Everyone in the Kunming village was gathering at the riverbank to celebrate the arrival of the Red Summer Moon, a time sacred to all werewolves.
Venus Lin Yue stood by her window, twisting the hem of her tunic between her fingers. She could hear the distant howls already, and the thought of joining them sent a strange feeling through her chest, it was a strange one she couldn't even name.
Lin Yue, her friend since childhood, called out through the link they shared as future pack healers.
"The whole pack's meeting at the river. You coming?"
Venus hesitated before answering mentally. "I know. I'm just… not feeling right tonight."
Lin Yue's voice was light but firm. "Venus, you were angry when your sister Bai Lan left for Sichuan years ago. She's back now. Isn't that what you wanted?"
She sighed out aloud, looking at her reflection. It wasn't the reunion she had imagined.
"You're right," she told her finally, not wanting to sound like a sulky pup. Julian had just told her about an ex-girlfriend from the Mountain Iron Fang Pack who had smothered him with endless complaints about his jokey friends. Venus had just sworn moments ago when she heard about the betrayal EX- girlfriend of Julian she would never be that way. She would be easygoing, supportive—even when her heart hurt.
"When will you get here?" she asked.
"Fifteen minutes," Julian replied to her friend before cutting the link.
Venus hurried to change, shedding her simple clothes for something a little more festive—loose silk shorts and a soft pink wrap top that showed just a hint of skin, as was traditional for the Red Summer Moon festivities. When she couldn't decide, she called her best friend Chpen Zixin, who quickly picked an outfit for her through a few mirror snapshots Venus sent to him.
While Venus was fixing a thin chain of moonstones into her hair, Julian, her new stepbrother through Bai Lan's second mating bond, barged into the bathing chamber.
"Don't you knock?" Venus snapped, irritated.
"The door was open," Zhao xin said casually, leaning against the stone wall, his silver-blue eyes shining under the torchlight. "Going out?"
"Yes," she said tightly.
"With your mate?"
"Not your business," she muttered.
"Does he shift well?"Julian Zhao Xin asked, amusement glinting in his voice.
"Yes," she said, fuming.
Turning to face him, she wished he had at least one flaw—maybe a scar across that smug face—but no. He was built like a warrior, honed and perfect, and it annoyed her. The girls of the Kunming village Pack were already whispering about him.
"Did you barge in for a reason?" Venus asked coldly.
"I need to relieve myself," Julian said, clearly unfazed.
"Gross."
"You act like you've never peed before."
"I just don't announce it!" she snapped, storming out. Over her shoulder she added, "Leave the latrine seat down or suffer the consequences."
"What consequences?" he called after her with a smirk.
"You don't want to find out."
Downstairs, Gao Tianyu—her mate and a powerful member of the warrior ranks—was waiting for her. His dark fur coat was tied in ceremonial knots over his shoulders, as was tradition among ranked wolves during festivals. His expression softened when he saw her, and she quickly gave him a kiss on the cheek, just as Julian sauntered down behind her, still shirtless and relaxed, a carved wolf fang hanging from his neck.
Tianyu's body stiffened. "Who's this?"
"Just a busy body, his name is Julian Zhao Xin," Venus said dismissively before adding. "Bai Lan's stepson."
Tianyu's golden eyes narrowed, his wolf stirring just beneath his skin. "I don't like him at all, that he is staying with you."
"Neither do I," Venus muttered, dragging Tianyu toward the exit before he could make a scene.
Outside, the moon had begun to rise, silver and fat in the darkening sky. Under its light, the wolf inside Venus stirred—a low hum in her blood. Julian Zhao Xin sat on the steps, calmly tying a pair of traveling boots. "Have fun, little healer," he said to her before they left, his voice was clearly that of a challenge.
Tianyu growled low in his throat in response. Venus pulled him along, knowing Tianyu's jealousy could flare into a challenge if she wasn't careful.
As they headed to Tianyu's horse, Venus glanced back, meeting Julian Zhao Xin's gaze. Something passed between them, like some sort of an understanding, a sadness, but she turned away quickly, ignoring it.
In Tianyu's saddlebag, a rune-stamped communication stone buzzed. It glowed faintly with the name Shi Peng, Tianyu's old flame, his first love from the rival Pack, Black River clan.
"Why is Shi Peng calling you?" Venus asked, her chest tightening.
Tianyu gave the stone a quick glance. "Probably nothing."
"You never said you kept in touch."
"We speak once in a while," he said, brushing it off.
Venus wanted to ask more, but they had reached the riverbank, where bonfires blazed and the pack was beginning their festivities. The warriors were already gathering, their wolf forms flashing briefly under the shifting moonlight as they prepared for the night's Ritual of Unity.
Tianyu immediately joined a group of warriors, leaving Venus feeling abandoned. She spotted Chen Zixin and Liang Zhihao—two mischievous but loyal pack brothers to her, they were standing by the fire, a cask of sweet rice wine between them.
Chen Zixin spotted her and waved at her happily. "Come here, Captain!"
Venus chuckled. "Cut it out, Zixin."
"You know you love me too," he teased, pulling her into a dramatic hug.
"No, I barely tolerate you," she teased back. "Hands off before Gao Tianyu thinks he needs to challenge you." Venus warmly warned him.
Liang Zhihao grinned, nudging Zixin. "She's got a point."
Chen Zixin pointed to a newcomer, a girl in a revealing silver dress. "What are my chances tonight?"
"Better than most," Venus said dryly. "Want me to warn her that you're allergic to commitment?"
Everyone laughed. Chen Zixin had left a trail of broken hearts from Yunnan to Kunming village all the way to the Eastern Peaks.
Venus moved closer to the bonfire where her friend Lin Yue was sitting, wrapped in Liu Hao's arms, the two of them murmuring promises of a future together. It made Venus's chest ache with longing.
When Tianyu finally rejoined her, she leaned against him. "What's wrong?" she asked gently.
"Nothing," he said curtly, downing a ladle of rice wine.
She touched his arm. "Is it because I was named Healer Captain? I didn't know until elder Zhao Wei announced it."
He jerked away. "Can you stop bringing it up? Maybe the pack thinks it's funny to pick you over me. Maybe Chen Zixin had a hand in it, who knows?"
Her heart twisted. "Please tell me you don't mean that."
He didn't answer. Venus sat there, the boring and emptiness of the pack's celebration pressing down on her shoulders.
Meanwhile Julian Zhao Xin....
The silver light of the Red Summer Moon shimmered over Kunming's hills as Julian Zhao Xin jogged beside his new wolf companion, Loka, who was still adjusting to pack life.
Without thinking, they circled around the abandoned temple grounds and the old high school where he was sure younger wolves trained. Memories of his past life surged at him instantly, memories of his mother watching him at every match, her face pale but her spirit fierce despite the sickness that had ravaged her.
"Play for me," she had whispered once. He would have given anything to hear her voice again.
He sprinted harder, shifting halfway between human and wolf form. His hands thickened, claws sprouting, his senses sharpening. The wind carried the scent of the river and the fires.
Reaching the banks, Julian Zhao Xin caught the scent of Venus Lin Yue, it was sweet, sharp, full of hidden strength. His mind betrayed him with an image: her small body in that pink wrap, skin glowing under the moonlight.
She had looked like a goddess. He hated how much he noticed everything single thing about her.
Maybe Venus shifted her skin depending on who she was with—soft for her mate, hard for the rest. Her boyfriend, Gao Tianyu, had looked ready to tear Zhao apart when they had just barely met. Typical alpha male behavior.
Zhao xin grinned wolfishly. Good. He liked it when things weren't easy. Because he was never one who played by the rules, never!
Under the Red Summer Moon, everything felt possible. Even trouble smelt sweet to him.