LOGINAvaThe 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
AvaFalco almost set the cabin on fire trying to make pasta.I smelled smoke before I saw it. Came running from the bedroom to find him standing at the stove with a pot that had boiled completely dry, noodles welded to the bottom in a twisted black mass."What happened?""Nothing." He moved the pot
AvaI woke up to the smell of coffee and something burning.For a second I forgot where I was. Then the wooden ceiling came into focus, the unfamiliar weight of the blanket, the sound of someone cursing in the next room.I got up and walked to the main room. Falco stood at the kitchenette staring in
"I don't know. The cuffs make everything—""I'll get them off when we're clear. Right now, you move as fast as you can." She checked the hallway both ways, pulled me left. "Stay behind me. If anyone comes at us, you get down and cover your head. Understand?"I nodded.The hallway stretched ahead of
(Hilda POV - 30 minutes earlier) The compound looked bigger through the binoculars than I'd expected. More organized. Guard towers at each corner with wolves stationed holding rifles, buildings arranged in a rough grid pattern, paths worn into the dirt between them. Years away from this kind of wor







