In the end, the ceremony was left unfinished. I forced a smile, apologized to every guest, and returned all the blessing gifts one by one.

Shortly after, I fell gravely ill. By the time I finally awoke, two days had passed.

Once I recovered, the entire pack was abuzz about the upcoming Moon Goddess Festival. My runework was the centerpiece of the exhibition.

The pack's council hall, transformed into an exhibition space, shimmered under opulent moonstone crystal chandeliers.

The moment I stepped inside, I could feel gazes turning toward me.

One of my rivals raised an eyebrow. "Well, well, Elysia. Isn't your mate with you today? I thought you said you wanted to share every success with him."

I mumbled that he was out with friends, hoping the lie sounded natural, but my unease must have shown. Soon, the whispers began.

"I heard her mate ran out on their bonding ceremony."

"Yeah, can you imagine? The nerve of her to even show her face here."

"She's such a workaholic. Finishing a whole set of blessing runes in three days just makes the rest of us look lazy. No wonder no Alpha can stand her."

I held a glass of moonflower wine, a polite smile fixed on my lips, but my trembling fingers betrayed how I truly felt.

I wanted to defend myself, to shout back, but my curse meant I couldn't even tell who was speaking.

I was born with a curse. No matter how long I've known a werewolf, their scent is always foreign to me.

Before, Ethan would always stand by my side.

He would tell me through our mind-link, "That's an elder from the Silvermoon Pack, and that one is an envoy from the Redfang Pack."

With him there, I could face anyone with grace.

Now, he was gone. I couldn't distinguish who was mocking me and who was pitying me.

Muttering an excuse, I slipped away to a quiet meditation chamber off the main hall. But even there, the voices leaked through the walls.

"Who is she kidding? Elysia bragged about her hand-sewn ceremonial gown with three thousand moonstones, and now it's nothing but trash."

"Who knows where Ethan went? He's probably found someone new by now."

I forced myself to focus on the rune diagrams in front of me, but my vision kept blurring. I wanted to believe Ethan hadn't abandoned me, that he really was just out with friends. But what if he never came back?

Suddenly, the door creaked open. A tall Alpha stood there, the moonstone amulet on his chest glowing softly in the light.

I recognized it instantly. It was the one I had carved for Ethan myself, a one-of-a-kind piece. It looked plain on the outside, but I had poured all my heart into the details of every rune.

My heart clenched. His name escaped my lips in a whisper, "Ethan."

He seemed to pause when he heard the name, but he didn't answer.

I dropped the rune diagrams and stumbled toward him, wrapping my arms around his chest. "You're finally back."

For a moment, his body tensed, but when he looked down and saw my tear-streaked face, his voice softened. "Yes."

When we reached my front door, the Alpha with the amulet hesitated on the threshold.

I turned to look at him. What was the point of dredging up the past? He was here now. That was all that mattered. So, I reached out and pulled him inside. "Are you tired? I can prepare some calming herbs for you."

I went to the kitchen to prepare the calming herbs, but when I turned, I saw he was already skillfully grinding them in a stone mortar.

For a moment, I froze. As the pack's Alpha, Ethan was always swamped with work and rarely did any chores at home.

In fact, he was rarely home. Each time, he would drink the potion I'd prepared and then leave in a hurry, always saying there were pack affairs to handle. But every time he returned, he carried the faint scent of Jessica on him.

Now, here he was, quietly preparing the herbs, handing me the ground powder with a gentleness and consideration that made me almost unable to believe it was him.

"You don't have to help," I said softly. "I'm used to doing it alone."

He glanced at the herbs on the counter. "You've been under a lot of stress lately?"

I followed his gaze to the herbs, which had sedative and calming properties.

Remembering how Ethan had always disliked the bitterness of herbs, I explained, "This is for me. I'll make you something else."

Even though he was back, I couldn't get over how he had abandoned me at the bonding ceremony. My tone was colder than I intended.

To my surprise, he just smiled. "If you need it, I can drink it with you. You don't have to make something special for me."

The warmth in his voice startled me. The knife slipped, slicing open my fingertip. Blood welled up instantly, the pain sharp and deep.

"Don't move," he said sharply, his voice laced with a tension and urgency I had never heard from him before. "Where's the advanced healing salve?"

I pointed it out to him, and he quickly retrieved it, carefully tending to my wound.

A powerful Alpha aura enveloped my hand. The coolness of the salve, combined with his power, healed the cut before my very eyes.

The feeling… it was overpowering, yet incredibly reassuring.

Once, I'd burned myself with a searing hot rune-carving tool and sought comfort from Ethan.

He had frowned, told me I was always so careless, and said I should go find a healer myself. I remember he didn't even look up from the hunting knife Jessica had given him. After that, I learned to endure pain on my own.

Now, his fingers brushed against my skin as he gently blew on the wound, trying to soothe the sting.

His warm breath ghosted over my hand, and my heart suddenly skipped a beat.

Ethan had never been this gentle before. Was this really him?

That night, after we finished the herbal infusion, I made up the bed for him in the guest room and then returned to my own.

We had been together for three years, but Ethan always insisted he was a traditional wolf.

Nothing could happen between us before the bonding ceremony, so we had always slept in separate rooms.

I was about to get into bed when I suddenly remembered a custom amulet that was due the next day.

I would have to pull an all-nighter to finish it. I tiptoed to my workshop.

The toolbox was in a drawer. As I passed the guest room, I couldn't resist a glance inside.

The door was slightly ajar.

He was awake. Our eyes met.

He wordlessly shifted over, making room for me beside him.

I understood the gesture, and my cheeks flushed. I explained in a small voice, "I have work to finish for tomorrow. I'm just getting something and then I'll leave."

He noticed the carving knife in my hand, stood up, and pulled a pair of gloves from his pack.

"I saw the old scars on your fingers earlier," he said. "You must get cut often. This pair of finger guards is made of dragon hide. It won't dull the sensation in your fingertips, and a knife can't pierce it."

He put them on for me himself. They were a perfect fit.

He smiled again, a gentle, genuine smile that softened his entire face. "I had them made for you. I hope you like them."

My body went still as a current of warmth, confusion, and a bittersweet yearning surged through me.

"I love them," I murmured. "I couldn't be happier."

Maybe the Moon Goddess was finally taking pity on me.

Maybe Ethan had really come back to love me.