"Do they even care what I want?" I fumed, pacing the length of Scarlet’s room. My cousin sat cross-legged on her bed, watching me. I needed her to agree with me, to tell me I wasn’t crazy. But instead, she was just sitting there, waiting.

“I’m serious, Scarlet. It’s like everyone’s forgotten that I’m an actual person with my own life and my own desires. No, instead, it’s all about the pack, the damn truce, and me marrying Harvey Thornburn.”

I stopped in front of her, expecting her to chime in. But nothing. She raised an eyebrow, silently inviting me to continue.

“I can’t do this,” I groaned, throwing myself into the chair by the window. “I won’t do this.”

Scarlet sighed softly, shaking her head. “You know how things work, Liana. It’s not about what we want.”

I glared at her. “And you’re okay with that? You’re just fine being a puppet for the elders, doing what they want, living a life they’ve planned out for you?”

“I’m not saying it’s fair. But you know what’s at stake. We all have to make sacrifices for the pack.”

I snorted. “Sacrifices? You mean like you married Kyle when he wasn’t even your mate?”

Scarlet’s face hardened at that. “That’s different.”

“Is it?” I pressed, leaning forward. “You gave up on finding your mate because the pack needed you to marry Kyle. Now you’re stuck in a loveless marriage, and for what?”

Scarlet’s jaw tightened. “I didn’t give up on anything, Liana. I made a choice. Kyle might not be my mate, but we’ve made it work. And maybe finding my mate isn’t the most important thing anymore. What matters is the pack.”

Her words hung heavy in the air. And I could tell she was trying to convince herself that she did.

“You’re not happy.”

Scarlet’s eyes flashed with something I couldn’t quite place, but she didn’t deny it. Instead, she bit her lip and looked away, staring at the far wall as if it held all the answers she was too afraid to say aloud.

“It’s not about happiness,” she muttered. “It’s about survival. You’re next in line, Liana. You know what’s expected of you.”

I clenched my fists. “Well, I don’t care about what’s expected of me. I’m not going to marry Harvey. I’m not going to let the pack control my life.”

Scarlet’s gaze snapped back to me with her brows furrowing. “What are you saying?”

I hesitated for a moment, wondering if I should tell her. But if there was anyone I could trust with this insane idea, it was Scarlet. She wouldn’t turn me in, even if she didn’t agree.

“I’m running away.”

Her eyes widened in shock. “Liana, don’t be ridiculous.”

“I’m not joking. Four nights from now. During the Blood Moon festival, when everyone’s too busy celebrating, I’m leaving. I’ll slip away, and no one will notice until it’s too late.”

“Are you out of your mind?” Scarlet stood up. “You can’t just run away! Where will you go? What will you do? The other packs will hunt you down. And what about your father?”

I swallowed hard. The thought of my father tightened something in my chest. “He’ll be taken care of. The pack won’t abandon him. He’s loved, Scarlet. They’ll make sure he’s comfortable.”

“But what about the pack itself?” she pressed. “You’re supposed to be the next Luna, Liana. If you leave, it will fall apart. Do you really want to abandon them when they need you most?”

I stood up, facing her. “What about what I need, Scarlet? Has anyone even thought about that? Has anyone stopped to ask if I want to marry a man I hate? If I want to be Luna just because some old men in a room said I should?”

Scarlet shook her head. Exasperation was clear on her face. “You’re acting like a child.”

“No,” I snapped. “I’m acting like someone who refuses to be chained to a life she didn’t choose.”

She rubbed her temples, clearly frustrated. “There are other ways to deal with this. You could—”

“What?” I interrupted, laughing bitterly. “Run away to the city and live under a new identity? Fake my own death? Give me a break, Scarlet.”

“No. You could talk to the elders. Maybe negotiate something different. Maybe they’ll listen to reason.”

I laughed again, shaking my head. “Reason? They’ve already made up their minds. They won’t listen to me, Scarlet. They never have.”

Scarlet let out a long sigh, looking at me with something like pity. “You’re making a mistake.”

“Maybe. But it’s my mistake to make.”

There was a heavy silence between us. And I could tell Scarlet was biting back more arguments, but she didn’t say them. Instead, she just looked at me with that same sad, resigned expression she always had when she talked about her own life. A life I knew she wasn’t entirely happy with, no matter how much she tried to pretend otherwise.

“Fine,” she finally said. “But if you’re really going to do this, you’d better be smart about it. Don’t let them see it coming.”

I smiled faintly. “Oh, I’ve already got that covered.”

For the next few days, I played my role perfectly. I smiled when I was supposed to, nodded along when the elders talked about the upcoming wedding, and even managed to keep my temper in check around Harvey. The arrogant bastard actually seemed impressed by my sudden change of heart, which only made it easier to deceive him and his men. They hardly paid attention to me anymore, so convinced that I had accepted my fate. It was almost laughable.

And then, on the night of the Blood Moon festival, while the pack celebrated and danced under the crimson glow of the full moon, I slipped away. The noise and laughter drowned out the sound of my footsteps as I made my way to the hills, where the forest would offer me shelter and a path to freedom.

Helen, Georgia, wasn’t my first choice. In fact, it wasn’t even on my radar when I first started planning my escape. But the more I looked into it, the more this tiny, mountain town tugged at me like some invisible force. Something about it just felt right. Less than a thousand people lived here—small enough to be invisible, but cozy enough not to feel completely isolated.

The mountains reminded me of home. In a way, it felt like I could disappear without really leaving. No one would find me here.

I spent the first couple of days settling in. The house I’d rented was small but comfortable, tucked into a quiet neighborhood where no one asked too many questions. The first thing I did was call Scarlet. I needed to hear a familiar voice, but I also needed her to keep her mouth shut.

“Liana?” Scarlet’s voice came through the phone, hushed but anxious. “Where are you? Everyone’s going insane looking for you.”

“I’m fine,” I assured her quickly. “I can’t tell you where I am, Scarlet. Just… promise me you won’t tell anyone we’re talking. Not a soul.”

She sighed heavily on the other end. “You know how dangerous this is. If Harvey’s men find out you’ve run—”

“They won’t,” I cut her off. “They think I’ve accepted my fate, remember? As long as you keep your promise, no one will know.”

There was a long pause before she spoke again. “How’s your father?”

My chest tightened with her question. “I was going to ask you the same thing. How’s he doing?”

“They’re keeping it from him… about you, I mean. He doesn’t know. They don’t want to upset him in his condition.”

“Good. Let’s keep it that way.”

Scarlet’s silence on the other end told me she was biting her tongue. I knew she didn’t agree with what I was doing, but I also knew she wouldn’t betray me.

“Just be careful, Liana. You’re not invincible.”

“I’ll be fine,” I promised her. “I’ve got a plan.”

The truth was, I had no idea what my plan was beyond simply disappearing. I spent my first two days in Helen familiarizing myself with the town, meeting the locals, and figuring out how to blend in without drawing too much attention. It wasn’t hard. The people here were friendly, the kind of people who asked how you were but didn’t pry too much.

But by day three, I was starting to run low on supplies. I hadn’t thought much about food when I’d arrived. So, I grabbed my keys and headed to the one and only grocery store in town. It was a small place, nothing like the massive stores I was used to back home, but it would do.

I was perusing the produce section, mindlessly picking up apples and trying to decide how many I’d need, when I heard a voice behind me.

“Excuse me, miss?”

I froze as my heart pounded in my chest. That voice—it was so familiar. Slowly, I turned. And my breath got stuck in my throat as my eyes landed on him.

It was like seeing a ghost.

He looked exactly like Harvey. The same sharp jawline, the same stormy eyes, even the same tousled dark hair. For a split second, I thought I was back home, that I’d been found, that Harvey had somehow tracked me down. My body tensed with my instincts kicking in. I was ready to fight. My fingers itched to reach for something to defend myself.

But then he smiled.

And everything about him softened in a way that Harvey never could. His eyes, so eerily similar to my nemesis’s, crinkled at the edges with kindness, not malice. His posture was relaxed, open, the complete opposite of Harvey’s rigid, commanding stance.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. You just dropped one of your apples.”

I blinked, glancing down at the apple rolling away from my feet. Slowly, I bent to pick it up. My mind raced as I tried to make sense of what I was seeing. He wasn’t Harvey. But the resemblance was uncanny.

“It’s okay,” I replied, forcing a smile as I straightened up. “I just wasn’t expecting anyone.”

He chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. “Small town, hard not to bump into someone eventually.”

I nodded, still trying to shake off the eerie feeling crawling up my spine. “You’re new here, too?” I asked, hoping he’d give me some sort of explanation. Maybe he was related to Harvey. A cousin, maybe. Or a distant relative. There had to be some connection.

“Yeah,” he replied. “Moved here about a year ago. Needed a change of pace, you know?”

I nodded slowly. This was too much of a coincidence. I had to ask. “Do you have any family in Arizona?”

His brow furrowed slightly, as if he was trying to remember something. “No. At least, not that I know of. My family’s from the east coast originally. Why do you ask?”

“Just… curious,” I said quickly, waving it off. “You remind me of someone.”

He smiled again. I felt that strange pull in my chest ease a little. Whoever this man was, he wasn’t Harvey. He couldn’t be. He was too… gentle. Too warm. Everything Harvey wasn’t.

“I’m Henry, by the way,” he said, extending his hand.

I hesitated for just a second before taking it. “Liana.”

“Nice to meet you, Liana. I hope you like it here in Helen. It’s a small place, but it grows on you.”

“I hope so,” I replied. “I’m new here, too. Just trying to get settled in.”

“Well, if you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask. People around here are pretty welcoming. And you’re in luck—this is the only grocery store in town, so I’m sure we’ll be seeing each other around.”

I smiled, though my mind was still clouded with questions.

Who was this man?

And why did he look exactly like Harvey?