Chapter 4

I left the hospital with a bitter smile. Tears had slipped down my face the moment I turned away.

As I was left with my final 24 hours, I decided to go to the amusement park. It was the place that held my happiest memories.

But as soon as I reached the entrance, a wave of dizziness crashed over me.

…

When I woke up again, it was already the next day.

Beside the hospital bed, Maia Snowpaw sat with red, swollen eyes. Maia was my childhood best friend, and we'd grown up together.

From the very day Megan entered our family, Maia had warned me she didn't trust her. She had told me that I should keep my distance, but I hadn't listened, and we even had arguments over that.

Our worst argument ended with her leaving to study abroad. After that, we never spoke again, and I never thought I would see her again.

"Evelina! Didn't you email me saying you'd found the person you wanted to spend your life with? That you were about to hold your marking ceremony? Why are you in such a sickly state right now?" Maia cried, clutching my hand.

"Why did you collapse at the entrance of the amusement park without anyone by your side? Where was your family? Where was your mate? And where was that adopted younger sister you claimed to be kind and innocent?"

I managed a weak smile and reached out to pat her hand, signaling for her to calm down.

After all these years, she was still as blunt and loud as before, and though she was clearly worried about me, she masked it with an angry, questioning tone. Other people in the hospital room glanced over curiously, probably thinking we were fighting.

I opened my mouth to speak, but my vocal cords had already been eaten away by the decay and were too damaged to make a sound.

"Your wolf was so strong. How could you get Wolf-Soul Decay syndrome? Why didn't you tell me sooner?" She wept so sorrowfully she could barely catch her breath.

As I reached up to wipe the tears from her face, a strange calmness settled over me. I was glad that I wasn't going to die a lonely death, after all. I had my best friend by my side.

I pointed weakly at my bag, which held a letter inside.

Maia broke into tears once again after reading it. "Evelina, I won't let you die! I won't allow it! Get up! I'm taking you to another pack. I'm sure they have a way to cure you. Come on, get up!"

She gripped my hand, sobbing uncontrollably.

My phone buzzed with a countdown alert. In another 120 minutes, I would leave the world.

The next second, my phone vibrated again. It was a call from Mom.

"Tsk, tsk! Still not dead yet? I thought you'd be gone by now," Megan's voice came through first, dripping with venom.

"Megan, you bitch! You're the one who's killing Evie! I hope you rot in hell!" Maia shouted back.

"Say what you want. It won't change the fact that your best friend is dying. Evelina, just die already. Your parents, your brother, and your mate—they're all mine now. After all these years of fighting, I think it's clear to see who won," Megan said with a laugh.

Then, footsteps approached on the other end. Megan's tone instantly shifted. "Eve, when are you coming home? Mom and Dad are really worried about you because you keep running away from home like this!"

"Don't pay any attention to her," Mom cut in sharply. "She was so sensible and well-behaved yesterday, and now she's making a scene again. Honestly, she never lets us have a moment's peace!"

The line went dead as Mom snatched the phone and hung up.

Maia immediately tried calling back, but all she got was a flat tone, indicating that my number had been blocked.

"That disgusting bitch! I swear I'll skin her alive if I ever see her!"

With the very last of my strength, I traced the words "I'm sorry" into the palm of Maia's hand.

Back then, after my parents adopted Megan, Maia had told me she thought Megan was manipulative and fake and that I should stay away or even have her sent back to the orphanage.

But at the time, I hadn't listened. I merely thought she was overreacting.

I treated Megan like a real sister. She was always so sweet and was very popular at school.

But as time went on, my classmates began to isolate me for some reason. The boys I'd grown up with began to stay away from me and started hanging around Megan instead. I became the one left out.

By the time I realized what was happening, I was already in college. My parents and Alaric grew more and more critical of me, picking at every flaw. By then, it was too late for me to do anything to fix things.

"It's okay," Maia whispered through her tears. "I forgive you. Just don't die, Evelina. Please don't die." Maia's cries echoed in the room.

But my eyelids felt impossibly heavy.

The countdown was down to the last few minutes now.

Then, my phone buzzed again.

"Evelina, open your eyes. It's a message from your fiance. Look!"