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
I woke with Ava's name in my throat.Morning sun slanted through curtains I didn't remember closing. My neck hurt from sleeping in the chair beside her bed. I sat up, rubbing my eyes, trying to orient myself.Ava was still there. Still. Too still. Exactly where I'd left her.I reached for her hand,
"What the fuck are you talking about?" My voice came out hoarse, raw from crying. "What part of 'everyone should stay out' didn't you understand?"I kept my eyes down, taking in shaky breaths, trying to compose myself."I... can still feel Ava." Hilda's voice wavered, like she was fighting tears her
I cleared my throat. Tried to smooth down my shirt—when had it gotten so wrinkled? Forced my mouth into something that might pass for a smile if you didn't look too close.When I did, Cole's eyes slid away from mine. That's when I noticed—he'd been looking near my face this whole time, but not at me
EvelynI wanted to drag my palms across concrete until they bled.That was my first thought when we turned the corner and I saw her—some woman about my age, grinding her hands into the ground over and over while everyone else chanted. The blood had gone black under what was left of her fingernails.







