Chapter 1

Teya's POV 

"One...... two..... three...... clear!"

The doctor’s voice echoed through the room, reaching the hallway where I stood, trembling with my parents. Father was holding mother who was weeping and throwing herself to the floor, whispering comforting words to her but it was useless. It could never comfort her.

How would you comfort a mother who is about to lose her daughter?

My twin sister's body jolted beneath the defibrillator pads that the doctor continuously pressed on her chest, her limbs lifeless, skin pale and drenched with sweat.

"Beep. Beep." The monitor screamed in the background, its sound was shrill, merciless. "Beep. Beep. Beep." Then flat red lines appeared on the monitor.

"Again!" the doctor barked, rubbing the defibrillator together and pressing it to her chest. " One.... two.... three..... clear!" He repeated. 

Another jolt. But there was nothing. Not even a flicker of movement or anything. Instead, the red line in the monitor got clearer by each passing second, deciding Reya's fate.

"Come on, Reya..." I whispered, fingers digging into the fabric of my sleeves as I stood frozen outside the glass. My legs trembled, but I didn’t move. I couldn’t move. My breath came out in short, panicked gasps as I watched the team work frantically, fighting against a clock that had already stopped ticking.

I don't mean to be pessimistic but from the red line on the monitor I could deduce what was happening already. And that scared me more than anything else in the world.

Reya was my twin sister, my best friend and the only one who I could talk about everything to asides mother. But now...... she was dying.

Earlier this morning,  a strange number had called mother repeatedly before she finally picked because she left her phone in the room while making breakfast in the kitchen.

The moment mother answered it, her face turned white as ash. She looked at me like she didn’t recognize me. Her eyes were wide open with fear like all her world had been turned upside down.

"What is it, mom?" I asked, stepping closer immediately.

“It's.....Teya," she stammered. "They said... she tried to kill herself,” she whispered.

I remember grabbing the phone from her hands before it reached the ground. I placed the phone in my ears, continuing the conversation and demanding answers. The woman on the other end was calm. Too calm like it wasn't a human being we are talking about her. Like she was just some animal.

"Your sister Reya was found unconscious in her dorm at Bloodmoon Dominion Academy. She had a pulse when the guards brought her in, but it's weak. She’s being transferred to the state hospital now."

Suicide? Why? How? No way. Reya would never do that. My sister would never want to kill herself.

Reya had always been the loud one. She was wild, brilliant, unapologetic, and friendly. She was stronger than me. She always had been. She was everything I wasn't. 

We live in a big city—Oxford—where humans and werewolves coexist, although they act more superior. But their king—the Alpha of all Alphas and our mayor ensured a peaceful alliance between us but we know quite well that we were like a pawn to them.

A year ago Reya got a scholarship to the elite Bloodmoon Dominion Academy—an academy for the mighty and powerful Werewolves in the country. She was one of the few humans who had the opportunity to attend the school.

Although she never wanted to go because she was human and was scared of how she would survive amongst the creatures who were stronger and more powerful but mother had convinced her to go. It was a rare opportunity to study there and she shouldn't waste it.

"Time of death," the doctor finally said, his voice pulling me back to the present.

The monitor went silent. Dead silence. The world stilled. And the tears which I have been holding for a very long time now because I wanted to be strong for mama finally dropped. 

I didn’t register the sliding door open or even realise when the doctor approached us.  But I’ll never forget the grave look on his face when he turned to us.

"I’m sorry," he said. "We did everything we could. Reya didn’t make it."

The words fell like thunder. Like a dagger to my heart, piercing and ripping my insides apart. 

But my mother had it worse. Her scream pierced the sterile air before her eyes rolled back and she collapsed, almost hitting the floor but father was quick to catch her. A nurse rushed forward, calling for a stretcher. My father dropped to his knees beside her, cradling her limp body, his shoulders shaking.

"Freya ........" He cried out. "Please..... stay with me," he stammered, holding her to his chest. 

I didn’t scream. I didn’t fall.

I just stood there, arms wrapped around myself like I could hold all the pieces of me together. My tears are still pouring out like an endless river.

Reya... my other half... gone.

Moments later, the stretcher arrived. Mother was placed on it and then taken into the next room. I trailed behind them, watching as the nurse placed her on a treatment, assuring us that she was just stressed out from the shock and would be fine.

_________

Hours later, two officers came into the waiting room. One was tall and well built while the other one was quite petite, too petite for someone who's in the force. Their uniforms looked too clean, too crisp, like nothing in this world could ever touch them.

“We understand this is a difficult time,” the taller one began smoothly. “But we’re going to need you to walk us through what happened.”

“She didn’t do this to herself,” I told them. “Reya would never try to kill herself. I'm sure someone did this—”

“We were told by the Academy that she jumped from her dorm balcony,” the second officer cut in. “We’ve reviewed the CCTV footage. It confirms their report. She was alone. No one pushed her. No signs of a break-in.”

He handed father a tablet. A video was playing on the screen. And it was truly Reya. She stood by the balcony, her eyes wide open with fear, darting around as if checking if someone was watching. 

My heart pounded against my ribcage. If only I could get into the video and save her. I gasped painfully, my hand flying to my mouth when she jumped down. Father couldn't look. He couldn't watch his beloved daughter as she killed herself. He shut his eyes, shaking his head painfully.

The video stopped playing and he returned back the tablet. And just like me father didn't believe it even though the evidence was right there, staring at us.

“But—” my father began.

“I’m afraid unless there’s new evidence, we’ll be closing this as a suicide case,” the first officer added. “Our hands are tied. And the academy really doesn't want the press to learn about this as it might tarnish their image."

I blinked unbelievably. Image? Was he kidding me? Was their stupid image more precious than my sister's life?

"You mean the school image is more important than my sister's life," I snapped, standing abruptly.

They didn't say anything. Instead they exchanged glances and turned to leave.

I wanted to scream and run after them, but before I could, a nurse stepped in.

“You need to see this,” she said. And I had no choice than to just watch them leave.

We followed her down the hallway, back toward the cold, sterile room where Reya’s body now lay. The nurse pulled back the sheet and uncovered her arms, then her legs, then her back.

My heart stopped.

Deep red welts, slashes, and cigarette burns marked her skin—angry scars and bruises that didn’t belong to someone who had been living in safety. The last time I saw Reya was when she came home for the summer break during our 20th birthday six months ago, she had clear, smooth skin. So..... where did all this come from?

“She didn’t get these from home,” I whispered. My voice was trembling. “We would’ve seen it. We would’ve known.”

My father’s face darkened. “They did this to her. At that school.”

The nurse nodded solemnly. "Seems like it."

“This wasn’t suicide,” I said, voice rising. “This was tormenting. This was murder.”

"Someone hurt my baby girl," father added quietly but I could sense the rage in his voice. "Someone killed my child."

Someone has been bullying her. And that explains everything. Explain why Reya was able to jump off that balcony without thinking about us. Without thinking about the pain she'd leave in our hearts forever. Especially mom...... she would never remain the same. We will never remain the same.

 I clenched my fists, gritted my teeth as all the pains I had felt minutes ago disappeared into thin air replaced by something cold, dreadful.

Those wolves...... those hideous creatures.

Who the hell hurt my sister?