It had been years.
We grew up together. His parents were close friends of mine, but they’d been too busy with the affairs of the Obsidian Pack to raise him full-time.
So they left him in my family’s care.
Even as a pup, Scott inherited his parents’ stunning looks. The entire packhouse doted on him.
But he never liked playing with the other wolf pups. He was cold, distant—an Alpha from the cradle.
But with me, he was different.
I’ve always been the sweet, clingy type. If you liked me, great—we’d be best friends.
If you didn’t? Well, I’d just cling harder until you did.
But Scott…
Scott was the only one I truly clung to.
He never talked much, but he always listened. Sat through my endless babbling. Played house with me. Let me braid his hair, dress him up, drag him into my little world.
My parents used to tease me and call me Scott’s little shadow.
But everything changed after high school.
His family’s business grew, and they moved the Obsidian Pack away from Mississippi.
Meanwhile, I missed the cutoff for the elite werewolf university and got assigned to Shadowclaw Pack’s lesser-known campus.
It was there, during my Coming of Age Ceremony, that I completed my first shift—and met Alpha Joey, my fated mate.
I fell for him, hard and hopeless.
Chased after him with everything I had.
I loved him so much that I didn’t go home for years—not even once back to the Moonhowl Pack.
So when I got that call from Scott, it was the last thing I expected.
Before I could say anything, his low, cool voice came through the line:
“Was it real?”
“…What?”
It took me a second to realize what he meant. I looked at the only photo still hanging on my wall—just me and Joey, alone, awkward, distant.
“…Yes. It’s real.”
Scott chuckled quietly, and I could hear the smile in his voice.
“If you’re serious… what about giving me a shot?”
A gust of wind slipped in through the not-quite-shut balcony door. The curtains lifted, blanketing the potted bird of paradise in the corner.
I drew a breath.
“…Fine. What’s the catch?”
Alpha Scott might’ve been my childhood companion, but I’d heard enough over the years to know he was no longer the quiet pup from before.
He was a full-grown Alpha now—head of the Obsidian Pack, with a growing business empire.
Men like him never made deals without a price.
“I’ll send you a prenuptial agreement tomorrow,” he said.
Of course. I didn’t expect him to play fair.
“And one more thing,” Scott added, voice laced with something unreadable.
“Change my contact name in your phone… to Husband.”
I instinctively pulled the phone away and glanced at the screen.