Chapter 4

Mom, if only you'd looked at me carefully.

You would have noticed the uneven discoloration on my body, and that my chest wasn't rising or falling.

You were so close to realizing I was already dead.

With the help of potions, Wendy's wolf finally awakened.

She looked at our parents, her expression serious.

"Now I'm a strong wolf too! I'll be fine. Can we please go let my sister out?"

My father nodded. As he started the car, he finally let out a sigh of relief.

"Finally, it's all over. We'll head back now. Valeria's probably come to her senses by now. Let's pick her up and go pray at the Moon Goddess shrine together!"

My mother sat in the passenger seat, tears slipping down her cheeks.

"We've been too hard on Valeria. From now on, whatever Wendy has, Valeria will have too."

I floated in the void, forcing myself to smile.

I'd waited eighteen years for this day.

But I would never live to see it.

They finally came home. Wendy ran in first.

She opened the door and froze.

Not a single bite of food had been touched. A faint sour smell hung in the air.

Her voice trembled as she turned to our parents.

"We were at the Witch's Forest for three days. Valeria... hasn't come out in three days?"

Our mother nearly fainted. Her face ashen, she stormed toward the heat chamber.

She kicked the door hard.

"Are you done yet? Valeria, do you have any idea what your sister's been through these past few days? She couldn't eat, couldn't sleep, worried about you the whole time she was awakening, and you? How long are you going to keep playing dead?"

My father walked over too, restraining the crushing weight of his Alpha authority.

"Valeria, you've really let me down! We've been worrying about you this whole time, and you haven't shown an ounce of remorse. You..."

Wendy stepped in front of them, tears streaming down her face.

"Dad, Mom... Valeria wouldn't do this. Something must have happened to her. Don't you think the temperature in the house feels wrong?"

Our parents' expressions froze.

Just then, Cedric walked in.

He went straight to the chamber door and demanded an answer.

"Valeria, what are you doing? Why did you go to Elder and have part of your wolf's power transferred into a moonstone?"

"What? Valeria, is that true? Why did you drag the pack into this? Why would you do that?"

My mother's temper ignited instantly.

"I raised you for eighteen years, and this is how you repay us? You know your power is hard to control and you're still this greedy, finding new ways to ruin your sister. You just have to be better than her, is that it?"

My father's expression went cold.

"Your sister protects you at every turn, and what do you do? You only think about how to drive her to her death. And here we were, rushing to let you out. I'm the Alpha of this pack. How could I have a daughter like you?"

Everyone was blaming me. Only Wendy was frantically trying to turn the door handle.

"Dad, Mom, feel this. The door is burning hot."

"Enough!" Our mother's eyes were bloodshot.

She rushed forward and slammed the door shut.

"She knows where the key is! She won't come out because she's dead set on wearing us down."

My mother ignored Wendy's cries and pulled her away from the door.

"No, Mom! She's still in there! We promised we'd come back for her and take her to see the Moon Goddess."

My mother dragged Wendy upstairs despite her struggling.

"If she wants to stay in there, let her. I want to see how long she can keep this up. Let's go!"

The door was slammed shut again.

Bang.

The world fell silent again. I floated in the void.

My face was covered in tears.

Mom...

The truth was right on the other side of that door.

You were so close to seeing me.