Chapter 2

Abby

Hello, Abby.

I sat upright so fast the blankets tumbled into my lap. My room was dark and empty, but the voice had been unmistakable.

Don’t be scared.

You’re my wolf. Warm amusement washed through me.

My name is Diana.

I pressed both hands over my mouth to keep from laughing. For years, I had tried to imagine what this moment would feel like. Strange, probably. Maybe even frightening. Instead, Diana felt familiar, as though she had always been right here, waiting for me to listen.

I’ve been waiting for you, I told her.

And I have been waiting for you.

A hundred questions crowded my head. Naturally, I started with the one that mattered most. Do you know who our mate is?

Not yet.

My excitement dipped. I thought wolves always knew.

We will recognize him when we meet him, now that I am awake.

My thoughts went straight to Noah. When I was fourteen and he was sixteen, we had promised each other that if neither of us found a fated mate, we would choose each other someday. The plan had also involved a cabin in the woods and chocolate for dinner, as neither of us had the slightest clue how adulthood worked. But Noah had shifted two years ago. Until Diana woke up, there was no way to know for sure. Now we could.

I fell back onto the pillows. You hear everything I think, don’t you?

Yes.

I groaned, tossing an arm over my face. Diana’s laughter hummed low in my head.

Sleep never stood a chance. By morning, my eyes burned, but I still couldn’t stop talking with her.

Liam knocked once before pushing my door open. “Happy birthday, little one.”

I kicked the sheets away and launched myself at him. “I can hear her.”

He caught me with a laugh. “I know. Jasper felt her wake up at midnight.”

Tell him hello.

“She says hello.”

Liam’s smile softened. “Jasper says it took her long enough.”

Tell him he’s rude.

I buried a laugh against Liam’s shoulder. He stepped back and studied my face. “You didn’t sleep a wink, did you?”

“I was busy meeting my wolf.”

He shook his head fondly. “Come downstairs before you collapse.”

The kitchen smelled like coffee and pancakes. Some things never changed. Birthdays had always belonged to just the two of us—stacks of pancakes, old movies, and one day when Liam pretended pack business didn't exist unless someone was actively bleeding. For one day, we were simply brother and sister.

Halfway through breakfast, he slipped upstairs. When he returned, he set a small wooden box on the table.

The smile left my face before he even opened it. Inside lay a thin white-gold chain with a delicate crescent moon pendant.

Mom’s necklace.

“Where did you find it?”

“With Dad’s things,” he said quietly. “I thought you should have it today.”

Tears blurred my vision before I could blink them back. I could still picture sitting on Mom’s lap, turning that little crescent between my fingers while she gently brushed out my hair.

“Hey.” Liam cupped my cheek, wiping a tear away with his thumb. “No crying before breakfast is over.”

I turned around, lifting my hair so he could fasten the clasp. The crescent settled cold against my throat.

The rest of the day passed too quickly. Chloe blew up my phone with countless messages to make sure I didn't forget she was coming tonight. Noah sent only one:

Noah: Happy birthday. Try not to run into a tree.

He seems irritating, Diana noted.

You’ll like him.

We’ll see.

As dusk settled over Moonhaven, Liam and I took the trail toward the clearing. The woods smelled of damp leaves and cold earth. Autumn had stripped some of the branches bare, letting patches of moonlight reach the path ahead.

Liam glanced down at me. “You’re shaking.”

“It’s cold.”

He laced his fingers through mine. “It’s going to hurt.”

“Very reassuring.”

“I’m serious. Don’t fight Diana.”

“What if I do something wrong?”

“You won’t. Trust me.”

The clearing appeared between the trees. Chloe, Noah, and Luna Cassandra were already waiting.

Cassandra reached me first and wrapped me in a warm hug. “Happy birthday, sweetheart.”

“Thanks, Aunt Cassie.”

Her eyes dropped to the crescent moon at my throat, and her expression softened into something reverent. “Your mother wore that the night she met your father.”

I touched the pendant, surprised. “She did?”

Cassandra nodded. “She always said it brought her luck.”

Behind her, Chloe was practically bouncing. Noah stood with his hands shoved in his pockets, watching me. For a second, our eyes met, but neither of us said anything. We both knew that after tonight, that old silly question would finally have an answer.

Liam looked up at the sky. “It’s time.”

Everyone turned away while I stepped behind a tree and undressed. I laid Mom’s necklace carefully on top of my folded clothes, then stepped barefoot into the clearing.

The cold grass bit into my soles. I swallowed hard.

Ready? Diana asked.

No.

Just let go. I’ve got the rest.

I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and surrendered control.

Pain tore through me. My knees hit the ground as bones shifted beneath my skin and heat burned through every muscle.

“Let her guide you, Abby,” Liam’s voice cut through the roar in my ears.

I stopped resisting, anchoring myself entirely to Diana.

I have you, she soothed.

My body stretched and changed, fur pushing through my skin, and then, almost as suddenly as the agony had started, it stopped. I stayed crouched on four legs, breathing hard.

The world had changed. I could hear every breath in the clearing. I could smell the wet leaves beyond the trees, the pine clinging to Liam’s coat, the faint sweetness of Chloe’s shampoo.

I looked down. Dense, pearl-gray fur covered my front paws.

Slowly, I stepped into the center of the clearing. As moonlight touched my coat, a silver-white shimmer rippled through the fur, as though light had caught in every strand.

A sharp gasp broke the quiet.

Cassandra’s fingers were pressed against her lips. “Oh, Goddess.”

Liam’s eyes were wet. “She’s silver.”

Moonsilver, Diana corrected with unmistakable pride.

The word settled into my chest with quiet certainty.

Chloe shifted without waiting, her tawny wolf, Skye, bounding into the clearing. She immediately began circling me, sniffing my coat from every possible angle.

Stop inspecting me.

You’re shiny.

That’s not an excuse.

Then Liam followed. Jasper was enormous, dark brown, and instantly familiar even before his voice entered my mind.

Hello, little one.

A knot tightened in my throat. Jasper.

He lowered his head, pressing his forehead gently against mine. We’ve waited a long time for you.

Diana leaned forward. So have I.

Noah shifted last. His black wolf, Kai, stepped carefully out of the shadows.

My pulse spiked. I held my breath, waiting. Waiting for the pull. The spark everyone described when they found their match.

Nothing happened.

Diana understood it before I could process it. He isn’t ours.

Kai nudged his nose against mine—the gesture so completely Noah that I almost laughed. He was still my best friend. Nothing important had changed.

Suddenly, Skye bolted toward the trees. Catch me!

Diana surged forward before I could even tell her to move. My first few steps were a disaster. Four legs were far harder to coordinate than two, and I nearly crashed into an oak tree before Diana corrected our stride.

Kai’s laughter echoed down the link. Very graceful.

Shut up.

Then instinct took over. Cold night air rushed through my fur as the woods blurred past us. Diana was fast—faster than I ever imagined. For the first time, I understood why wolves talked about shifting as though they became more themselves.

We ran until my lungs burned and my legs trembled. When we returned to the clearing, I could barely stand.

Shifting back hurt, but less. I pulled my clothes on with numb fingers and fastened Mom’s necklace back around my throat.

Cassandra watched me as I stepped out from behind the tree. “She’s beautiful, Abby.”

“Have you ever seen a wolf like Diana?” I asked, rubbing my sore arms.

“Not quite.”

“Diana calls it moonsilver.”

Something flickered behind her eyes, gone before I could read it.

Liam stepped up, draping my coat over my shoulders. “We can solve the mystery of the magic fur tomorrow. She needs rest.”

Cassandra smiled. “Of course. Go get some sleep.”

Chloe and Noah walked home with us. Noah fell into step beside me, his hands back in his pockets.

“So,” he murmured. “No cabin?”

I let out a tired laugh. “Guess not.”

He smiled, a faint flicker of disappointment there, probably matching my own.

At our front porch, Chloe wrapped me in a tight hug, and Noah gave my shoulder a quick squeeze before they both continued down the road.

Inside, Liam took my coat and hung it up. “Movie?”

“Liam, I can’t feel my toes.”

“Fair enough.” He opened his arms, and I leaned into him at once.

“Thank you.”

He pressed a kiss to my temple. “Mom and Dad would have loved Diana.”

The familiar ache surfaced behind my ribs. “I wish they were here.”

“Me too.”

I hugged him once, then turned toward the stairs. I was halfway up when the front door flew open.

Kade stood in the entry. He was breathing hard, his hair wind-whipped, tension coiled tightly through every line of his body.

Liam turned instantly. “Kade? What’s wrong? Did the border—”

Kade didn’t seem to hear him. “Where is she?”

Liam’s brow furrowed. “Who?”

“Abby.”

My fingers tightened on the wooden banister. “Kade?”

His head snapped toward the sound of my voice. And then I smelled him.

Cedar. Cold night air.

I had known Kade all my life—hugged him, sat beside him, stolen food from his plate. He had never smelled like this. Now his scent wrapped around me and pulled hard enough to make me sway.

Diana went utterly still. Then joy exploded through her.

Mate.

My breath caught in my throat. Kade?

He is ours.

I took a slow step down the stairs.

Kade froze where he stood.

Our eyes locked.

The bond struck so hard that I forgot how to breathe. Warmth rushed through me, and every sound in the room seemed to fade away.

My mate had been right here all along.

Every instinct pulled me toward him—to touch him, to hear him say he felt it too. Happiness rose so quickly that I smiled before I could stop myself.

Kade stared at me. Recognition flashed across his face. But he didn’t smile.

The color drained from his skin.