I was about to have my bonding ceremony with Julian, the heir of the Grey Pack.

However, at the celebration party the night before, I received a personal wolf-fang accessory infused with his potent scent.

The accessory was a gift from the she-wolf who had always been "one of the guys" with him, Kendra Shaw.

Not only that, ignoring my darkening expression, she announced loudly:

"Vera, you'd better be careful."

"That guy looks self-disciplined and restrained, but he's incredibly wild during his Frenzy."

"When I was at his place at the beginning of the year, his power went just a little out of control."

"I couldn't take it. I ended up in the healing ward for half a month just to recover!"

Then she threw an arm around Julian's neck.

"As his best friend, let me give you some advice. You need to learn to hold back after you're bonded."

"Not everyone can take a hit like I can."

"Vera looks so delicate. You can't treat her the way you treat me."

"Remember that time my internal injuries had just healed, and you dragged me into a sparring match that lasted two days and two nights? I almost ended up back in the healing ward!"

The smile fell from my face.

Seeing my expression, Kendra covered her mouth in an exaggerated gasp.

"We're just friends joking around. You're not angry, are you, Vera?"

Everyone waited for me to explode.

But instead, I let out a soft chuckle.

"Why would I be angry?"

"I should thank you for helping my future mate relieve his urges."

"After all, how often do you find a stray so desperate for attention she's willing to sell her body and scent?"

————————

1

The moment I finished speaking, Julian Grey, whose expression had been detached, finally glanced up.

He said coldly, "Kendra meant well. What are you implying?"

I shrugged.

"Whatever she was implying, I'm just saying it out loud."

"Since she's so willing to risk her life helping you unleash your wolf, you should at least reward her properly."

The room fell silent.

Tears instantly welled in Kendra's eyes.

Julian's face grew even darker.

He shot to his feet, his chair scraping harshly against the floor.

"Vera, what kind of person do you take Kendra for?"

"Is this how the Stonewell Pack teaches its heir?"

"Words like that are beneath someone of your standing."

I leaned back in my seat, a cold smile on my lips. "She started it."

"If anyone is dishonoring their status, it's not me."

The atmosphere crackled with tension.

Julian glared at me.

Just as he was about to speak, Kendra started to sob.

"Don't fight with Vera, Julian. Not for my sake."

"It's all my fault. I'm so used to joking with you guys, I forgot Vera was here."

Then she raised her hand and slapped herself across the face.

Though it was a light slap, Julian's anger immediately faltered.

"Who told you to hit yourself?"

Kendra, tears shimmering in her eyes, kicked him playfully. "How dare you yell at me?"

Julian lifted her chin, carefully examining her cheek.

Only after confirming she was unharmed did he turn his glare back to me.

"Our friends are here to celebrate with us."

"If you can't handle our pack's sense of humor, you should head home early."

All eyes were on me.

Some didn't even bother to hide their disgust.

I, however, feigned ignorance, asking Kendra with faux curiosity, "Just your sense of humor? So you weren't actually hurt by his power?"

"Are you going to keep this up, Vera?" Julian slammed his hand on the table, demanding an answer.

His friends moved to hold him back as Kendra kicked him again.

"I just told you to be gentle with Vera. Why won't you listen?"

I scoffed and rose to my feet.

"This touching display of pack camaraderie is turning my stomach."

"I've lost my appetite. You can keep this token for yourself."

"After all, it's tainted with your scent. It's filthy."

Then I strode out of the room, ignoring the furious growl that erupted behind me, a sound thick with his inner wolf's suppressed rage.

The summer air was suffocating.

By the time I slid into the driver's seat, I was drenched in sweat. The air was thick and stifling, and my mouth was bone dry.

I swallowed hard several times before my breathing finally steadied.

How dare Julian treat me like this!

We have a sacred mate bond. Our bonding ceremony is tomorrow.

And he was behind my back, entangled with his so-called friend to the point of injuring her.

I slammed my fist on the steering wheel.

A moment later, a message from Julian came through the mind-link.

"You were completely out of line back there."

"Kendra was just being a loyal friend."

"Did you have to say such vicious things?"

"Luckily, Kendra is forgiving and won't hold it against you, so we're letting this go."

"You should head back for now."

"Tell your elders and pack members the bonding ceremony is postponed by one day. The site needs to be purified again."

I listened to his last message in disbelief, then let out a cold laugh.

I'm a Lorekeeper. Since when did a ceremony site need to be purified again?

On a dark impulse, I opened the pack's social feed, the one Julian had added me to just tonight.

I found Kendra's profile and tapped on it.

Her page was public. She had posted an update five minutes ago.

In the video, Julian was in his half-wolf form, kneeling before Kendra.

His red wolf eyes held a fawning gleam as he nuzzled her ankle, a submissive whimper rumbling in his throat.

She, in contrast, sat enthroned in the seat of honor like a queen, surrounded by other pack members.

I turned up the volume, hearing his helpless chuckle, followed by an even lower whimper directed at her.

Kendra's voice purred, "Some people just can't understand our friendship, and they ruined everyone's good time."

"What a buzzkill."

"Good thing my loyal dog knows how to make it up to me. He postponed the ceremony, so we'll continue the party tomorrow night."

She tutted. "I suppose I'll forgive him then."

"After all, as his queen, I'm just too soft-hearted."

The comments section was a conversation between them.

Julian: "You little devil. Is this enough for you? I must have owed you in a past life."

Kendra: "What nonsense. You owe me in this life, too."

"Did you forget when you got in a fight as a kid and tore your clothes, you ripped my brother's right off his back and wore them yourself?"

Julian: "You have the nerve to bring that up?"

"If you hadn't been scaring the other pups with poison ivy, they wouldn't have ganged up on you."

"I was saving you!"

Kendra: "A loyal dog saving his queen is only natural. Are you trying to rebel?"

I watched them reminisce, my fists clenching so tight my knuckles ached.

I slammed my phone screen off, afraid I’d be sick in the car if I watched any longer.

I floored the accelerator.

The moment I was back in my suite, I pulled up Julian's encrypted schedule.

He was famous for his self-discipline, a model heir with a flawless reputation.

Meticulous, serious, and steady, he treated his pack's protection as a sacred duty.

What he and Kendra did tonight was a world away from his "serious and steady" persona.

But one thing didn't add up.

Throughout the confirmation process for our mate bond, he had been completely absorbed in pack affairs, refusing even a day off when I awakened my Lorekeeper abilities.

Once, I had a high fever from the instability of my new powers.

He abandoned me mid-sentence after receiving a mind-link, rushing off to handle a border dispute.

So where did Julian find the time to get entangled with Kendra for "two days and two nights"?

I scrolled through his schedule.

There was only one entry for the entire month of January: Red Rock Valley territory patrol.

Red Rock Valley was Kendra's hometown.

I suddenly remembered Julian being away from me that entire month, using "territory patrol" as his excuse.

A thread in my mind snapped.

I did a quick search.

Over the past year, I found at least two hundred entries marked "Red Rock Valley"—patrols, dispute mediations, emergency vigils.

In other words, every time Julian claimed he was going to Red Rock Valley on pack business, he was actually with Kendra.

When he went on those "emergency vigils," was that personal wolf-fang token—the one that should have been for me, his mate—tucked away in his bag?

The more I thought, the more nauseous I became.

I squeezed my eyes shut, willing down the urge to vomit.

When I opened them again, my gaze landed on the first token he had ever given me: an obsidian stone carved into the shape of his wolf form.

I couldn't stop myself. I strode over, snatched the token, and crushed it to powder in my fist.

A self-disciplined Pack heir?

What a joke.

But as my gaze fell upon the alliance scroll on the nearby bookshelf, an idea sparked in my mind.

This bonding ceremony wasn't just about us.

It was a crucial alliance between the Crestwood Pack and the Stonewell Pack.

I couldn't just think about myself.

After a moment of deliberation, I tossed the obsidian dust into the trash and returned to my bedroom to dispatch several commands via mind-link.

The next morning, I had just stepped out of my bedroom when the front door opened.

It was Kendra who waltzed in.

"Good morning, Vera. I'm here to get that guy's wolf-whisker balm," she announced. "I can't stand his scruff."

Kendra then marched straight into the master bedroom's bathroom as if she owned the place and grabbed the specially made balm.

I glanced at the access card dangling from her hand.

It wasn't Julian's.

This was the suite we were meant to move into after our bonding ceremony; I had only moved in a week ago to get it ready.

But her access card was clearly worn with use.

When Kendra came out, I was leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed.

I raised an eyebrow. "So, Miss Shaw, is this where you usually help my future mate 'relieve his urges'?"

She froze for a beat, then whipped her head away.

She muttered, just loud enough for me to hear, "Here we go again. She-wolves are so much trouble, always jealous over nothing."

My eyes narrowed, a sharp retort on my tongue, just as Julian walked in.

"What's taking you so long? Don't we have an appointment to finalize the ceremonial robes today?"

His words made me laugh out loud.

"Who did you make that appointment with?" I asked. "It can't have been me. I was the last to know the ceremony was postponed."

Julian frowned at the sharp edge in my voice.

He then motioned for Kendra to leave.

She shrugged, kicking him playfully as she passed. "Don't fight with Vera."

"If you make her unhappy, you'll have to answer to me!"

"Alright, alright. Whatever you say," Julian practically ushered Kendra out the door.

The moment it clicked shut, however, his expression hardened.

"Have you had enough? Can't you take a joke?"

"You ruined the party last night. Are you going to keep this nonsense up today?"

"Don't forget, your Stonewell Pack is relying on our Crestwood Pack's alliance for territory protection."

"If you push this, we might as well call off the bond. Then you'll be left with nothing!"

The Julian threatening me was unrecognizable from the man who had been doting on Kendra just moments before.

It was the first time I had seen him switch masks so seamlessly.

Julian had only added me to his friends' group chat three days ago, saying they were the friends he'd grown up with.

At first, I thought it was normal for mates to get to know each other's circles.

I didn't hesitate to introduce him to my own friends.

I just never expected Julian's companions to be so... different.

They went to see ceremonial robes together. They had Frenzies that required a healer's intervention.

They could even make an Alpha heir kneel and submit in his wolf form.

The thought of that video made me want to gag again.

I nodded at him. "You're right. I've been too narrow-minded."