Luis’ POV: I couldn’t look away as she ran. Her figure disappeared into the distance, but I stayed frozen, watching that space like it still held her. I had known for years that a curse lived inside me. Turning twenty-five wasn’t just a birthday. It was the beginning of the end. At first, I didn’t care. I had accepted it. Until I met Deanna. That was when something inside me began to resist. I wanted to live. If I never found a Healer, if the curse ended up winning, at least I had known her. At least I had touched the one meant for me. Even if it was just for a little while, it would be enough. Maybe that made me selfish. But Deanna was always meant to be mine. And this time, she came to me first. I wasn’t going to let her slip away again. … Deanna’s POV: My place was small. Two bedrooms, one living room. There were no fancy floor-to-ceiling windows. But I had a narrow balcony that caught the morning sun. I’d filled it with flower pots and hanging herbs. Jake used to wrinkle his nose whenever I mentioned the apartment. He thought it was too cramped, so he never came by. He even sent real estate agents after me, tried to get me to move into one of the places he bought. But I liked this one. I paid for it with my own money. It was mine. It was my way of standing on my own, away from the Mistbane Pack. I scanned the room and walked into the storage closet. I pulled out a large cardboard box. Then, I started gathering every trace of Jake and throwing it in. One photo after another. Letters. Receipts. Trinkets. All of it went in. … By the time I sealed the box, it was full to the top. Of course it was. That was what five years of love looked like. Some of his gifts were still sitting in his villa. I hadn’t bothered going back for them. I sat on the floor and looked inside the box. There was a photo album. Property deeds for a few homes. A handful of luxury jewelry pieces. One engagement ring. Those homes were all in top locations. I could sell them in a heartbeat and walk away with enough to last me a lifetime. I had made up my mind. I was going to sell it all. Consider it a payout for everything I went through. … The next day, I went to a mall nearby and got a new phone and SIM card. As soon as I powered it on, it buzzed nonstop. Dozens of messages flooded in. Before I could even open a single one, the screen lit up with an incoming call. It was Kathryn Hendricks. My birth mother. The Luna of Mistbane Pack. I answered. Her voice came sharp and fast, full of irritation. “Deanna, what have you been doing these last two days? No calls, no replies, no explanation. Do you think I don’t matter to you? Am I just nothing in your eyes? Jillian would never treat me like this. She actually knows how to take care of her family.” I pressed my lips together. “I got kidnapped. They took my phone.” “Kidnapped? You expect me to believe that? What’s next? You want to milk Mistbane Pack for money? You’re just like that human woman who raised you. I can’t believe you came from my blood.” Her voice sliced through me. She always said things like that when she was mad, but I was her biological daughter. Before Mistbane Pack found me, I had gone by another name—Diana Holt. Twenty-three years ago, she gave birth to me in a private hospital. A human nurse, Dorothy Griffith, had also given birth around the same time, but her baby was born with a condition, something passed through the womb. That nurse knew she couldn’t afford treatment. So, she did something monstrous. She sneaked into my mother’s delivery room. She took amniotic fluid and wiped it onto her own baby’s skin. That way, her daughter carried the scent of a werewolf womb. Then, she switched us. I was taken. She raised me as her own. Cold. Detached. Her husband was worse. A gambler with a temper who used to lash out whenever he was angry. My childhood was gray, empty, and full of bruises I couldn’t explain at school. As I got older, strange things began to happen. My senses sharpened. I could see clearly in the dark. My teeth changed into fangs. I was terrified. I begged Dorothy to help me. She looked at me like I had grown horns. She almost kicked me out that night. If I hadn’t sat by the front door and cried until the neighbors started complaining, she probably would have. Then came Jillian’s eighteenth birthday. Her wolf never came. That’s when the Alpha of Mistbane started asking questions. The truth surfaced. Everyone was stunned. They had raised the wrong girl. But Jillian had been their baby for twenty years. They didn’t want to let her go. It was only because the former Luna, Helena Silvertross, pushed hard enough that I was finally brought home. I still remembered my first day back. Kathryn, the woman who gave birth to me, looked at me like I was something she had to clean off the carpet. Her eyes swept me from head to toe. Her mouth curled in distaste. “Your shoes just ruined that rug. It was handwoven.” Then, she added, “What are you even wearing? Did Dorothy never teach you how to dress? Is this how you greet your elders? Like some street rat? Honestly, I shouldn’t be surprised. “What could a lowborn human like her possibly teach you? From now on, you’ll unlearn all of that. You’ll do better.” My brother, Desmond Wiley, glared at me. “I only have one sister. Her name is Jillian. I’m not accepting some stray raised by humans.” And my father, the Alpha, gave me a dead stare. “You’re our daughter now. Get along with Jillian.” Jillian didn’t even try to hide how smug she felt. Her eyes locked on mine like she was saying, See? Even with the truth out, I’m still their favorite. Then, she looked at them and said softly, “I’m sorry, Mom, Dad. Now that your real daughter’s home, I’ll leave Mistbane Pack.” Kathryn rushed forward in a panic. “No! Jillian, no! This wasn’t your fault. It was Dorothy’s. You’re still our baby. You’ll always be your father’s pride, your brother’s only sister. You’re not going anywhere.” … Her voice snapped me back to the present. She was still shouting through the phone. I cut her off. “You’re right. I’m not your daughter. Jillian is. Isn’t that what you want to hear?” Her tone sharpened like a blade. “What kind of attitude is that? Jillian is a hundred times more considerate than you. At least she knows how to respect her own mother.” “Then, stop calling me,” I said, my voice cracking. “Let’s just cut ties completely.” “Deanna! Are you trying to kill me with stress?” “I’m done with this,” she snapped. “Tomorrow night is Mistbane Pack’s founding anniversary. Bring Jake with you. Your father and I will use the opportunity to finalize the contract between you two.”