MasukAvaThe first thing I heard was a low, tired voice, reading words I couldn't quite catch yet. My body felt heavy under the sheets, pinning me to the bed. I could hear the steady rasp of my own breathing. My open eyes blinked dryly in the dim light.I opened my eyes wider. A small, pale room with a c
AvaDad let go of the shackle and sat back, his face relaxing from the concentration. He was quiet for a long moment. Then his eyes met mine."Baby," he said gently, "do you want to know what happened?"Something in his tone made my chest tighten. I had a feeling that this was a truth I wasn't ready
AvaHe stepped out of the blackness, edging closer, until I could finally see him. Unbelievable. He was so young, the age he was when...when he died. His warm brown eyes, both of them, looked at me with a fond smile.I stared, my mouth hanging open, unable to make a sound. My dad. Standing in front
LeviI settled into the chair by her bed and took her hand in mine, rubbing my thumb over the back of it. "Hey, Ava. It's Levi," I said, trying to keep my voice steady. "I just talked to Sofia. We had some things to say to each other."I sat there, rubbing her hand, trying to find the words Maya and
LeviI sat with my father in his room, a week after Hilda's funeral. Some families had already packed up and left the pack after becoming human. Others had stayed, unsure of where else to go.My father wheezed beside me, the hiss of his oxygen tank an ever-present sound now. He was thinner, frail, h
MayaI zipped Sofia's dress as best I could with my good hand. The collar was tricky. I fiddled clumsily with the small metal fastening. "There, perfect," I said, releasing the dress and stepping back.Sofia blinked hard at her reflection in the mirror. Her hair was pulled back in a neat bun. The dr
“Ava,” I called, but she didn’t stop. Just bolted, clutching the banister, bare feet silent on the wood.I turned on Levi, my voice already three clicks higher than normal. “Dude, what are you—let me past!”He shook his head, not mean, not even apologetic, either. “She needs a minute. Best to let he
SofiaI spent most of the night in the waiting area, hunched in one of those awful modern chairs that’s all angles and nowhere to actually sit. My hands wouldn’t stop shaking. The line of red on my palm—Maya’s blood, I realized only later—wouldn’t come off no matter how many times I scrubbed it agai
AvaSofia flicked through the digital console at the side of the grand piano, dismissing the orchestral presets with a theatrical sigh. “This is not a debutante ball,” she declared. “We need something real.” She scrolled through a few more options, then tapped her selection with a flourish. The open
AvaI watched her move—graceful, unhurried, always aware of being watched. I wondered if she had been born this way, or if it was something you learned after years of living among wolves.After breakfast, I found myself deposited at the edge of a staircase that spiraled up the cliffside, open to the







