past life. That was why I had chosen this place: to offer Kael my first bite. Finn didn’t understand the sorrow in my eyes. He only knelt by the lake and scooped water up for Blackwind. Still, he had listened to plenty of my complaints these past few days. He thought for a moment and ran a hand through his windblown black hair. His gaze sharpened. “Call him over and tell him how you feel.” “Wolves have to speak to understand each other. If you keep everything inside, it will make you sick.” I laughed despite myself. Then I lowered my eyes and sent Kael a message.
He took forever to pick up. When he finally did, his voice was a little rough. “Where did you go?” “Can you come to Moonlight Lake? I need to tell you something. Right now.” “Don’t go!” Seraphina’s voice cut through the communicator clearly. Then she took it from him. After all these days, this was the first time we’d spoken again. “Elara, please don’t do this. I really don’t want to hurt you.” I let out a bitter laugh. “Oh, so now you’re doing this for my own good?” “You already told him, didn’t you?” Seraphina went quiet for a beat. Then she changed her wording. “We made this decision for your own good.” The second I heard we, my tears broke loose. I shouted so sharply it hurt. “What do you mean, ‘we’?!” “Put Kael on. Now!” The second he took it back, we both started talking. “I’m asking you one last—” “Elara, please stop pushing me—” I stopped cold. Then I hung up. I sat by the lake for a long time. Just letting the wind hit me. When I went back to pack my things, I saw Kael’s lips. They were swollen and red. There was a faint bite mark near his neck too. And then I got it. That was why he wouldn’t come. Kael grabbed my bag. His voice went tight with panic. “Where are you going?”
I told him I was going back to the pack. The portal was opening that night. He froze for a second. Then he let go. He didn’t stop me. But I never went back. I just switched to a different cave and stayed at the Sacred Grounds. I kept exploring. Later, they left the Sacred Grounds. I stayed. Every day, I rode around on Finn’s giant wolf. Seraphina was still posting on HowlNet. Her newest photo was taken under the Blood Moon in the Red Sand Desert. Two people. Same tent. Just their backs. Her caption said: “Stop asking. This is seriously the last one in my camera roll.” And under the photo, in tiny text, was one more line: “You came with me to the Red Sand Desert. The Blood Moon was beautiful. The scars, the sandstorm, the howls... and you. All of it will become part of my awakening.” I swiped past it like I saw nothing. After they got back, Kael put his big-brother act back on. Every day, he pushed me to come home. He asked if I was still upset. He told me to send him my location and kept sending soft messages. “Why don’t you want to come home? Do you hate me now?” “Elara, can you stop being mad? I’m not going to choose Seraphina as my mate.” “I swear. Without your yes, I won’t accept anyone’s first bite.” “Can you at least text me back? I’m worried about you.” I ignored every single one. I stayed quiet until all the newly adult werewolves had to choose which territory they’d serve. That was when I finally showed up in the pack chat. Kael had people asking around about where I was going. I casually said the Northern Territories. Seraphina also asked about my ceremony rating and where I wanted to continue training. I casually said the Southern Desert. One far north. One far south. She came at me angrily. “Are you seriously going to joke with your own future? Just to get back at Kael?” “So he stays guilty forever, throws away his own future, and follows you?” I almost laughed. And just to piss her off, I didn’t deny it. “Wouldn’t that be his own fault?” “He’s the one who swore he’d protect me forever.” Around three in the morning, she sent me another message. “I’m begging you. Don’t ruin Kael.” “His rating is top-tier. He should go to the Royal Capital and become the brightest Alpha there is.” “What happened before was my fault. If you’re angry, take it out on me.” I looked at it once. Then deleted it.
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