What My Bones Know

My mother was the most renowned forensic artist, yet she refused to acknowledge me as her daughter. On my eighteenth birthday, I was kidnapped and called her for help. However, my mother replied impatiently, "Today is Angelina's birthday. Just die if you want attention that badly." Later, all the bones in my body were shattered and scattered everywhere. When my mother reconstructed my face from the bones, she lost her mind.

My boyfriend, Yves Steward, is the head of the orthopedic department. When Julia Henderson and I get into an accident at the same time, he pushes my hands away and shouts, "Stop this nonsense, Summer Simpson! Julia needs to be operated on immediately!" So, I'm the one who deserves to die. The day my skeleton is donated to the orthopedic department, Yves sits in his office for a day and night. Later, the man known as the hospital's genius orthopedist never holds a scalpel ever again.

Three years ago, my fiancé's childhood friends murdered and framed me. They ground my leg bones and turned them into beads to make a bracelet. Then, they gave it to my fiancé after he woke up from an accident. He hated me to the core and wore the bracelet symbolizing his rebirth as he utilized all his resources to find me. He even placed my weak and crazed mother under house arrest to force me to appear. Three years later, during his and his childhood sweetheart's engagement party, a renowned jewel appraiser points out that the bracelet he's had this whole time isn't made of regular bone—it's made of human bone.

"Say it." I stared at him, refusing to speak. The Alpha took another step forward. "Say that you're not my mate." My heart hammered against my ribs. "I don't belong to you." A slow smile spread across his face. "That's not what I asked." "I don't care what you asked." His hand closed around my wrist before I could move. The moment he touched me, the bond snapped tight enough to steal my breath. I hated that he felt it too. I hated the satisfaction in his eyes. "You're shaking," he murmured. "I'm disgusted." "You'll survive." I tried to pull away. He didn't let me. "Let me go." "No." "You can't force me to stay." His gaze dropped briefly to the mark glowing beneath my skin. Then he looked back at me. "I can hunt you." My pulse stumbled. "I can find you." I swallowed. "I can drag every secret out of the shadows." His thumb brushed my wrist. "And when I do, you'll finally tell me why an entire pack died the night you got your wolf." My chest tightened. "You're afraid of me." For the first time, his expression darkened. "No, Kaela." His voice dropped low. "I'm afraid of what I'll do to anyone who tries to take you from me.”

My younger brother and I depend on each other for survival. We are the renowned Bone-Suturing Masters of the frontier. I suture the bones of the dead, and he heals the lives of the living. Later on, he rescues the sixth princess, Susan Roth, amid the chaos of war. He helps her ascend to the throne as Queen, while he becomes the Prince Regent, wielding power over the entire court. Susan loves him deeply, so much so that she disregards her own health and risks her life to bear him a son. She even officially names him the Crown Prince. When the fighting at the frontier temporarily settles down, I return to the capital to attend the Crown Prince's coronation ceremony. I feel reassured when I see my younger brother standing at the height of power, his features calm and composed. I don't stay long and leave immediately for the borders after the coronation. On the journey back, I see a gnawed-on corpse at the bottom of a cliff I'm passing by. Instinctively, I take out my bone-suturing needles and hemp thread. Then I slowly gather the scattered bones and stitch the body back together. After finishing the last stitch, I gently turn the face over. The face is exactly the same as my younger brother's. The blood in my body freezes, as if I have fallen into an icy river. If he's the corpse at the bottom of the cliff… then who exactly is the person seated on the throne, commanding the kingdom?

Three year after my death, my former mate returned— not to mourn me, but to make use of me one last time. It was the Winter Solstice, the longest night of the year—the night when wolves whispered to the dead. “Where’s Mira Thorne?” Rowan demanded as he strode downstairs into the tavern beneath the den. “Her lived here—Gavin’s sister. I need to find her.” Dorian, the tavern keeper, glanced up slowly. “Mira?” he repeated, wiping his hands on a cloth. “She’s gone, Doctor. Died three winters ago. Same night the Moon rose red.” Rowan’s brows knit. “Dead? That’s impossible. There’s no record.” Dorian’s voice softened. “The family from that healing case—remember them? They found her in the alley behind this inn. Tore her apart before dawn. The healers couldn’t even retrieve her wolf.” Rowan froze, a flicker of disbelief passing across his face before irritation took over. “No. She’s pretending. She’s doing this to make me feel guilty.” he said sharply. “She’s hiding. She always was weak. Tell her if her doesn’t come out within three days, I’ll stop sending money for brother’s treatment.” He turned abruptly and left, the tavern door slamming behind him. Dorian sighed after him., shaking his head. “brother? Her brother died before the healers even arrived… there was never any money for treatment.” The silence that followed was heavier than snow. Dorian watched the falling snow and murmured to the empty air, “No one pretends death, Doctor. Not when they’ve already lost everything.”