bChapter /bb543 /bThe Full Moon and the bLie /b

bThe /bbdays /bbpassed /bin their usual rhythm. Landon remained busy with business and pack affairs.

bTessa /bwent to ss as scheduled, asionally bringing up the TS Entertainment expansionb. /bShe bsaid /bbshed /bbalready /bfound a plot ofnd in the suburbs and nned to sign the contract after the full moon.

Wolves were naturally sensitive to lunar shifts. Full moons brought the strongest energy surges, bso /bbusing /bthat timing made sense–not just as a cover story for “high energy equals good luck for signingb,” /bbbut /balso because the blood pact ritual required that same lunar power.

“I’ll go with you,” Landon said as he stood, the edges of his fingers already glowing faintly with that cold light unique to awakened wolves–the full moon always made his instincts more alert, and the wolf within him restlessb. /b

Flex’s voice rumbled through his mind with low warning: “She’s hiding something. Her heartbeat is bfaster /bthan usual, her scent’sced with tension. I tried reaching Emma, but she’s ignoring me. They’re definitely keeping secrets.”

Tessa pressed her hand to his arm, her smile touched with helpless confidence. “bIt’s /bjust ba /bcontract signing. bI /bcan handle it.”

“But tonight’s the full moon. Rogues get agitated out in the woods–they might attack anything that moves…”

Tessa raised an eyebrow with a teasing smile. “Tch, I’ve awakened as a white wolf, remember? You think I’d get hurt by a bunch of Rogues?”

Still, Landon didn’t let go. His gaze darkened. “Why won’t you let mee? I won’t get in the way. I’ll just wait in the car.”

Flex growled low in his head: “She’s deliberately talking up her strength to put you at ease. But her aura doesn’t lie – that’s the resolve of someone heading into danger, not someone going to sign a damn lease.”

Tessa gently patted the back of his hand, adding a yful tilt to her voice. “Come on, I just wanted to surprise you. If you tag along, what kind of surprise is that?”

“Surprise?” Landon frowned. “Didn’t you say

–

“Close enough.”

it was a contract?”

Breaking the blood pact, then forming a new one with him… that was a kind of contract, wasn’t it?

She saw the deep furrow in his brow and reached out to smooth it with her fingertips. “Be good. Don’t you have a Nightshade Pack meeting tonight? It’s almost time–you don’t want to bete.”

If not for the strict time constraint required by the unbinding ritual, she would’ve waited for him to leave for the meeting before sneaking off–just so he wouldn’t worry or grow suspicious.

Landon’s Adam’s apple shifted. He tried onest time. “You really can’t just tell me what it is? Even a hint?”

It wasn’t that he didn’t trust her strength. But the unease inside him wrapped around his ribs like a vine, tight and relentlessb. /b

“I told you–it’s a surprise.” Tessa winked, a mischievous glint in her eye. “When Ie back and btell /byoub, /bbI /bpromise you’ll say letting me go alone was the right call.”

Chapter 543 bThe /bbFull /bbMoon /bband /bthe Lie

bShe /bbdeliberately /bbemphasized /bthe words b“/bright call, hoping bto /bbreassure /bbhim/b.

Landon bstayed /bsilent a few moments longer. Gradually, Flex’s agitation settled. She wasn’t bwrong /b– her bwhite /bbwolf /bbloodline bwas /bpowerful. Ordinary threats wouldn’t touch her.

bHe /bleaned in and kissed her forehead, his fingertips brushing the top of her hair. “bKeep /bbyour /bbphone /bbon/b. Check in every thirty minutes.”

“Got it.” Tessa smiled, hugged him tight, and grabbed her briefcase. “I’m off. Wait for good news.

Landon stood by the window, watching her car disappear into the night. His fingers whitened from bhow /bhard he gripped the frame.

Flex’s voice came again: “Her aura shifted once she left the city. It’s focused now. Intent. Like bshe’s /bbheading/bb. /binto a ritual that’s been nned for a long time.”

Landon didn’t respond. He pulled out his phone and opened their location sharing–something they’d bset /bup jokingly before. The little glowing dot on the map crept steadily toward the forested outskirts.

He didn’t chase after it.

She was a white wolf. A true alpha. She could handle herself

He had to trust her.

But the unease in his chest swelled like the ocean’s tide beneath the full moon–relentless and hard to shake.

He opened their chat window, typed “If anything happens, call me,” paused, then deleted it. He reced it with “Be safe,” stared at it for a long time, and only then hit send.