Chapter 4

Liz’s POV

“Good morning, Alpha,” Carlos said as he stood up from his seat the moment Lumian walked into Judy’s hospital room.

My breath caught in my throat.

“Carlos.”

My brother. My blood. The one person who had promised time and time again that he’d always have my back. That no matter what happened, he would never let the world hurt me.

He was here.

Hope burst in my chest like a flame, wild and bright.

“Carlos!” I gasped, stepping forward. “It’s me… I’m here. I need you. Please, feel me. Just feel me.”

If anyone could sense me—it had to be him.

I moved closer, breathless, trembling, reaching for him as though I could will our bond to come alive. He was just an arm’s length away. If I could just—

My hand went right through his shoulder.

Air. Empty. Cold. Nothing.

“No,” I breathed, already reaching again, heart hammering in panic. “No, no, please—Carlos, please!”

I tried again. And again. I waved my hands. I shouted in his ear. “Please, Carlos” I begged. But he didn’t even flinch. He couldn’t feel me.

He didn’t know I was here.

He didn’t know I was dead.

I stood, stunned and breathless, every cell in my ghostly body trembling as I watched him turn back to Judy with a softness I hadn’t seen on his face in years.

“I just came to check in on Judy,” he said to Lumian, his voice lowering with something warm—tender. “Wanted to make sure she’s on the mend.”

The way he looked at her…

Gentle. Protective. Reverent.

I had never seen Carlos look at anyone that way before.

My stomach twisted as the realisation hit me.

He liked her.

“She’s doing better,” Lumian said he said with a pause before asking. “Have you seen Liz? Or spoken to her?”

Carlos frowned, puzzled at Lumians question. “No... is everything okay?”

“No,” Lumian answered. “She didn’t come home last night.”

I took a shaky breath, stepping forward. Praying that this would be the thing to make Carlos feel my spirit.

“No… everything is not okay,” I said, voice cracking. “I was taken, Carlos. I was scared and alone, and I called for help, and no one came. Lumian ignored my cries for help because he was here with Judy.” my body trembled as I spoke. “He was here with her instead of coming to save me.”

Carlos let out a sigh.

“She’s probably just hiding somewhere,” he said simply. “You know how she is. Always running off when things get hard. Maybe she’s trying to get your attention. I’m sure she's fine, probably just at our parents or with Dian like she has done before.”

I felt like the floor dropped out beneath me.

“I’m not hiding,” I whispered, voice shaking with disbelief. “I’m dead, Carlos. I died calling for —for him. I needed someone, anyone, and you think I’m hiding?”

Carlos kept going, his voice calm. Too calm.

“She’s probably embarrassed now that everyone knows the truth. What she did to Judy… how she forced her out of the pack. Maybe she finally realised it was wrong.”

My knees hit the ground.

The air left my lungs. I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

My brother thought I was hiding in shame that I was running because of guilt.

He believed Judy.

He believed every lie she fed them.

“Liz did nothing wrong, Carlos”, she said, looking between Lumian and Carlos. “I left because I didn’t want to come between them,” 

Carlos looked at her like she was a hero.

“You’ve always been too kind,” he told her, his voice soft with admiration.

And I shattered.

It wasn’t a sharp break. No, this was slower. Like glass cracking under pressure, webbing across the surface until there was nothing left but pieces.

I had spent my life believing that Carlos would always have my back. That he knew me. That even if the whole world turned against me, my brother never would. I’d clung to that faith like a lifeline.

But now… now I saw the truth. 

Every word he spoke felt like betrayal etched in stone.

“I didn’t force her out,” I whispered, though I knew no one could hear. “I never asked Judy to leave.”

I looked up at them, their three figures blurred by tears I could no longer shed. They sat together, comfortable, united three people bound by lies I hadn’t even had the chance to fight.

I wasn’t just grieving my death anymore.

I was grieving the truth.

I had died not as a warrior or a Luna or a woman loved but as a nuisance. An afterthought. A problem to be solved or ignored.

Their betrayal hurt.

Especially Carlos.

I turned away, unable to bear the sight of them a second longer. I just wanted to go. Anywhere. Somewhere far away from all of this.

But the moment I stepped toward the doorway, the bond snapped tight like a leash on my soul.

Painful. Forceful and Unrelenting.

I gasped as it pulled me back, dragging me like a shadow chained to his heel.

“No,” I choked out, shaking my head. “Please, not this. Not again. Don’t make me stay here. Don’t make me watch this.”

But I had no choice.

The bond tethered me to Lumian.

Even in death, I couldn’t leave him.

I couldn’t escape.

So I stood there still, silent and invisible, while they spoke about me like I was a burden. A mistake.

And somewhere inside me, something dark and sharp curled tight around my heart.