August.
In the mountains of Montana the sun was slowly sinking toward the horizon, casting a warm golden glow across the endless stretches of land. Far in the distance, the peaks of the Rockies rose against the sky, their tops forever dusted with snow. From time to time the wind carried a cool breath from those heights, soft and refreshing after the heat of the day.
Ithilien stood on the edge of the clearing and took it all in.
She loved afternoons like this.
Below the slope, the forest spread out like a dark green ocean. Somewhere beyond the trees lay the lake, and from that direction she could hear laughter and distant splashes of water.
Her future pack.
They were probably wrestling each other into the shallows by now, voices echoing across the mountains.
She would join them soon.
But first she was waiting for Ace.
They had always met here.
The moment he stepped into the clearing, she felt the shift in the air and turned toward him.
Ace walked with the easy confidence that had always set him apart from the others. Tall, broad-shouldered, moving with the natural strength of someone born to lead. His skin was darkened by the summer sun, and the muscles beneath his clothes flexed and relaxed in an effortless rhythm that already carried the quiet authority of a future alpha.
There was that familiar spark in his eyes.
The one she loved.
Ithilien watched him with open admiration, a quiet pride warming her chest. Being beside him had always felt like an honor. Without thinking, she straightened slightly, the calm composure of a Luna settling over her features.
Even now, though they were alone, she greeted him with the same gentle smile she always gave him.
"You're late," she said, tilting her head slightly.
Ace came closer.
But he didn't kiss her.
That alone was enough to make her pause.
"My father," he said after a moment. "He's been talking a lot about the future lately."
His gaze drifted over the forest below them, the endless green stretching like a carpet beneath their feet.
Ithilien watched him from the corner of her eye, trying to read his thoughts. Though deep down she already knew Ace would tell her everything eventually.
"What was the lecture about this time?" she asked lightly.
Almost without thinking she reached out, brushing an invisible speck of dust from his shoulder, searching for that familiar contact.
He didn't react.
"A pack," Ace said quietly. "And the future. Ithilien…"
It was strange.
They had known each other for four years, and yet every time he said her name like that, her heart still skipped a beat.
Someone once called it puppy love.
But Ithilien knew better.
"There are negotiations with a pack from Wyoming," he continued.
She frowned slightly.
Of course there were always negotiations between packs—but about what? Her first thought was the strange incident from a few weeks earlier.
"Marco said the project was shut down…" she said slowly.
Ace looked at her then.
His dark eyes were serious.
Too serious.
"The negotiations are about my future Luna."
"Oh." Ithilien nodded slowly. "Your mother mentioned something like that not long ago. They want to announce me when I finish my studies—"
"They won't."
The words landed like a stone.
"They chose a Luna for me," Ace continued quietly. "From another pack."
"What?"
Ithilien stared at him, her blue eyes wide with confusion.
For a second she genuinely thought she had misunderstood him.
Beneath her skin, Tauriel stirred uneasily.
"It's the daughter of an alpha," Ace said, lowering his head slightly, as if forcing the words past his teeth. "She'll be here next month."
For a long moment Ithilien didn't speak.
Her mind was still trying to catch up with what he had said.
Another Luna?
No.
Wait.
That didn't make sense.
"Ace…" she said finally.
Then louder—
"Ace."
He looked at her.
And suddenly everything moved too fast.
Their desperate kiss against the burning light of the setting sun.
Her tears.
The quiet, broken plea she hadn't meant to say out loud.
"Please… don't go."
Ace's voice, low and hollow.
"Neither of us will ever bond with another wolf the way we bonded with each other."
He closed his eyes briefly.
"God… Ithilien."
His voice cracked, just once.
"That will be the only thing that keeps me alive."