Chapter 3

"Luna Emily."

Ethan stood at the bedroom door, fastening his cuffs.

"Don't you have an appointment at nine?"

I snapped my head toward the clock.

8:40 AM.

I had barely slept last night, and I had actually forgotten to set my alarm.

I threw my phone aside and scrambled out of bed.

I had promised Grandma Eleanor I’d visit her at nine to help with her rose garden.

I was a punctual person. I hated being late.

Except for that one time, before I met Ethan.

It had been pouring that day. I was standing at the bus stop, completely drenched.

A sleek black car had pulled up in front of me.

The window rolled down, revealing a handsome, youthful face. It was Ethan, though I didn't know his identity back then.

"Get in. The rain is too heavy," he had said, his voice flat, not even looking at me.

I hesitated, but eventually climbed in.

The heater in the car was on, and it was incredibly warm.

He didn't talk to me. He just drove in silence.

I gave him an address, and he simply nodded.

I thought he was just a kind stranger giving me a lift.

But when he dropped me off and I got out to thank him, I followed his gaze.

Across the street, inside a cozy cafe, Sarah was sitting by the window, waving at him.

He wasn't trying to help me.

He was just on his way to pick her up, and he had simply pitied the drowned rat on the curb.

In the living room, I turned around.

Ethan was sitting at the dining table, sipping his coffee.

Suddenly, a reckless thought crossed my mind.

"Ethan, I'm going to be late. Are you busy?"

In our seven years of marriage, this was the first time I had ever asked him for a favor.

If he just said, "I'll drive you."

I think I would have been happy for a very long time.

But he merely glanced at his watch.

"I'll have the driver take you."

I froze for a second.

"Okay. Thanks."

"Thank you" and "Thanks" were the most common words in our marriage.

Thank you for the gift. Thanks for grabbing my coat.

We were as polite as roommates who had shared an apartment for years, not like mates, and certainly not like husband and wife.

Thanks to the driver, I wasn't late.

Grandma Eleanor was already in the garden, wearing a sunhat and trimming the roses.

We had met in a community garden years ago.

The old lady loved flowers, but her family was always too busy to keep her company.

I frequented that garden too.

She always said that even the most beautiful flowers needed patient care.

Gradually, we became close friends despite the age gap.

Back then, I had no idea she was Ethan’s grandmother, let alone the former Elder Luna of the Silvermoon Pack.

During our chats, she would only complain about her rebellious, stubborn grandson.

Until the day Ethan came to pick her up.

"Luna Emily," Eleanor waved her shears in front of my face. "What's wrong? You seem totally out of it today."

I had just accidentally snipped off a perfectly healthy bud.

I snapped out of it and shook my head with a weak smile.

She saw right through me.

"Did you and Ethan have a fight?"

I shook my head.

We didn't fight. We didn't even have disagreements.

"That boy is so emotionally stunted. I'll give him a piece of my mind later."

Hearing the word "stunted" associated with Ethan was almost funny.

Before he married me, he was the dream of every werewolf in the territory.

He was rich, gorgeous, and a hopeless romantic.

I had heard that he once filled the entire pack hall with white roses for the Winter Solstice festival, just because Sarah mentioned she liked white.

On New Year's Eve, he had skipped the pack summit just to set off fireworks outside her window because she was feeling down.

Though I received white roses and watched fireworks later in our marriage, I knew they were just leftovers of the love he had once designed for Sarah.

My mind was a mess.

I had married him, but I had never seen the passionate side of Ethan.

As the wind blew through the garden, a sudden realization hit me.

It explained my strange behavior since last night.

I was terrified.

Eleanor set her shears down and looked at me.

"Luna Emily, you have been married into this pack for seven years. Do you know what the pack members say about you? They say the Luna is just a pretty ornament. I'm not blaming you, sweetie. But you are the Luna. You have power, and you have responsibilities. You can learn to host the galas, look after the pups, or take your seat in the council room. You don't need to be a werewolf to prove your worth. You just need to show them you are willing to try."