The pack has a rule. Every ten years, the pack will give birth to twin she-wolves. One will take a mate. The other must stay behind and become the Lunar Seer to guard the pack. The Lunar Seer never takes a mate, and she is never permitted to leave the pack territory. When we were kids, my older sister said she would become the Lunar Seer and let me go to the Citadel. So under my efforts I was chosen by the Citadel, which meant I could make a living in the capital, far from this isolated pack. And I made a promise with my love, Soren. When I turned twenty-two, he would claim me as his mate. We will live in the capital. The day arrived, I prepared myself and waited, my heart pounding with nervous excitement. Soren came and stopped at my family’s lodge. Pushing down the wild joy in my chest, I heard him lean against the carriage, speaking to someone. “I came here to claim Elodie as my mate. We will move to the capital.” “You do not understand. Their parents favor the older daughter. If I do not take Elodie, she will be forced to become the Luna Seer.” “Tamsin at least earned her place at the Citadel. She can leave and make her own life. Their parents definitely will not force her into anything.” I silently wiped the makeup off my face. Tomorrow is the day of the consecration ceremony, for the Luna Seer. I sat on the edge of my bed. My chest felt tight with bitterness. Because of my sister’s promise, I had to yield everything to Elodie. Our parents favored her, too. But compared to all of that, freedom was too important. All these years, I carried guilt and shame, pushing myself to the breaking point with barely any rest. Just for a position in the Citadel. But now she used my mate to play the victim. She did this on purpose. She never truly wanted to spend her life confined to the pack, just wanted to reap the benefits without sacrifice. I sat on the bed, wiping off the foundation layer by layer. The woman in the mirror slowly revealed her true face. Nothing special about it. Just an ordinary face, ordinary eyes, an ordinary nose. Identical to my sister Elodie’s face. But since childhood, everyone said she was beautiful, said she was gentle, said she looked like the Lunar Seer. They said I was wild, said I was rough, said I was improper. Outside the window came the sound of the carriage door closing, then footsteps approaching. Soren was coming but I did not move. I gripped the cloth in my hand, staring at that face in the mirror, forcing myself to see it as a stranger’s face. He knocked on the door. “Tamsin, I am here.” I said, “Come in.” He pushed open the door and froze for a moment. He probably had not expected me to have removed my makeup and not be wearing the ceremonial dress I had prepared, just an old tunic as I sat on the bed. “You…” He walked in. “Why have you not changed clothes?” I looked at him. “What are you here for?” He paused, then forced a smile onto his face and walked closer. “To claim you, of course. We made a promise, did we not? Twenty-two years old, I come to take you as my mate.” “Whose mate?” He stopped. I continued watching him. “Soren, I am asking you. Whose mate did you come to claim?” His smile slowly faded. After a few seconds of silence, he spoke. “Tamsin, let me explain—” “No need to explain.” I stood up and placed the cloth on the table. “What you said just now, I heard everything.” His expression shifted. “You said Elodie did not earn a place at the Citadel and cannot leave, so you came to take her as your mate.” I said. “You said I earned my place and can make my own life, so it does not matter for me.” “Tamsin—” “You are saying you weighed both of us,” my voice remained even, “and decided I was less deserving of your protection, so you came here to take her away instead?” He opened his mouth but could not form words. I knew it. He could not deny it because that was the truth. Soren and I have known each other for five years, been bonded for three. He has seen Elodie fewer than five times. But he still weighed us. On both sides of the scale, one side held me, the other held her. And he decided I could carry my own weight, so he did not need to help me. “Soren,” I took a step back. “Go off.” He frowned. “Calm down. I have my reasons for this—” “I am calm,” I said. “Much calmer than you think.” He looked at me, hesitating to speak. Footsteps sounded outside, then came Elodie’s voice, soft and sweet with a hint of tears. “Tamsin, I know you are angry, but you do not know, I actually…” She pushed open the door and stood in the doorway, her eyes red-rimmed with tears clinging to her lashes. She looked beautiful when she cried. It had always been this way since childhood. One tear, and everyone felt sorry for her. Even I used to feel sorry for her. But now I only looked at her and said, “Elodie, you do not need to explain to me.” She froze. “Tamsin…” “I have no right to blame you,” I said. “I was too foolish to think the promises between us meant anything.” I was speaking to both Soren and Elodie. Silence fell for a moment. Then I said, “I am going to the Sacred Cavern. You two can wait here.” “Wait,” Soren followed. “What are you going to the Sacred Cavern for?” I did not turn around. “To tell Elder Torin,” I said, “that I will participate in tomorrow’s consecration ceremony.”
The Sacred Cavern lies in the deepest part of the pack territory. Moonstone torches lined both sides of the stone path, their flames casting dancing shadows on the ground when the wind blew. I walked slowly. Not because I was reluctant. My mind was just chaotic, and I needed to sort through everything before moving forward. I was thinking about what happened five years ago. That year I was seventeen, Soren came to our valley as an emissary from the Citadel. He sat on the stone steps reading, the setting sun painting his profile in gold. I had never seen anyone like him before. Clean, graceful, like he came from another world entirely. Later he asked me where the road outside the pack territory led. I said it led down the mountain to a town, and beyond the town was a city, and beyond that city were even greater cities. He asked what I wanted to see in the future. I said I wanted to see everything. He smiled and said, then see it all. I believed him right then. After he left, we began mind link, and it went on for five years. He said when I turned twenty-two, he would come to claim me as his mate and take me away. I asked him how he knew I would be willing to accept him by then. He said I would be willing, because I cared for him. I called him shameless at the time. But I truly did care for him. Five years, and I never fall in love for anyone else. When I reached the entrance to the Sacred Cavern, Elder Torin sat on the steps smoking his pipe. When he saw me, he narrowed his eyes. “You came,” he said. “I thought you would not come tonight.” I crouched down across from him. “Elder, I want to ask you something.” “Please.” “The Lunar Seer’s duty, does she truly have to remain within pack territory?” Elder Torin drew on his pipe. “The ancient law states the Lunar Seer guards the pack and protects the wolves. She never leaves pack territory, never takes a mate, devoted until death.” I nodded. “If the Lunar Seer left the territory, what would happen?” He paused and turned his head to look at me. “Which Lunar Seer would dare leave?” “I am just asking.” He drew on his pipe again, exhaling slowly. The smoke dispersed in the torchlight. “Have you decided?” he said. “Will you accept the consecration?” “I have not decided yet,” I said. “I just want to understand the rules clearly.” He watched me for a long time, then said something that surprised me. “Tamsin, do you know that your generation is the first time I have ever misjudged?” I froze. “What do you mean?” “You two sisters,” he paused. “I always thought the one who would stay would be your older sister.” “But that child, I watched her grow up. Her eyes have never truly fallen on this pack territory.” The wind blew past, and the torch flames flickered. “But you,” he said, “every time you come down from the mountain, you always look back.” I said nothing. “Truly look, not out of reluctance, but to remember,” he said. “Remember the paths, the mountains, every blade of grass and tree here.” “People who love a place and people who want to escape a place have different eyes.” I lowered my head. Something caught in my throat. “But I am not someone who should stay here,” I said, my voice slightly hoarse. “I have my own path to walk.” “You walk your path,” Elder Torin tapped out his pipe and stood. “But Elodie cannot walk that path. You need to understand that.” With that, he pushed open the door to the Sacred Cavern and walked inside. I remained crouched on the steps, watching his back disappear into the candlelight. Of course I understood. Elodie could never become the Lunar Seer. Not because she was inadequate, but because she could not hide that restless heart that wanted to leave. And according to the ancient law, the Lunar Seer must guard not only the pack, but also her own heart. If she could not guard her own heart, she could not guard the pack. I stood up and brushed the dust off my knees. The night wind lifted my hair. Footsteps sounded behind me. I did not turn around, but I knew who it was. “Are you really going through with the consecration?” Soren’s voice. I said, “I have not decided yet.” “Then why did you come to the Sacred Cavern?” “To understand the rules clearly.” He walked up and stood beside me. After a moment of silence, he said, “Tamsin, if you accept consecration as the Lunar Seer, you will never be able to leave for the rest of your life.” “I know.” “You earned your place at the Citadel. You have so many paths you could take—” “Soren,” I interrupted him and turned to look at him. “Did you come here today to claim me as your mate, or to claim her?” He didn’t say a word. I said, “Then there is nothing more to discuss.”
When I returned home, Elodie still sat in the main hall. Our parents were there too. When they saw me, Mother spoke first. “Tamsin, where did you go?” “The Sacred Cavern.” Mother froze. “You…” “I went to ask Elder Torin about the rules for the Lunar Seer consecration.” I sat down in a chair and looked at them. “Tomorrow is the ceremony. I wanted to understand clearly.” Father drew on his pipe and said nothing. Elodie lifted her head, her eyes still red. “Tamsin…” “Sister,” I called to her. “You said in the beginning that you would volunteer to stay behind as the Lunar Seer and let me go to the Citadel. Those were your words, correct?” Elodie’s fingers tightened. “Yes, but…” “There is no but,” I said. “You said it, and I remembered. Because of those words, I yielded everything to you. Mother and Father yielded to you. Whatever you wanted, the family found a way to give it to you.” My voice remained even. “You said you would give me the way out. I was afraid of failing you.” The hall fell silent for a moment. “But Sister,” I said, “what are you trading that promise for now? Trading it so Soren would come take you away?” Elodie’s eyes reddened and tears fell. “That was not my intention. I did not scheme against you. Soren and I just…” “Just what?” She choked out, “We just got along well, and he also thought I was pitiable…” Mother wiped her eyes beside us. “Tamsin, your sister has suffered too. She has known since childhood that she might have to stay here. You should understand her situation…” I looked at Mother. “What about me?” Mother froze. “I have known since childhood that if I was the one who stayed, I would never get out,” I said. “I understand her. Who understands me?” No one spoke. Father snuffed out his pipe and spoke, his voice muffled. “Tamsin, this matter is your mother’s and my fault, not your sister’s fault.” “We were the ones who contacted Soren.” I froze. “What?” Father sighed. “Your sister’s health is weak. These past two years it has gotten worse. We were afraid if she stayed in the pack territory…” He could not continue and paused. “We contacted Soren and begged him to come take your sister away.” “If we were going to beg him to come, we had to give him a reason.” “So we told him Elodie was pitiable and asked him to claim her as his mate.” Mother lowered her head. “You had been bonded with him for three years. He is someone who values bonds, so it was difficult to ask him directly. We told him you earned your place at the Citadel, that you could make your own way out, and only your sister had no way to leave…” I sat there and went through these words from beginning to end in my mind. Then I laughed once. “So,” I said, “the three of you schemed against me alone.” Father raised his head. “Tamsin—” “It was not scheming,” Mother rushed to explain. “We truly had no other choice. If your sister stayed here, she…” “What if I stayed here instead?” Mother stopped. “Mother,” I said. “If I were the one staying behind, would you work so hard to find a way out for me?” When I asked that question, the hall became as silent as stagnant water. No one answered me. I did not need an answer anymore. Some things, the moment you ask them aloud, you already know the answer. I stood up. “I will participate in tomorrow’s consecration ceremony.” Mother shot to her feet. “You cannot go! You earned your place at the Citadel. You have your future—” “My future is not something you need to worry about,” I said. “I fulfilled the promise with my sister. Now that she has taken back that promise, I should give her this way out.” “Tamsin!” I said nothing more and turned toward my room. Behind me, Elodie suddenly said, “Tamsin, I am sorry.” My steps paused. I did not turn around. “You are not sorry to me,” I said. “You just regret that this plan did not stay hidden from me.” I pushed open my door and closed it behind me, leaned my back against the door, and tilted my head to look at the ceiling in the darkness. My mind was chaotic yet clear. Chaotic with all the emotions accumulated over these years that had nowhere to go. Clear that starting today, some things could finally be let go.
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