Chapter 1

I arrived at the Blackthorne packhouse just as Adrian's birthday celebration was reaching its peak.

The courtyard was overflowing with people, with pack members gathered around long tables beneath strings of lanterns while visiting Alphas and their families mingled nearby. Music, laughter, and the clinking of glasses filled the warm evening air, creating the kind of celebration Adrian had always enjoyed.

It was his thirty-first birthday, and Adrian had never been the sort of person to celebrate quietly.

For eight years, I had been the one who made sure his birthdays were exactly the way he liked them. I knew his favorite wine, the dishes he refused to eat, how much ice he wanted in his drink, and how irritable he became whenever he missed a meal. I knew the little things that most people overlooked because, for eight years, knowing Adrian had been part of loving him.

Or at least, I had thought I knew him.

That was why, despite spending most of the day working, I had still come. I had even brought him a carefully chosen gift, something I had spent weeks looking for because I wanted this birthday to be special.

I tightened my fingers around the small box before slipping it into my bag.

Adrian didn't notice me when I entered. He was standing near the fountain with several council members, laughing at something one of them had said. His expression was relaxed, happier than I had seen him in days, and for a moment, seeing him like that made something inside me soften.

Then I noticed who was standing beside him.

Mira Vale.

The rogue he had hired as his secretary had been in Blackthorne territory for only a few months, yet somehow, she had already become one of the people closest to him. She leaned toward him and whispered something in his ear, and Adrian laughed again, the sound warm and genuine.

Eight years ago, he would have noticed me immediately.

I'd know you anywhere, Sera.

He used to say that whenever we entered crowded places together.

Now I was only a few steps away, and he didn't even look in my direction.

"Sera!"

I turned and saw Rowan approaching with a drink in his hand, a grin already spreading across his face.

"You finally made it."

"I told you I would."

"I know." He laughed softly. "Adrian kept asking where you were."

My eyes moved toward Adrian before I could stop myself.

"Did he?"

"Twice."

Something warm flickered in my chest. Maybe I had been overthinking everything. Maybe Adrian hadn't changed as much as I thought, and perhaps there was still something between us that mattered to him.

Before I could hold on to that thought, Mira's voice interrupted.

"Sera."

She approached with a pleasant smile, her expression perfectly composed.

"I'm glad you came."

"It's Adrian's birthday. Of course I came."

"I hope you like the party. I spent most of the afternoon helping the servants prepare everything."

"I'm sure you did."

Mira's smile widened slightly before she glanced toward the entrance.

"Actually, there's one more surprise."

Several servants appeared carrying an enormous birthday cake, and the surrounding conversations quickly died down as everyone gathered around. Adrian finally looked up, and his eyes found mine across the courtyard.

For one foolish second, my heart lifted.

I waited for him to smile.

Instead, his attention shifted back to the cake as Mira stepped closer to him.

"I made sure they used your favorite flavors."

Adrian smiled at her.

"You remembered."

"Of course."

The words shouldn't have hurt, but somehow, they did. I had spent eight years remembering everything about him, yet now he looked at Mira as though remembering his favorite cake was something precious.

I swallowed and forced myself to look away.

Then I smelled something beneath the sweetness.

Something bitter.

Silverthorn.

My entire body went still.

Silverthorn berries were scattered across the frosting, unmistakable even from where I stood. My stomach dropped because I was severely allergic to silverthorn, and Adrian knew that better than anyone.

When I was nineteen, I had nearly died after accidentally eating a dessert containing it. Adrian had stayed outside the healer's room all night, refusing to leave until he knew I was safe. Afterward, he had personally made sure everyone in his household knew never to serve me anything containing silverthorn.

So why was it on his birthday cake?

"Mira," I said, keeping my voice steady.

She turned toward me.

"Why is there silverthorn on the cake?"

Her eyes widened as she looked down at the berries.

"Silverthorn?"

"Yes."

She stared at the cake for a moment before looking back at me.

"Oh. I didn't know you were allergic."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

"You didn't know?"

"I'm sorry, Sera. I honestly didn't."

My eyes moved to Adrian. Surely he would remember. Surely, after everything that had happened between us, this was one thing he couldn't possibly have forgotten.

"Adrian—"

My throat suddenly closed.

I gasped, grabbing the edge of the table as my lungs constricted. The courtyard seemed to tilt around me, and my vision blurred as I struggled desperately to draw breath.

"Sera?"

Rowan's voice sounded distant as someone shouted for the healer. My wolf reacted instinctively, and pain shot through my hands as my claws began to emerge.

Then I heard Adrian.

"Sera!"

Relief rushed through me.

He would help me.

Of course he would.

I looked toward him, expecting to see the same fear I remembered from eight years ago.

Instead, his expression was irritated.

"Control yourself," he said.

I could barely breathe.

"I can't..."

Mira immediately turned toward him, her expression filled with concern.

"I didn't know, Adrian. I swear. If I had known, I would never have ordered it."

"I know."

He believed her without hesitation.

Then he looked at me.

"It's my birthday, Sera. You're making everyone uncomfortable."

I stared at him in disbelief.

"I'm having an allergic reaction."

"Then go to the healer. You don't need to make a scene here."

Something inside me went quiet.

For eight years, I had loved him, waited for him, and believed that when it truly mattered, I would always be the person he protected first. Yet now I was struggling to breathe in front of him, and his greatest concern seemed to be that I was ruining his birthday.

The healer finally reached me, and I barely remembered what happened afterward—the medicine, the burning in my throat, and the desperate struggle to breathe. What I remembered clearly was that Adrian never followed.

He didn't even come after me.

The reaction eventually subsided, but I remained in my room, exhausted and trembling while the celebration continued outside as though nothing had happened.

Then my phone rang.

It was my mother.

"Sera, are you all right?"

"I'm fine."

"You don't sound fine."

I closed my eyes and leaned against the headboard. After a moment, she spoke again.

"Your father and I have made a decision."

"What decision?"

"The Frostfang arrangement."

My stomach tightened.

"Mother, I told you. I don't want an arranged mating."

"You said that because you were waiting for Adrian."

I looked toward the window.

"He'll claim me eventually."

The words came automatically, but for the first time, I knew I didn't believe them.

"We waited eight years, Sera," my mother said. "You gave him enough chances."

I said nothing.

"The Frostfang Pack has agreed to the alliance. Cassian Frost has accepted as well."

I went still.

Cassian Frost.

The Alpha of the neighboring Frostfang Pack.

"The ceremony will take place in seven days."

Seven days.

My gaze fell on the gift box sitting on the table. Inside was the silver watch I had bought for Adrian, something I had spent weeks choosing while imagining the look on his face when I finally gave it to him.

Now I couldn't understand why I had tried so hard to make him happy when he couldn't even remember the one thing that could kill me.

"All right," I said.

My mother was silent for a moment.

"All right?"

"I accept."

"Sera, are you sure?"

I looked through the window toward the courtyard. Adrian was still there, surrounded by the same people, with Mira standing beside him. He was smiling, and for eight years, I had waited for that smile to be mine.

Tonight, I finally understood that waiting wasn't love.

It was simply waiting.

And I had waited long enough.

"Yes," I told my mother. "Tell the Frostfang Pack that I accept."

After the call ended, I picked up the gift box and held it for a moment, remembering all the thought I had put into choosing it. Then I placed it inside the drawer and slowly closed it.

I didn't cry.

Instead, I began packing.

For the first time in eight years, I wasn't waiting for Adrian Blackthorne to choose me.

I was choosing myself.