Mag-log inAvaThe 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 led me past the fountain toward the back corner of the garden where the hedges grew wild and thick. Nobody came back here much—the groundskeeper mostly left it alone, said something about it being good for the birds. Made it private, though. I could still hear voices from the house but the
EvelynI hadn't slept. The clock on the wall said 6:47 AM and I was still sitting in my study staring at paperwork I hadn't read a single word of. The numbers blurred together, meaningless.Footsteps came down the hall. Too fast, too frantic.The door burst open. Sofia, still in pajamas, Maya right
HildaBy the third try, my knuckles should have stopped stinging, but the ache only got worse. I rested my fist against the painted wood and rapped again, sharper, letting the echo do whatever guilt-tripping it pleased.No answer. Not even a creak.I rolled my shoulders, glanced left and right, then
Maya wiggled her right fingers, watched the tremor. Then she let her hand drop back to the blanket.“Where’s Ava?”That was the word. The one she’d said when she woke up, when she first blinked back to life. It came out flat, more exhale than question.It was also the first thing she’d said to me si







