The manor was suffocating.

I barely heard the heavy footsteps and hushed voices as I sat frozen by Valeria’s side. The blood on her skin was still fresh, but the life that once burned in her eyes had faded.

The maids had taken an oath of silence and death before they joined this manor, and so nothing leaves the Alpha’s manor.

Then the door slammed open.

Father stormed in, eyes wild and furious. When he saw Valeria, cradled in my arms, his whole world seemed to shatter.

“Get away!” he barked, shoving me aside roughly.

I stumbled back into her blood, watching as he gathered her limp body, his hands trembling.

His voice cracked, but the words cut sharper than any blade.

“If she dies, we all die…”

I had heard it before, but hearing it now felt like a curse.

He whispered her name, voice breaking in a way I never imagined.

And in that moment, I realized: the golden twin was gone. And now, everything was on me.

The room spun in silence, broken only by the shuddering breath Father released as he rocked Valeria’s body. It was the first time I ever saw him cry. And somehow, even that made me angry.

He never cried for me.

He never even looked at me like this.

“Leave,” he growled at the maids, his voice hoarse and broken.

No one moved.

“I SAID OUT!”

The maids scrambled away, skirts flying behind them, tears streaking their faces. I stayed frozen, knees wet from the milk-stained floor, blood still warm beneath me.

“I told you this would happen,” I whispered. My voice was hollow. Empty. “You sent her away to die, and now look.”

He didn’t answer.

Didn’t even look at me.

“I said—GET OUT!”

This time, the command was for me. He finally turned, face twisted with grief and rage. “You should’ve been the one in that bath. Not her.”

I flinched. H-How could he?

The words hit harder than his slap from yesterday.

I rose slowly, numbness swallowing me whole. I didn’t argue. I didn’t scream. I just walked out, dragging blood on my hands and gown as I went.

I didn’t go to my room.

I ended up in the kitchen, somewhere dim and dusty, where the manor’s hum couldn’t reach me. I sat on the floor, knees to chest, shaking.

She’s gone.

Oh, moon, she’s gone.

She’s gone.

My wolf howled in my chest, a low guttural sound I hadn’t heard from her in months. She was mourning too. She also lost her other half.

I don’t know how long I stayed there before I heard footsteps.

Father.Again.

I wonder what he would say this time, maybe that he wished I were the one he sold instead.

But that would never happen, because nobody wants me.

His shadow loomed over me, darker than before. I didn’t look up.

“We have no time,” he said coldly. “The Moonbane Pack arrives in two days. If they learn she’s dead—”

“Then tell them,” I snapped, looking up slowly. “Tell them their bride is gone. Tell them you killed her.”

He sneered. “You think they’ll believe it was an accident? A murder? They’ll think we murdered their Luna-to-be before the wedding. They’ll declare war, Viara. We’ll all die.”

“Then maybe we should,” I muttered, rubbing my arms.

He didn’t flinch. Just stepped forward and dropped something at my feet.

A ring.

Valeria’s engagement ring.

“Put it on,” he said frantically, his hand to his head. “From this moment on, you’re Valeria Vale. You’ll go in her place.”

I stared at the ring, heart thundering.

“You want me to be her?” I hissed. “To lie, to pretend, to walk into a cursed pack and marry a man who’s said to be blind and cruel?”

He crouched, grabbed my chin, and forced me to meet his eyes. “You owe me this, Viara. You killed your mother. You killed your sister. Now fix it.”

I slapped his hand away and stood. H-How dare he?

I stared at my father like he had grown horns. He wasn’t thinking straight

“No,” I said, shaking my head. “No. You can’t be serious.”

“She’s dead, Viara,” he said coldly. “And the Moonbane Pack is expecting a bride. If they don’t get one, they’ll think we’ve dishonored them. You’ll go in her place.”

I laughed, dry and bitter. “You want me to pretend to be Valeria? To marry a cursed Alpha who might kill me the moment he senses I’m not her?”

“Do you think I care?” he snapped. “This marriage was our last chance at survival. You’re going, whether you want to or not.”

I backed away from him, rage boiling under my skin.

“I’m not your replacement pawn,” I spat. “She was your favorite. You wanted her. Let the Moonbane Pack know she’s dead and deal with the consequences like a real Alpha would.”

He moved toward me, but I was already at the door. “Don’t walk away from me! You ungrateful pup!”

But I slammed the door behind me and ran.

&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&

I don’t remember how I made it to the pack town. I just remember the wind on my face and the pounding in my ears. My wolf didn’t speak. She never did when I was in this state.

Not like she ever has in years.

I needed to see someone who cared.

Someone who would remind me I was still Viara. Still a person.

Renan.

The only one who didnt see me in the shadow of my sister. The one who loved me.

I found him near the riverbank where we used to sit as kids, the place he always promised would be ours one day. I smiled, relief flooding my chest as I saw the familiar curve of his back.

Then I heard a giggle. My wolf ears twitched.

A female one.

I froze.

The bushes rustled. Clothes scattered.

And there they were.

My boyfriend.

My best friend.

Tangled together like I never existed.

My body locked. My heart cracked. I could only see black, and then I raised my eyes up.

Renan’s eyes met mine, wide, unashamed. Like I was meant to see.

“Viara,” he said, like my name meant nothing.

My best friend sat up, pulling his shirt over her head.

She didn’t even look sorry.

“You said you l-,” I couldn't even say the word. “Liked me.”

He stood, brushing himself off like it was just another day. “I did. But we have no future, heck, your father doesn't even like me around. And besides, she’s pregnant.”

The world spun. My knees buckled. My ears started to ring.

“You—what?”

“She’s carrying my pup,” he said flatly. “What do you expect me to do? Stay with the girl who barely shifts and looks like a ghost of her sister?”

My heart didn’t just break. It disintegrated.

I moved away from him, rushing towards her as I felt a strong pull on my head, slamming me back to the tree. “You better think twice before touching her or my pup. For the sake of whatever you thought we had.”

Had.

They left me lying there, wind howling around me, their scent clinging to my skin like shame.

And for the first time in years…

I felt completely, utterly… alone.

&~&~~&~&~&~

When I returned to the manor, it was silent. The milk bath had been drained. Valeria’s room was cold. The maids were nowhere to be found.

I didn’t sleep in my room. I curled up on the window seat in the hallway between our rooms, mine and hers, holding the robe she’d worn that morning.

By dawn, I was still awake.

Father found me there. He didn’t speak at first. Just stood over me with that unreadable Alpha expression.

“She’s been buried,” he said eventually. “No funeral. No mourning rites. No one outside this manor knows she’s dead. That’s how it has to be.”

My stomach twisted. “You buried her like she was a maid?”

He didn’t answer. He just walked away.

Later, he sent the Head Maid with a box:

Hair dye.

A silver locket.

A dagger.

And the ring.

“The hairdresser comes at noon,” the Head Maid said stiffly. “He’ll cut it short. Just like the late luna-to-be.”

I stared at the items in the box, then at my reflection in the dark hallway glass.

I didn’t recognize myself.

But I nodded anyway.

Because what else did I have left?