Locked Out So Their Lost Girl Feels Safe

"Are you sure you want to apply for the five-year classified research project in the Northam Eclipse Zone? The conditions there are exceptionally harsh."

My supervisor, Robert Lupine, spoke over the phone.

"You've turned down long-term assignments abroad twice because you couldn't bear to leave your family. Why the sudden change of heart?"

I glanced at the people gathered in the living room.

Lily Hawthorne had just arrived, and my three older brothers and Adrian were already gathered around her. Mason, my eldest brother, took her coat, while Julian, my second brother, brought her a glass of warm water.

The suitcase I'd brought home stood alone in a corner of the entryway. Not one of them had offered to help me bring it inside.

"I'm ready to leave them now."

After ending the call, I carried my suitcase upstairs by myself.

I stopped when I opened the master bedroom door.

My wardrobe stood open, filled with Lily's floral dresses, while unfamiliar skincare products lined the vanity.

I stepped back into the hallway and glanced at the guest room across from it.

Its door stood wide open, and all my belongings had been hastily stuffed into several cardboard boxes piled beside the bed.

They'd already given away my bedroom before I'd even returned from my studies.

I wheeled my suitcase into the guest room and headed back downstairs.

In the living room, Lily was lounging in the smart massage chair.

It had been a custom-made gift from my three brothers and Adrian when I first awakened my wolf spirit at 18. The chair stored data on my skeletal structure and the muscles in my wolf form.

Leo used to joke that it was "Avril's throne", and whenever anyone touched it, he'd leap up and chase them away. Now, he stood beside Lily with a smile, handing her a plate of freshly cut fruit.

"This chair's massage feels a little too strong."

Lily opened her eyes and rubbed her shoulder.

I was about to speak when something else caught my attention. A ring adorned Lily's right ring finger, its face engraved with a sharp wolf-claw emblem.

I lowered my gaze to the crescent-moon ring on my own hand. The four of us siblings had each received one when we came of age. Later, when Adrian and I got engaged, he had begun wearing the same design.

I'd once believed that as long as we wore those crescent-moon rings, the five of us would always be a family.

But when I looked around, I saw that Mason, Julian, Leo, and even Adrian had all replaced theirs with rings identical to Lily's wolf-claw design.

I walked over and stopped beside the massage chair.

"That's my massage chair."

Lily hurriedly sat up, speaking in a flustered rush. "I'm sorry, Avril. I didn't know this was reserved for you. I'll get up right away."

Adrian quickly reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder to stop her.

"Avril, are you seriously making a fuss over this?" Leo asked, letting out a mocking laugh. "It's just a chair."

Adrian leaned forward and skillfully lowered the massage intensity on the control panel.

"Lily isn't feeling well. Let her use it for a few days."

I stared at the screen. The user profile that had originally belonged to me had been wiped clean from the upper-right corner. In its place was a skeletal scan labeled "User Lily."

I didn't argue any further and turned toward the stairs.

"Wait," Adrian called after me. "Tomorrow is the annual Lunar Hunt. Lily just returned to the Silvercrest Pack, and she's interested in the competition. She'll be joining us tomorrow."

In previous years, the Lunar Hunt had always been a tradition for the five of us to compete as a team.

I looked back at them and shook my head. "I have things to take care of at the academy, so I won't be participating this year."

The smiles on my three brothers' faces faltered.

Mason frowned.

"Avril, we're only asking you to let Lily use your room and chair for a few days. Why are you taking it out on the Lunar Hunt?"

"I'm not sulking," I said. "I genuinely don't want to go."

Adrian's expression darkened.

"I already agreed to hold the marking ceremony once you finished your studies. Isn't that enough of a compromise? Avril, don't push it."

So, in his eyes, agreeing to mark me was a favor he was doing me.

When I still didn't respond, his temper flared.

"Don't think you can use this to manipulate me. Whether you go or not, the five of us will still compete as a team."

"Then I wish you all the best."

I ignored them and went back upstairs.

…

That evening, Dr. Lupine sent me a message.

"Your early admission has been approved. A vehicle will pick you up in 48 hours."

Laughter drifted faintly from downstairs.

I sat on the narrow bed, staring at the crescent-moon ring on my hand for a long time.

At last, I slipped it off and placed it gently on the bedside table.