Bound by Moonlight

chapter 1

The Lakewood Pack wasn’t big. Tucked deep in the forested stretch of northern Minnesota, it was one of the smaller packs on the continent—tight-knit, traditional, and fiercely loyal. Surrounded by lake country and dense pine, their territory looked like something out of a postcard. Peaceful. Picturesque. Safe.

But that didn’t stop Lize from feeling like she didn’t belong.

She tugged her hoodie sleeves over her hands as she walked down the main trail that split their territory’s heart, watching pack members buzz around the Pack House like stirred-up bees. The annual Leadership Summit was only a week away, and the pack was in full prep mode—fixing cabins, cleaning trails, restocking supplies. Alphas, Betas, and Gammas from all over the continent would be coming, and Lakewood had the honor—and the stress—of hosting this year.

Her father, Alpha Calvin, oversaw it all with a calm but commanding presence, while her mother, Luna Eleanor, coordinated every meal, banner, and bedspread like a woman born to lead. It made sense. They were a perfect Alpha pair—respected, admired, unstoppable.

Their son, Jake, was next in line.

At nineteen, he already looked the part. Tall, broad-shouldered, with the kind of presence that made people instinctively move aside. He was strong, disciplined, and—despite being a pain in her ass—born to lead. He’d been training for the Alpha title since he could walk. And soon, he’d take over the pack.

And when that happened, Lize would have to call Riley—her lifelong tormentor—Luna.

Just the thought made her stomach twist.

Riley had been gunning for her since grade school. Petty jabs, cruel nicknames, whispering campaigns that turned classmates into shadows. And now? The Moon Goddess had thought it would be hilarious to pair that backstabbing bully with her brother.

Fate sucked sometimes.

“Hey, bookworm!” a voice called behind her.

Lize didn’t have to turn to know who it was. Riley’s sugary venom was unmistakable.

She kept walking.

“I hope you’re not planning on skipping training again,” Riley purred. “I know it’s hard to keep up when you don’t even have a wolf…”

Lize’s fists clenched, but she kept moving, faster now.

She didn’t care about the whispers anymore. Or tried not to. Almost eighteen, and still no wolf. It wasn’t unheard of, but it was rare—and embarrassing. It marked her as different. Defective.

But she was strong. She trained harder than most of the other girls, sparred with the guys, kept her endurance up through morning runs, even if she didn’t have the speed and agility that came with a bonded wolf. She pushed because if she couldn’t be like everyone else, then at least she could fight like hell to be respected.

“Keep walking, sunshine,” a familiar voice muttered at her side.

Rory.

Jake’s soon-to-be Beta, and her best friend since the first day of school. He matched her pace without missing a step, eyes sharp, jaw tight. His dark curls were damp from training, and his hoodie was soaked in sweat.

“You okay?” he asked low.

“I’m fine.”

“You sure?”

“I said I’m fine, Rory.”

He didn’t press, but his shoulder bumped hers gently as they walked. It was a silent promise. Always on her side.

She let out a slow breath, trying to shake Riley’s voice from her head.

They turned the corner toward the rec hall, where boxes of decorations and banners were being sorted for the summit. The whole pack was electric with anticipation—young warriors hoping to impress visiting Alphas, parents baking and prepping meals, guards patrolling tighter than usual. Even the air smelled tense.

Her mother had given her a list of tasks—laundry, sorting name cards, and delivering room assignments—and Lize was happy to throw herself into the distraction.

Because at night, when everything slowed, her thoughts always circled back to one thing.

Her wolf.

Or the lack of her.

Every girl she knew had shifted by sixteen. Most got their wolf early, during a moment of heightened emotion. Fear. Anger. Joy. Lize had waited, prayed, trained, begged—and still, nothing. She felt the hollow echo of where her wolf should be. Felt her absence in her bones.

She looked normal—curvy, muscular, healthy. Her blonde hair was pulled into a bun, her skin freckled from the sun. She worked out daily, even enjoyed it. Her body was strong. But something about her soul… wasn’t.

She didn't wear makeup. Didn't care for fashion. Couldn’t name a single shade of lipstick Riley liked to flaunt. She preferred books, quiet corners, and the scent of old paper and leather-bound books. She wasn’t flashy or loud, wasn’t desperate for male attention.

She just wanted her wolf.

She just wanted to feel like herself.

---

Six days.

That’s how long she had left.

Lize stood in front of the mirror in the training room’s locker bay, hands braced on the sink as sweat dripped from her hairline. Her body was strong, capable. Her punches had bruised Rory’s forearms today. She'd outpaced three warriors on the mile run. But no matter how hard she pushed her body, it didn’t matter.

She still hadn’t shifted.

No voice in her mind. No electric snap of connection. No wolf.

Six. More. Days.

She hated how she counted them. Like it was a deadline to prove she wasn’t broken.

She turned on the faucet, splashing cold water on her face. The freezing shock grounded her, but it didn’t soothe the ache in her chest. Lize stared at her reflection. Blonde hair, tied back tight. Blue eyes, too tired for someone not even eighteen. Muscular shoulders and thick thighs from hours in the training yard. She looked strong. But inside?

She was splintering.

The whispers had started when she turned seventeen. Polite concern at first—“Late shifter, huh? It happens sometimes.” But as months dragged on, it turned into avoidance. Pity. Judgment.

Alpha Calvin’s daughter… and still no wolf?

She towel-dried her face, tugged on her hoodie, and slipped out the back door. She didn’t want to run into anyone—not her parents, not Riley, not even Rory, who always seemed to know when she wasn’t okay. Especially not today.

The pack house was alive with movement again. Decorations were arriving. Beta families from nearby packs were sending confirmations. Rory and Jake were leading extra patrols to ensure everything was secure. The Summit start was four days away. Her birthday was two days after that.

The whole world was rushing toward change. And she still hadn’t caught up.

Instead of heading up to the Alpha floor, she climbed the side stairs of the Pack House to the second floor and quietly slipped into her sanctuary.

The library.

It was always warm here, filled with the scent of old wood, leather, and ink. Light poured in through stained-glass windows that filtered sun into soft reds and blues. The books were stacked high in towering oak shelves, with a rolling ladder that creaked softly as it moved. Her mother had told her it was built by Lize’s grandfather, Alpha Nathaniel, who believed knowledge was as important as strength.

She agreed.

Lize settled into the window alcove, tucking her knees to her chest. Her favorite book—The Blood Moon Legacy—sat on the cushion beside her, worn and cracked from countless reads. A fantasy epic about a cursed she-wolf who couldn’t shift, who turned out to be the Moon Goddess’s chosen champion. A lie, sure—but a comforting one.

She let her fingers trace the faded gold letters on the spine.

Maybe, she thought, if she stayed here long enough, everything else would stop. The expectations. The countdown. The pressure to be something she wasn’t sure she could be.

Her parents never said it out loud. But she saw it in their eyes.

Her father, Alpha Calvin, had the presence of a mountain—strong, unmoving. She inherited his stubbornness. Her mother, Luna Eleanor, was grace and steel wrapped in soft silk. Lize could handle their strength. What she couldn’t handle was their silence.

Their worry.

“You’re almost eighteen, sweetheart,” her mother had said just last week, smoothing Lize’s hair back with a gentle hand. “Any day now. Just keep trusting the Moon Goddess.”

But Lize didn’t trust the Moon Goddess. Not anymore.

Not when she’d stayed silent for so long.

Not when she’d paired her sweet, fierce brother with a venom-dripping girl like Riley.

Not when Lize had tried everything—meditation, energy work, moon rituals, sacred lake dips—and still heard nothing but her own desperate heartbeat.

She wasn’t praying for a mate. Not like most girls. She didn’t care about fated love, or being swept off her feet by some cocky Alpha. She just wanted her wolf.

She just wanted to feel whole.

She didn’t realize she was crying until a tear hit the worn book cover.

A quiet knock tapped on the doorframe.

She froze.

Rory stepped into view, holding two protein shakes and a paper bag. “You skipped lunch.”

Lize sniffed and turned her face away. “Wasn’t hungry.”

“Liar,” he said softly, and held out the bag. “Bacon cheeseburger. No tomato. Extra pickles.”

She took it without meeting his eyes.

He didn’t sit too close, just dropped down on the rug beside her alcove, back to the shelves, his legs stretched out like he belonged there.

And he did. He always did.

After a few bites, she spoke. “Do you ever think maybe… I just wasn’t meant to have one?”

Rory was quiet for a long time. Then he said, “No. I think your wolf’s out there, same as mine was. And she’s just waiting for the right moment.”

“What if the right moment never comes?”

He looked up at her with quiet certainty. “It will. You’ll feel her when you’re ready to stop running from yourself.”

Lize stared out the window. The sun was beginning to set, brushing the forest in gold.

Maybe.

But as the summit crept closer—and her birthday even closer still—Lize couldn’t shake the feeling that something was building.

And when it finally broke?

Her world would never be the same.