Chapter 4

The moment Mom saw me, she wrapped her arms around me and burst into tears, refusing to let go for a long time.

Caleb, who was seventeen back then and already bore the broad shoulders of an Alpha, stayed by my side all night. The air was thick with the comforting pheromones he unconsciously released, low and steady.

Fifteen-year-old Chloe even held my hands with both of hers, tears rolling down her cheeks.

When Mom found out my name had been casually given to me by a human orphanage, she urged Dad to take me to the city hall that very day to change it. She wanted me to have a real name of my own, a name that belonged to the werewolf bloodline—Aurora. However, we never made it back home in the car.

On the county road, a rogue slammed into us. It was a feral stray, driven mad by blind aggression. Dad shielded me behind him, but the rogue tore his throat out before reinforcements could arrive.

By the time Mom and Caleb rushed to the scene, I was covered in blood. They looked at me, and I watched grief turn into something else inside their eyes.

“You came back, and now Arthur is gone. You’re cursed! Why did you have to come back? Why couldn’t you just stay vanished?”

Caleb’s voice cracked, sounding like something between a sob and a howl. “You’re not my sister. You’re a murderer.”

From that point on, all I had was a small room upstairs, and nothing more. All of their love was given to Chloe, who was now known as Chloe Sol Miller.

I shifted to the edge of the bed and sat down.

Fine, I thought. Let it be that way. If I died in the Vanguard Legion—and the odds of that were far from low—no one would have to suffer through the pain of loss again.

This was the last thing I could do for them, even if they would never know it, and the wolf inside me offered no counterargument.

I slept lightly that night, my dreams alternating continuously between Dad’s face and Mom’s voice. When I woke up, my pillow was wet, but my mind was made up.

I packed the few belongings I had into a black canvas bag. Even though I had lived there for three years, there wasn’t much to pack anyway.

When I arrived downstairs, Mom and Caleb were already sitting by the kitchen island, eating bacon and scrambled eggs. There was no plate for me on the table, just as it had been every day for the past three years. They had never once asked me what I liked to eat either.

So, I toasted a slice of bread in the microwave and ate it standing beside the counter. At some point, Chloe had walked up to me.

“Aurora, there’s no place for you in this family anymore. Couldn’t you tell when Mom and Caleb gave me their name? They’re never going to forgive you. Never.”

Three years. For three years, I had carried Dad’s death on my shoulders, taking their silent treatment as the punishment I deserved. I owed them that.

Ignoring the pride hidden in Chloe’s eyes, I answered her earnestly, “Then from now on, you’ll be the only one by their side. Take good care of them, Chloe.”