Emma's Pov

　　The smell of leather from the car fills my nostrils. My head spins to see Ava's face. My best friend is driving with a smile on her lips, the music in the car is on, and we're singing along, excited.

　　"I love this song so much!" Ava declares, her voice hitting the melody's note. My laughter echoes in the car. I join her in the lyrics, though my voice is off-key, but it doesn't matter, not today.

　　"Promise we'll always be best friends?" I ask sincerely. "Promise we'll always be together!"

　　Ava's smile reappears on her lips, warming my heart at the sight. My best friend has a beautiful smile, so gentle and kind. Ava is always the kindest and most gentle of us both, the one everyone loves and likes.

　　"Why did you kill me, Emma? We could have kept our promises. Stayed together forever. Why did you do it, Emma? Why?" Ava questions with a chilling voice, the smile still on her lips, but blood starting to trickle down her chin and neck.

　　The scenery changes, the road disappears, and I find myself back in the forest where Ava was killed. My heart races, and I stammer a response, "I didn't kill you, Ava. I swear!"

　　My best friend is in the same position I saw her in last, lying on the ground with the silver dagger in her chest. She doesn't respond anymore, just stares at me with lifeless eyes.

　　I snap back to reality with a start. Sweat runs down my body, and my breathing is rapid. I sit up quickly in bed, trying to calm my own anxiety.

　　"It was just a dream," I murmur, frightened. I look at the bedside table and notice on the clock that it's still three-thirty in the morning. The night still lingers in the hours.

　　However, I know I won't be able to go back to sleep anytime soon. I spend a few minutes lying in bed, recalling my dream. It's been three months since my best friend died. Three months of searching for clues and only finding dead ends.

　　I don't just want to prove my innocence; I want to bring peace to my best friend's soul. Find the real killer. Every day that passes, I become more determined in this desire.

　　"Moon Goddess, please give me a sign of what I should do," I murmur to the dark ceiling.

　　Unable to sleep, I decide to go to the training room. Matthew's house is quiet; I walk slowly so as not to wake him or Charlotte. A breeze blows through the hallway until I reach the door of the house.

　　The training room isn't far from Matthew's house; the wolf pack's house is also quiet, with all the shifters resting peacefully. Or so I thought. The training room's light was on; someone was in there training.

　　Damn it. I wanted to train alone.

　　I won't go back to my room; staring at the ceiling won't help me at all. I stride into the training room, my thoughts curious about who's training at this hour.

　　I'm taken by surprise to realize it's a she-wolf. The young woman who looks to be my age or just a few years older than me is punching a punching bag in front of me. Her light brown skin glistens with sweat from her efforts.

　　"Oh, hi... I didn't think anyone would be awake at this hour," the young she-wolf speaks with a breathless voice.

　　"You shouldn't be, but here I am," I reply with humor in my voice. "But carry on, I don't want to interrupt you. I'll just train a bit."

　　The young she-wolf looks me up and down quickly, a warm smile forming on her lips, and I feel welcomed by it.

　　"My name's Gaya. We can train together if you want," she offers.

　　"Wouldn't I be bothering you?" I ask as I approach the punching bag.

　　Gaya scoffs and waves her hand with the boxing glove, dismissing my concern.

　　"You're not like the other jerks in this pack. Don't worry," Gaya replies with a laugh.

　　I watch the other warriors training; most of them indeed have arrogance, but I believe all warriors are like that.

　　Gaya nods towards the locker behind her, where the boxing gloves are kept. I walk over there and put mine on. We start with light training, just working on dodges.

　　"What rank are you in the pack?" I ask after a few minutes of training.

　　"I'm just the kitchen girl, nothing special." She replies shortly. "You're the stray from the other pack, aren't you?"

　　My body tenses; Gaya seems to notice, her hazel-green eyes giving me a compassionate look. "I've left a pack once too, so I know how it is. Have you been liking it here?" Gaya's voice softens, filled with tenderness.

　　I'm curious to know why she left her old pack, but I keep my curiosity to myself.

　　"It's been good. The Night Howlers Pack has welcomed me well even though I'm..." I let the sentence hang. Being from the Moonshadow Pack means having a target on my back, but it hasn't been used against me here.

　　"It's hard to leave a name behind, a family, your history. It was painful for me to leave my old pack," Gaya comments, her arms returning to the punching bag.

　　Rejecting or being rejected by your destined mate was a pain I never thought I'd have to endure. But thinking about breaking my bond with the Moonshadow Pack? A shiver runs down my spine at the thought.