Chapter 4

Gary froze.

My words landed like a slap—not loud, but final.

He stared at me, dumbfounded. I saw the confusion in his eyes. Fear, even.

Like he couldn't recognize me anymore.

Like I had become a stranger.

Maybe I had.

Maybe I was nothing more than a weightless sheet of paper now—ready to be carried away by the wind, out of his reach forever.

Slowly, my wolf pushed herself up, legs trembling.

I leaned against the wall, wiped the blood from my face with the back of my hand, and looked at my mother.

"He never claimed me," I said calmly.

She blinked. "You... weren't marked?"

Gary's face turned ashen.

"We were busy. Things kept coming up," he muttered.

My mother clapped her hands in delight. "Perfect! That saves us the trouble."

My pup, Jack, looked at me nervously.

"So... does that mean Aunt Jane is going to be my new mommy?"

I smiled at him—gently.

My wolf was calm now. She wouldn't be hurt again.

"Yes," I said softly. "Are you happy?"

His face lit up.

"Yay! That's awesome! Auntie Jane's going to be my mommy!"

Then, as if remembering something very important, he added quickly,

"But... Mommy—uh, I mean, Auntie Nadia—as long as you don't bully Aunt Jane anymore, I'll still like you."

I lowered my gaze and whispered,

"Okay."

Jane, of course, was glowing with joy. Tears welled in her eyes.

"Sister... you're really letting us be together?"

I nodded.

"Yes. And you don't have to call me ‘Sister' anymore."

She turned to Gary with a bashful smile, her voice trembling with delight.

But Gary wasn't smiling.

He was staring at me.

Brows furrowed. Expression unreadable.

Something in him had shifted.

His gaze lingered too long—like he was lost. Like he was seeing me for the first time.

His wolf stirred, restless and confused.

Jane noticed. Her smile faltered.

She clenched her sleeves, hiding her jealousy beneath a mask of sweetness. When she looked up again, her eyes were glossy and pure.

"Thank you," she said sweetly. "Thank you so much, Sister."

I shook my head.

"We're clan. No need for thanks."

I paused.

"Besides... from now on, I'll be relying on you to take care of me."

She giggled, thinking I was just being polite.

She had no idea I'd already donated my body to her lab.

"Oh, of course! We're sisters. I'll take good care of you!"

My mother beamed, satisfied with the reunion before her.

"See? This is what I wanted all along. If you'd been this obedient before, how could we ever have been angry with you?"

I looked at her and wanted to ask:

Was I ever truly disobedient?

I was the biological daughter of the Black clan.

But I was always the outsider. The unwanted. The burden.

It was Gary who insisted on marking me—yet somehow, I became the shameless one.

I raised Jack without complaint—yet they called me selfish, cruel, manipulative.

I closed my eyes, forcing the tears back.

I wouldn't cry in front of them. Not anymore.

Because I knew—if I cried, Jane would cry louder.

Even my pain would be twisted into something shameful.

When I opened my eyes again, something inside me had gone quiet.

Like an old clock whose gears had finally stopped turning.

I looked at Gary.

He was still watching me. A strange softness flickering in his eyes. Regret? Guilt? I didn't care.

I lowered my voice.

"May I go rest now?"

He nodded slowly. "Yeah… go rest."

I turned to leave.

But my mother stopped me.

"Clean yourself up and go back to your old den," she said.

"There are reporters everywhere. If they find out you've been living in Jane and Gary's house, they'll turn it into some scandal."

I nodded.

"Okay."

She told Gary to drive me. On the way to the car, he suddenly grabbed my hand.

"I'll come with you to the surgery next week," he said.

"When it's over… we'll talk. Just you and me. I swear, Jane and I—it's not what you think."

I smiled at him.

"All right."

He stared at me a little too long.

Like he was trying to reach me through the silence, the pain, the months of betrayal.

But I didn't reach back.

We drove in silence. He opened his mouth a few times—but every time he saw my pale, blood-streaked face, he shut it again.

Halfway there, his phone rang.

His face changed the moment he answered.

"Jane fainted again. The herbs… maybe her body's still too weak."

He pulled over.

"I have to go back. You can take a cab from here."

I looked out the window.

It was past three in the morning.

We were in Rogue pack territory.

No lights.

No people.

No cabs.

I said nothing.

I stepped out of the car obediently.

Before I could even shut the door, he drove off—fast.

The engine roared into the night, leaving me behind.

The pain returned—not just in my wolf's chest, but somewhere deeper.

Somewhere no healer could reach.

I clutched my heart, trying to breathe.

Then I started walking.

Thunder rumbled across the sky.

Then came the rain.

Big, cold drops like stones.

And then—hail.

Ice crashed down, slamming into my arms, my head, my face.

It hurt.

God, it hurt so much.

I tried to cover my head, but the hail kept falling. Harder. Louder.

And I broke.

I started sobbing.

Not because of the heartbreak.

Not because of the betrayal.

Just because… the hailstones really, really hurt.

I stumbled forward, blinded by tears and blood.

Then—darkness.

The kind that doesn't come from rain or night—but from something inside you finally giving up.

Somewhere in the distance, sirens wailed.

Red lights blinked in the fog like fading stars.

Someone was crying.

A familiar voice.

"What happened?! She had a week left! Just a week! Why now?!"

The voice was shaking.

It was the healer's.

I wanted to answer. To tell him not to cry.

But I couldn't speak.

My ribs ached. Something was pressing down on my chest.

I realized—he was doing CPR. Chest compressions. Again and again.

Pain. So much pain.

I wanted to scream. But my lungs refused to fill.

Healer… please… it hurts… let me go.

My wolf lay curled in agony.

Her coat dull, lifeless. Her body shivering.

The monitor flattened.

Just like that, I was gone.

Time of death: June 1st, 5:00 a.m.

Age: 28.

The moment I was pronounced dead, my body was transferred.

Jane's Institute received me at dawn.

I was wheeled into their lab.

And frozen.