Bound by Moonlight

chapter 3

3 Days Until the Leadership Summit

Lize – Lakewood Pack, Northern Minnesota

The smell of cinnamon rolls and sausage drifted through the Packhouse dining hall, warm and sweet, mixing with the low hum of voices and clinking cutlery. Lize stepped into the buzz of breakfast, pulling her hoodie tighter around her. It hung slightly loose on her frame despite her muscles—she liked it that way. Comfort. Coverage. Distance.

She moved toward the buffet table, her eyes scanning the crowd until they landed on a familiar mop of unruly brown curls. Rory.

“Morning, sunshine,” he said without looking up as she approached.

Lize snorted, grabbing a plate. “You’ve been up for ten minutes.”

“Eight,” Rory said with a grin. “But I’ve already done more than you—look, I made it here without tripping once.”

“Amazing,” she said dryly. “The Moon Goddess herself will be jealous of your progress.”

Rory bumped her shoulder. “You’re just mad because I beat you to the hashbrowns.”

“Damn right,” she muttered, eyes narrowing as he scooped the last of them onto his plate. “That’s betrayal, Beta.”

“Future Beta,” he corrected, tossing her a wink. “I’m not under oath yet.”

They filled their plates and moved toward the long tables running the length of the hall. Rory waved to someone across the room, then slid into a seat. Lize followed, her usual quiet settling over her like a second skin. She picked at her food as the noise swelled around her.

She preferred the quiet. And she definitely preferred not being surrounded by so many people already buzzing with energy over the upcoming summit.

As if her birthday and the summit weren’t looming fast enough.

“Three days,” Rory murmured between bites, like he could read her thoughts.

“Until the summit,” she clarified. “Five for the other thing.”

His eyes flicked to hers—warm, but cautious. “Still nothing?”

She shook her head once. “No wolf. No shift.”

“You’re not broken, Lize,” he said low, voice firm.

“Tell that to everyone staring at me when I walk into a room,” she replied, stabbing her sausage. “Like they’re waiting for me to crack.”

“You won’t.”

Lize didn’t answer. She didn’t trust her voice not to crack either.

She heard the deep rumble of her father’s voice at the head table. Alpha Calvin rarely raised his voice unless giving commands, so even low conversation carried across the room.

“Bentley’s arriving early,” he told Jake. “Just him and his Gamma. He wants to help prepare. Said the pack’s been… tense.”

Lize’s gaze shot up just in time to catch Jake nodding. He didn’t look surprised.

But someone else did.

From a few seats down, Riley practically perked up like a pup catching a scent. Her body straightened, and she tossed her long, dark hair over her shoulder with an enthusiasm that made Lize’s stomach twist.

Riley. Her brother’s mate. The future Luna of their pack.

And yet there she was, practically glowing with excitement at the mention of another Alpha.

Something flickered in Riley’s eyes. Something sharp. Eager.

Lize narrowed her eyes, suddenly more aware than ever of the tension that had settled into the room like static. Rory followed her gaze and leaned closer.

“What is it?”

“Did you see her?” Lize said under her breath.

“Riley?”

“She looked like someone told her Christmas came early.”

Rory scoffed. “Probably just excited to throw herself at another Alpha. She’s always been like that.”

“She has a mate,” Lize said pointedly.

Rory shrugged. “Doesn’t mean she knows how to act like it.”

Lize turned her attention back to her food, though she couldn’t eat much now. Her appetite had disappeared right along with the ease in her chest.

Alpha Bentley. The name sounded heavy, important. She’d heard of him, of course—everyone had. The powerful, unmated Alpha from the Crescent Creek Pack in Oregon. The one every she-wolf in North America seemed to swoon over.

Even Riley, apparently.

Lize didn’t care about swooning.

She just wanted to shift. To hear the wolf inside her. To know that she wasn’t broken.

But that morning, for the first time in a long time… something stirred. Not her wolf. Not quite.

Just a whisper in the wind. A shift.

As if something—or someone—was coming that would change everything.

---

Lize pov

After breakfast, I slipped out of the dining room as fast as I could. The dining hall had been buzzing with chatter, mostly about the upcoming leadership summit and Alpha Bentley’s early arrival. My father had confirmed it to my brother, and I’d caught every word.

What I hadn’t expected was Riley’s reaction—eyes bright, lips parting like she’d just been handed her birthday wish early. She was mated to my brother. And yet, the way she lit up at the mention of another Alpha made my skin crawl.

I didn’t say anything. I never did.

Instead, I made my way to the second floor of the packhouse where the library sat nestled behind a pair of quiet oak doors. It was my escape—the only place where I wasn’t being watched, judged, or whispered about. No one cared that I hadn’t shifted. The books didn’t ask why I was still wolfless.

I found my spot near the back, next to the tall windows that looked out over the northern tree line. Sunlight filtered in through the glass, warming the plush armchair I had unofficially claimed as one of my spots years ago. My book waited for me—half-finished, a world full of magic and strength that I could pretend was mine.

Time passed without me noticing. In the pages, I wasn’t Alpha Calvin’s broken daughter. I wasn’t the girl turning eighteen in five days with no wolf to show for it. I was just someone else—someone powerful, someone whole.

I didn’t even hear the door open.

“Found you,” Rory said, voice casual as he stepped in and leaned against the bookshelf. He was still in his training clothes, a little damp with sweat, curls messy and carefree. “You weren’t at the gym. I was beginning to think you finally got sucked into a book and forgot to eat.”

I smirked without looking up. “Funny. I had breakfast.”

“Barely. Riley was in the room. I know you didn’t enjoy a single bite.”

I sighed and closed my book, marking my place. “She’s impossible.”

“She’s my future Luna,” he said with mock seriousness, then added with a smirk, “and still a raging she-demon.”

That earned a real laugh from me. “Don’t let her hear you say that.”

“She already hates me. I might as well have fun with it.”

Rory walked in and flopped onto the couch across from my chair, arms stretched wide like he owned the place. “Come for a run with me?”

I hesitated. “I was going to finish this chapter.”

“You’ve been here for hours.”

“That’s kind of the point.”

He tilted his head. “Come on, Lize. It’s beautiful out. You need to get out of this house. Even if you don’t shift, you’ve still got legs.”

I snorted. “Thanks for that inspiring pep talk.”

He grinned. “Seriously. The woods are quiet. You love the woods.”

I did. And it had been a while since I let myself breathe outside the weight of the packhouse walls. “Fine. But I swear, Rory, if you ditch me halfway through and make me jog back alone, I’m feeding your shoes to the laundry chute.”

He stood and offered me a hand. “Deal.”

We walked out together, the late afternoon sun softening the sharp edges of the day. Voices from the training field drifted across the yard, omegas buzzed between the kitchen and guest wing with last-minute prep, and somewhere, my father’s voice barked orders over the hum of summit logistics.

Rory nudged me with his elbow. “Race you to the bend?”

“Nope. You promised.”

“I promised not to race. Didn’t promise not to win.”

For the first time in what felt like days, I laughed. Out in the trees with Rory, I didn’t have to think about a wolf I didn’t have or lunas I didn’t trust.

And even if it was just for a little while, I let myself feel… free.