Venus Lin Yue sat cross-legged on her bed, speaking quietly as she confessed to her friend, Lin Yue something that had clearly been weighing on her heart.
"I didn't do it," Venus admitted, her voice low and unsure. "With Gao Tianyu, I mean. We fooled around, but I wasn't into it. It felt awkward, forced. He said it was okay, that we'd wait until we were both ready… but I know he was disappointed."
Lin Yue watched as her best friend peeled her black nail polish, flicking the little flakes onto the blanket.
Everyone at Wolf healing Academy thought Venus and Gao tianyu were already mated, based on the stories Gao Tianyu told. He'd once bragged that they shifted together under the moonlight at the Stone Circle and made love in the back of his uncle's transport van after a moon dance. He claimed their bond was unbreakable. His words had stirred jealousy in Liang Zhihao, another dominant ranked wolf who'd once had a thing for Venus Lin you, until he accepted the fact that Venus will forever remain that special part in him and best friend forever.
But now Lin Yue knew the truth.
She reached out and gently placed her hand on venus. "You're not broken," she told her. "You're just not ready. And your secret's safe with me."
Venus Lin Yue looked relieved. "I just… I love him, Lin. I know that sounds dramatic, but sometimes I daydream about bonding with him in the Temple of Unity and having pups. He's my mate. I feel it in my soul. But something inside me holds back."
Lin Yue understood. Mating was sacred among the wolves of Kunming. The bond wasn't just physical—it was spiritual. It included rituals under the full moon, the drinking of shared blood, and a mutual shift under elder wolves' blessing. It wasn't something to take lightly.
"I wish my parents didn't hate him so much," Venus Lin Yue added. "Just because he's from the lower side of the mountain village, near The Ash Pines. They don't see the good in him."
Lin Yue nodded. Gao Tianyu's family wasn't part of the elite crescent-born werewolves who lived near the main pack settlement. But he was loyal and strong, and his father, Long Tianyu, the pack's former Gamma, was well-respected before an injury forced him to retire.
Suddenly, Lin Yue sprang from the bed and stared out the window. "So what's Zhao Xin's deal?"
She wanted to know since she had tried to flirt with him to no veil.
Venus shrugged. "He's from Sichuan. His father, Zhao Diwen, a pack security leader at shadow peak clan.
Zhao Xin doesn't eat junk food. Got kicked out of Sichuan werewolf Academy for releasing a bunch of spirit pigs during a blood moon ritual. That's pretty much all I know."
"Does he have a mate?"
Venus didn't answer.
"Does he like Liu Mei, or is he into you like Gao Tianyu keeps hinting?"
Liu Mei was also their friend, but they didn't interact that much.
Venus laughed nervously. "He just likes messing with me. That's all."
"That's foreplay in wolf terms," Lin Yue smirked.
"You're ridiculous. Anyway, Zhao Xin's none of our business."
"That's not how you spy on someone," Lin Yue declared and made her way toward the den where Zhao Xin had been staying. Venus ran after her.
"Lin Yue, we can't just snoop through his things!"
"Don't worry. I'll be quick. Keep a lookout."
Venus peeked through the den window. Zhao Xin was outside, shirtless and sweaty, pushing an old lawn mower across the overgrown grass. His bronze back glistened under the late afternoon sun, and Venus's heart skipped a beat.
"He really likes boots," Lin Yue said, lifting a worn leather one. A wad of red hundred-yuan notes fell out.
"Where did all this money come from?" she asked, stuffing the bills back.
"I have no idea. Let's go," Venus urged.
But Lin Yue continued snooping. "He wears boxer briefs. Uses some fancy cologne. And… ooh, what's this?" She pulled poker chips from Zhao Xin's suitcase. "Gambler?"
Before they could leave, Venus saw movement outside. Zhao Xin had finished and was approaching. She panicked.
"His wallet!" Lin Yue whispered, snatching it.
"You can't go through that!" Venus grabbed it, but Zhao Xin was already standing in the doorway.
"So," he said calmly, "the wallet is the window to your soul, mooncake?"
Venus turned bright red. She tossed the wallet on the bed and stepped back. "We were just… it was a silly bet."
"What kind of bet?" Zhao Xin asked, arms crossed.
"We wanted to see if you kept a mating charm in your wallet," Lin Yue offered, her voice smooth. "You know, like some male wolves do?"
Zhao Xin chuckled and picked up his wallet. "Why stop now? Go ahead. Take a look."
Venus opened it nervously. No charm. Just a picture of a smiling woman in a deep blue qipao next to a tall man in traditional wolf elder robes—his parents, clearly. She handed it back.
"No charm," she said.
Zhao Xin smirked. "Guess you lose."
-l
One week later, Venus dropped a sealed scroll on the kitchen table.
"It's for you," she said, opening the pantry for dried peaches.
Zhao Xin stared at the crest on the envelope—his maternal grandmother's. Elizabeth Ming, the mother to his mother from the highlands of eastern China. He hadn't spoken to her in years.
She hated that her daughter mated with a mountain wolf like Zhao Diwen. She didn't even come to the funeral when Zhao Xin's mother died. Just sent rare incense and spirit beads as if that could make up for lost time.
Without opening it, Zhao Xin tossed the letter into the bin.
"What was it?" Venus asked between bites.
"I thought we agreed to stay out of each other's business," Zhao Xin replied.
"You owe me. You've been all over my friends lately—flirting with Lin Yue and Liu Mei, drinking with Gao Tianyu…"
"Liu Mei? She asked me how to start a generator. Then she asked me to live her home thereafter."
Venus rolled her eyes. " But she wants your wolf."
"What's wrong with that?"
He looked at her, enjoying the spark in her eyes when she was annoyed.
"If you must know," Zhao Xin said with a sly grin, "the scroll was a summon to the High Council. They want me to join the Olympic Moon Trials."
"For what event?" Venus asked, curious.
" Cloud-Leaping," Zhao Xin said, brushing imaginary dust from his shoulder.
"There's no such thing."
"There is in Sichuan."
"Liar."
"Wanna bet, Mooncake?"
She smirked, hands on her hips. "Fine. If I win, you have to eat a full bowl of durian dumplings."
He winced. "That's cruel."
"Then don't lose."
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