My mate, Alpha Aidan, promised me a yacht for my birthday.

Instead, he gave it to another she-wolf.

"Diana, we're on Cradle Island waiting for you. Why are you so late?"

"The yacht's full. Just swim over."

He wanted me to swim like a dog begging for scraps.

He thought he was punishing the weak she-wolf he found on the battlefield.

I contacted my father.

"Dad, I've decided on my birthday present this year.”

“I want you to buy me Cradle Island."

————————

1

Tonight was my birthday.

Aidan Amberwood once promised me, “I’ll throw you a grand birthday party. I even commissioned a custom yacht just for you.”

“Let’s call it Diana’s Grace,” he’d whispered, “because my Diana will always be my guiding moonlight.”

I had waited so long for this day, waiting for him to unveil it tonight.

The time Aidan promised to pick me up came and went, but he never appeared. He wasn’t answering my mind-links, either.

Just then, a vibration buzzed through my mind. It was the Pack-Link—a gift from Aidan on my last birthday, connecting me to every member of his pack. Right now, it was boiling over with activity.

Someone shared an image: a brand-new yacht docked at a pier. Painted on its hull was a name in the Old Tongue: Jasmine.

There was a moving image, too. He and a woman with shoulder-length hair were embracing on the deck of the yacht, popping a bottle of champagne against its bow in a christening.

The crowd was cheering, “Mark her, mark her!”

The image froze the moment the woman named Jasmine pressed her lips to Aidan's, searing itself into my mind forever.

The mental blow staggered me. I wanted to scream into the link, but I couldn't form a coherent thought. My knees buckled. I reached for a nearby rock to steady myself, but the psychic tremors from the Pack-Link made my fingertips go numb.

Just then, a private mind-link from Aidan came through. “Diana, Jasmine and the others have gone ahead to Cradle Island to prepare for your birthday party. The whole Pack is here, so it’s too late to come back and get you. Can you make your own way to the island in a little while?”

My voice was numb, not sounding like my own. “Aidan, didn’t you say you would come for me on the new yacht? Weren't you waiting for me to be there for its maiden voyage?”

He paused, his voice deepening slightly. “Diana, it’s a minor thing. When we were naming the yacht, everyone felt ‘Diana’s Grace’ didn’t quite fit. They thought ‘Jasmine’s Dream’ was a better match for its aura, so we settled on that.”

“It’s just a name. Whatever it’s called, it’s still my birthday gift to you. It’s still your yacht.”

A lump formed in my throat. Jasmine was Aidan’s one that got away—a violinist from a declining clan who had been traveling abroad for years. She had only been back for a few months but had already turned my relationship with Aidan into a complete mess.

Jasmine's cloyingly sweet thoughts chimed in. “Oh, I hope Diana hasn’t misunderstood. I told you all not to name the yacht after me. It would make her unhappy. You just had to play this little prank.”

“You all know how much Diana dislikes me being around Aidan.”

The thoughts of others in the Pack flooded in, a clamor of voices. “Aidan, that mate of yours is just too much. Can’t you get a new one? What does she do all day besides being so cold and possessive?”

“Exactly! If Jasmine wanted to steal her position, she wouldn’t stand a chance.”

“You’re the Alpha of the Amberwood Pack. She should be on her knees thanking the Moon Goddess for becoming your mate. What’s with all the tantrums?”

“Aidan, you need a mate from a noble bloodline. Someone from a backwater pack like her is beneath you.”

“Can’t you be a bit tougher? Is the entire Pack supposed to wait for her? Who does she think she is?”

Aidan Amberwood’s voice turned cold. “Diana, stop throwing a fit. We can’t all waste our time waiting for you. Besides, everyone came to the island early today to prepare your birthday party. Can’t you be a little more understanding?”

I asked softly, “Then how do I get to the island?”

From the other end of the link, Jasmine’s voice was all delicate innocence. “I heard your mate has a very strong body. How about swimming across the channel to the island? That short distance should be nothing for her, right?”

Aidan Amberwood let out a soft chuckle. “You’re a devious one,” he chuckled softly, before his voice turned to ice in the link. “Just swim over. Don’t you have to do endurance training every day anyway? Consider this your daily drill.”

“We’ll be waiting for you on the island. Don’t be late and make my Pack wait.” With that, he cut the connection.

In the Pack-Link, they were still reveling—selfies on the new yacht, celebrating with mead, images of everyone in their light party attire. And there was a picture of Jasmine standing at the helm of the yacht, with Aidan behind her, his palm on the small of her back, guiding her as she steered it for the first time.

Ten minutes later, Jasmine sent a message in the link: “Whoever secretly recorded that, delete it now! This will only cause trouble if Diana sees it.”

“Then she’ll just go crying to Aidan again. Honestly, you guys… she’s just not like us. She can’t take a joke. You know Aidan and I are innocent, but she might twist it.”

Then she sent a private message to me. “Diana, please don’t misunderstand. That picture was just a matter of angles. Aidan was only teaching me how to steer a yacht. It’s all my fault for being curious and wanting to learn.”

Now I finally understood what a master manipulator looked like.

I sent back a nonchalant thought. “It’s fine. If you don’t mind being tainted by another she-wolf’s Alpha, why should I care? It’s no skin off my back.”

The moment my words appeared, a dead silence fell over the link. Then, Aidan’s thoughts exploded like a clap of thunder, his rage irrepressible. “Diana, how could you say something so vile? Have you no decency?”

“Jasmine and I are just friends! I was only teaching her how to handle the yacht. Everyone was learning seriously. Only a filthy mind like yours would twist it into something ugly. What do you mean, tainted?”

“Apologize to Jasmine. Right now.”

“Do you have any idea how hurtful your words are? Jasmine is pale and shaking. Your words have completely rattled her. I never thought you could be so vulgar.”

“I am so disappointed in you.”

Aidan’s thoughts were public, and his Pack members joined in, attacking me. “Diana, are you sick? What right do you have to talk about Jasmine like that? A she-wolf like you isn’t even worthy of licking Jasmine’s paws.”

“And to think the Alpha invited us all to celebrate with you. What a thankless bitch.”

I sneered. “Celebrate with me? The yacht is named after Jasmine. Don’t try to disgust me with that lie.”

“What, you escort your precious Jasmine to the island on my new yacht, but you want me to swim across the channel? Go on, ask any werewolf in North America who they think your real mate is.”

Aidan Amberwood paused for a moment, then said, “So, you’re jealous? Because the yacht is named after Jasmine?”

“Are you that desperate for power? Do you want a fancy yacht that much, just to show off that you found an Alpha like me?”

“Just because it doesn’t have your name, you publicly humiliate Jasmine? Diana, I’m warning you. Even if you are my mate, you will show some respect to my Pack members. Jasmine isn’t like you. She can’t handle this. She hasn’t been through all sorts of brutal battles like you have. She’s delicate, like a flower raised in a greenhouse.”

“If you still want to be my mate, get to the island and apologize immediately. Otherwise, we can only sever our bond.”

A chorus of cheers erupted on the other end of the link.

Jasmine’s delicate and soft thoughts appeared again. “Aidan, don’t be angry with Diana. It’s all my fault. If I had known she couldn’t take a joke and was so sensitive about me being with you, I should have learned to keep my distance.”

“After all, you’re someone else’s Alpha now. What I missed, I missed. I understand.”

Her voice choked with emotion. “But… I really don’t want to see you even a little bit unhappy. If my not being in your life would stop you from fighting, I can disappear. Aidan, don’t frown. I don’t like seeing you like that.”

Her voice grew quieter. “The Aidan Amberwood I know is always full of strength. He is the sun of my life.”

The stench of her cloying sweetness was so thick it almost made me gag.

But Aidan Amberwood was overcome with pity. “Silly girl, what does this have to do with you? Don’t be sad.”

Then, he spoke to me coldly. “Diana, I expect you to apologize to Jasmine before the party goes any further. Otherwise, we sever our bond.”

I laughed, furious. “Apologize? Fine. You all wait on the island for my apology.” With that, I viciously slammed my mental shields shut.

In the link, the Pack members were placing bets. “I’ll bet a hundred gold coins that Diana will come crawling back to apologize. As if she could ever bear to give up our Alpha.”

“A hundred gold coins? I’ll bet ten copper coins. The thought of seeing her grovel is hilarious enough.”

“If she didn't have the guts to back it up, she shouldn't have started something so stupid in the first place.”

Jasmine sent a message. “You all, stop it. I don’t care if she apologizes or not. I just don’t want to make things difficult for Aidan. You guys, too, please don’t make it hard for him, okay? A little hurt for my sake is nothing.”

I shut down all my senses and closed my eyes.

Aidan Amberwood and I had met during a territorial conflict. He had been injured protecting his Pack, and I saved him. He was captivated by my strength at first sight, and after pursuing me relentlessly for a year, I agreed to be his mate. We had been together for two years. Today was my birthday, and also the second anniversary of our bonding.

I had planned to tell him my true identity today. After today, I was going to take him back to meet my family. But now, it seemed fortunate that all of this had happened. There was still time to change everything.

I used a private mind-link, one known only to my family, to contact my father. His thoughts responded swiftly. “My moonlight. You finally remembered to send a message to your father. It’s your birthday today. Aren’t you coming home to celebrate with us?”

My eyes burned, and my voice cracked. “Father, I miss you and Mother so much. I’ll be back tonight. I want to drink the mead Mother brewed.”

My father replied quickly, “Of course. The clan servants have already prepared all your favorite foods. We’re just waiting for you to come home.”

I sniffled. “Father, you said I could ask the clan for one birthday present. I’ve decided what I want. I request that you activate the ancient covenant for ‘Cradle Island’ for me…”