Chapter 3

Just then, my father's voice cut through the mindlink, sharp with impatience.

"What's taking so long with the moonstone? Alice is waiting!"

I hadn't expected to hear their mindlink after death—even if it wasn't meant for me.

My mother stared at that crack of darkness. For a long second, she didn't move. Her hand trembled on the doorframe.

Then she let her hand drop.

"We'll deal with it after the ceremony."

She turned and walked away.

Inside the door, my corpse leaned stiffly against the wood.

I floated in the air, watching her back in despair.

Mom. One turn. That's all it would've taken. One turn and you would've seen my body.

That night, Alice couldn't reach me through the mindlink. So she sent me a text on her phone.

[Maria, there's a spare key under the doormat. Let yourself out and eat something! I left steak in the kitchen—a filet, your favorite cut!]

She never forgot what I loved.

Every time I got locked up before, she'd hide food in the stuffed wolf plushie in my room.

I looked at the plushie in the corner. Its belly bulged—dried meat she'd stashed there in advance.

Too bad, Alice. I'll never get to eat it.

The next morning, Alice saw I hadn't replied. She ran straight to my mother.

"Maria never texted me back. Maybe something really happened. Should we check the cameras?"

My mother looked at her, disappointed.

"Alice, she's not worth this much attention. We have bigger things to focus on."

But she pulled up the feed anyway.

On the screen, I was curled up with my back to the camera.

Alice leaned in and called out. "Maria! The key's under the door—come out and eat!"

No response.

Alice's voice cracked. "Maria, turn around! Let me see you!"

My mother zoomed in.

In the dim light, I was curled into a ball—already cold and stiff.

She stared for two seconds, then let out a breath, frowning hard.

"Playing dead again?"

When I was little, I'd done that to get attention.

She thought it was another one of my tricks.

"Maria, you bad kid. Nobody's going to play these cheap games with you forever!"

She turned off the phone.

Mom. If you'd zoomed in just a little more, you would've seen my chest wasn't moving.

You were this close. This close to finding out I was already dead.

Two days later, the ceremony finally ended.

Alice was the first one out of the altar.

"Mom! Dad! I shifted! Let's go home and tell Maria the good news!"

My father's eyes went red.

"Great! The prophecy's broken! Let's pick her up and do a blessing ritual at the Ancestral Ruins—all of us together!"

My mother was crying too. "From now on, whatever Alice gets, Maria gets too. She's suffered enough all these years."

I floated in the air, a bitter smile on my face.

Mom. Dad. I waited eighteen years. Too bad I'll never get to wait anymore.

They got back to the manor.

Alice burst through the door—then froze. She smelled it. The steak in the kitchen had rotted, gone moldy.

Her voice shook.

"She... she hasn't come out in two days..."

My mother stormed over and shoved the basement door open.

"Maria! Still not sorry?!"

My father's voice boomed. "At a time like this, you're still throwing a tantrum?"

Evan stepped in, holding a letter, his face dripping with disappointment.

"Last month, Maria sent a request to join the ceremony. She lied in it. Now the elders are discussing whether your family might be abusing a minor wolf."

My mother was shaking with rage.

"She did this on purpose. She wanted to frame Alice!"

Everyone's eyes burned with pure, undisguised hatred.

Only Alice felt something was wrong. She lunged for the door. "Mom! I can't feel Maria's presence at all!"

My mother yanked her back, furious. "She probably snuck out already! Let's go!"

Alice sobbed. "Maria's still in there! You said we'd take her to the Ancestral Ruins—"

The door slammed shut.

One door. That's all it took. They missed the truth again.

...

My parents took Alice to the ancient wolf ruins for the blessing ritual.

In front of the old relic altar, they burned herbs under the full moon, praying for the white wolf's safety.

Alice knelt, devout—but her prayer was for me.

"Moon Goddess, please keep Maria safe..."

The moment she finished, the charm in her hand split clean in half.

Alice screamed.

"Dad! Mom! Something happened to Maria!"

My mother was already frustrated when the neighbor, Orlando, called.

"Jean! Someone broke into your house and found a body in the basement. They reported it to the Elders' Council. Did you do this?"

They rushed back overnight.

The manor was surrounded by neighbors—all silent, all watching, all judging with their eyes.

Alice was crying so hard she could barely speak.

My mother's pupils shrank to pinpricks. She lunged forward and ripped the iron door open.

The basement was fully visible now.

Clear. Real. Every detail.

A sound tore from my mother's throat—something inhuman.

"AAAAAAAAHHHH—!"

In the void, I let out a soft sigh.

Mom.

You finally saw.

Too bad. It's too late.