Chapter 1

The moment they learned I had given up my enrollment, several elders appeared at our doorstep.

As soon as Mom opened the door, one of them spoke directly:

"Luna, was it Rosalie's own decision not to attend the Werewolf Academy?"

"Using Rosalie's future to compensate for the regrets of a deceased Rose, don't you think that's a loss for Shadow Pack?"

Their questioning drove Mom into a frenzy.

She shoved the elders out and slammed the door shut.

Then she dragged me into my sister's room and forced me to kneel.

"Rosalie, did you go behind my back and report this to the elders?"

"Did you cheat on the exam just so you could escape this house?"

"Is staying home to keep your sister company really such a burden to you?"

The thorned switch lashed across my back. I bit my lower lip until it bled, refusing to make a sound.

My Dad watched as my back was covered in wounds from the whipping. He finally spoke.

"Rosalie, you're not going to the Werewolf Academy."

"Listen to your Mom. Stay home and keep Rose company."

Hearing my parents' words, I smiled with a hollow numbness.

Years ago, my sister had been diagnosed with Spirit Decay

No matter how desperately my parents tried to keep her alive, no matter what treatments they pursued, she was never saved.

She died the night before she was to enter the Werewolf Academy.

From that point on, my mother could no longer bear any kind of shock.

I had been playing the role of my sister for eighteen years.

But now, I had also been diagnosed with Spirit Decay.

Dad, Mom, please don't worry.

This time, I will be an even better version of her.

In the end, I nodded and stopped arguing:

"Alright, Mom."

"I'll do as you say. I won't go to the Werewolf Academy."

Seemingly caught off guard by my response, Mom froze.

My mom took no pleasure in my compliance.

She locked me in my sister's room and, right before my eyes, tore my acceptance letter to pieces.

"Don't think I don't see through you. Acting all obedient just so you can sneak away from home."

"I won't let you get away with it."

With that, she turned and called the Werewolf Academy to report me for cheating.

"I will use my authority as Luna to report Rosalie's cheating to the Werewolf Academy!"

Listening to Mom's righteous proclamation beyond the door, I laughed until tears fell.

In the darkness, my sister in her photograph seemed to be watching me.

As a child, whenever I was made to kneel alone before her photo in reflection, I would always be frightened to tears by her image.

Now I stared straight into my sister's eyes and whispered:

"I really envy you. Twenty years gone and Mom and Dad still love you this much."

"Now that I too have been stricken with a terminal illness, I find myself wondering whether they will love me just as deeply when I am gone."

My sister in the photograph said nothing, only smiling without a care in the world.

When she smiled, there was a deep dimple on her right cheek.

I don't have one.

So Mom never allowed me to smile in front of her.

My sister was naturally restless, always running freely through the forest whenever she had the chance.

To force me outside, Mom tore up all the books I loved and snapped my paintbrushes in half.

I was not allowed back home until dark.

Even on my birthday, I could only celebrate my sister's.

The cake was always her favorite mango flavor, and I'm allergic to mango.

When I blew out the candles, my sister's photograph sat across from me.

The only wish I was allowed to make was for my sister to be at peace in heaven.

After eighteen years of being my sister's replacement, I didn't even know what my true self looked like.

How could anyone love that?

I don't know how long I sat in the darkness before the door suddenly opened.

Dad stood in the doorway, backlit, his face weary.

"Rosalie, go reassure your mother once more that you will not be going to the Werewolf Academy."