Chapter 6: The Girl in My Skin

The moon answered her.

Not me.

The light shifted, sharp and silver, pouring down like it had been waiting for her all along. The ritual circle hummed under my bare feet, the stones warming, then burning.

My knees almost buckled.

She stood across from me, calm, untouched, glowing like she belonged there. Like the moon had chosen her without question.

My face stared back at me.

Same eyes. Same mouth. Same scar near the brow from when we were seven, we fell climbing the old fence.

But her eyes were colder.

And when she smiled, I felt it in my bones.

“Well,” she said softly. “This is awkward.”

The pack murmured. Loud now. Confused. Shocked.

“Impossible,” someone whispered.

“A twin?” another voice said.

I couldn’t breathe.

“You’re dead,” I whispered. “They said you died.”

She tilted her head. “Did they?”

My heart slammed against my ribs. I turned, desperate, searching the crowd.

Drail stood frozen, his face white, his mouth slightly open. Not shocked.

Guilty.

Something broke inside me.

“You knew,” I said, my voice shaking as I looked at him. “You knew she was alive.”

He didn’t answer.

That was answer enough.

The Council Elder raised her staff. “Silence.”

The noise died instantly.

She looked at my twin. “State your name.”

The girl lifted her chin. “Lyra Tyndall.”

The sound of it felt wrong in my chest. Like hearing my own name spoken by someone else.

“And your bond?” the Elder asked.

Lyra’s eyes flicked to Derek. Then to Jax.

Then back to Drail.

“My bond,” she said smoothly, “is to Alpha Drail of the Silver Ridge.”

The world tilted.

I heard it before I felt it.

The bond snap.

Just enough to hurt.

I gasped, clutching my chest. Pain spread like fire under my skin.

“No,” I whispered. “No, that’s not—”

“She was the intended mate,” the Elder said. “The living twin.”

Living.

Like I wasn’t.

Derek moved instantly, stepping into the circle. “That’s enough.”

The ground shook.

The Elder’s eyes flashed. “You will not interfere, Alpha.”

“She’s in pain,” Derek growled.

“She is unstable,” the Elder replied. “As expected.” Jax was already moving, but Derek stopped him with a look. I forced myself to stand straight. My legs trembled, but I stood.

“Why?” I asked Lyra. “Why would you let them think you were dead?”

She looked at me like I was slow. “Because I was never meant to be hidden,” she said. “You were.”

The words hit harder than the pain.

“You were always softer,” she continued. “Kinder. Easier to sacrifice.”

My mouth opened, but nothing came out.

Drail finally found his voice. “I did what I had to.”

I laughed then.

It came out broken and sharp. “You let me believe you rejected me. You let them humiliate me. You let me break.”

His eyes flickered. “I was protecting the pack.”

“No,” I said. “You were protecting her.”

Lyra smiled wider.

The moonlight around her brightened.

The Elder turned to me. “Raya Tyndall, step forward.”

I did.

“The ritual has revealed the truth,” she said. “You are the shadow twin. The echo.”

Echo.

“You carry power,” she continued, “but it is borrowed. Shared.”

My hands curled into fists. “That’s a lie.”

Jax sucked in a breath while Derek swore under his breath.

The Elder paused. “Interesting.”

The heat in my chest spread. Not pain now. Something else.

Lyra frowned. “What are you doing?”

“I’m standing,” I said. “Something you never did for me.”

The moonlight flickered.

For the first time, it hesitated.

“You don’t belong here,” Lyra snapped. “You were never meant to be seen.”

“Neither were you,” I shot back. “You hid while I lived the lie.”

The air cracked.

Power surged up my spine, wild and messy. It wasn’t clean like Derek’s. It wasn’t sharp like Jax’s.

It was loud.

The circle flared.

The pack cried out.

The Elder took a couple of steps back. “Contain her!” she ordered.

The bond pulled harder.

Derek staggered, one knee hitting the stone.

Jax growled, pain flashing across his face.

Lyra screamed.

The moon split its light.

Half fell on her.

Half fell on me.

Silence slammed down like a wall.

We stood facing each other, both glowing now, both breathing hard.

The Elder’s voice trembled. “That’s… not possible.”

I looked at Lyra. Really looked at her this time.

Fear had crept into her eyes.

“You lied,” I said softly. “You said I was the echo.”

The moon pulsed again.

“No,” I whispered, understanding crashing into me all at once. “You are.”

Her face twisted. “Shut up.” she screamed in panic.

“You took my place,” I said. “But the bond remembered me.”

The Elder raised the silver blade. “This ritual is no longer controlled.”

Derek forced himself to his feet. “Lower the weapon.”

“She is awakening,” the Elder said. “Both of them.”

Jax stepped into the circle beside me. “Then make a choice.”

The Elder’s grip tightened.

“Only one twin can remain,” she declared. “One must die.”

The pack gasped in shock.

Lyra reached for Drail. “You won’t let them hurt me. right.”

He didn’t move.

I met Derek’s eyes.

Then Jax’s.

The moon climbed higher above her.

The blade lifted.

The circle began to close.