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
Levi"What did you just do?"Sofia's voice sounded so sharp I wondered if it might cut skin. I glanced from her face to Hilda's body on the linoleum, the injector still warm in my hand, then back to Sofia. Her anger burned all the way through the first layer of shock, torching it to nothing.She sai
LeviIt was dark by the time I started back toward the hostel, the kind of damp night that made the asphalt steam under your feet.The campus was dead at this hour, except for a couple of strays loitering under the library lights. I walked fast, head down, hands in the pockets of my coat. I didn’t w
HildaFrost lasted exactly seven days after Sofia walked through the apartment door.It wasn’t dramatic. He didn’t claw at the sheets or howl or do any of the things you’d expect from an old wolf with unfinished business. He got quieter every day, voice thinning to a whisper, words sticking together
EvelynHe started pacing around her, slow at first, then faster. “Don’t think,” he said. “Move. Just move.”She tracked him with her body, every muscle tensed, like she was waiting for an attack. I recognized the tactic; it was old pack logic, straight out of the hierarchy training Catherine used to







