Before long, my mate, Ryan, burst in.
He rushed straight to Ella’s side, grabbing her hand and anxiously examining the red mark on her palm. His eyes were wild with anguish.
“How did this happen? What did the healer say?”
“Ryan, don’t be like this,” Ella said, her voice choked with tears, yet she managed a weak smile. “It’s not Sophie’s fault. She probably just wanted to surprise me and forgot for a moment that we werewolves can’t touch silver…”
The more “understanding” she acted, the darker Ryan’s face grew.
He looked up, his voice seething with anger. “Sophie? Where is she hiding now? Ella, don’t be sad. I’ll make sure to teach her a lesson for you!”
We hadn’t completed our mate bond, so he couldn’t sense my death, much less know that I was right beside him, watching him in silence.
After leaving the clinic, Ryan called my phone. When it went unanswered, he left a message.
“Sophie, how could you be so vicious? Using silver to harm your own sister? I always thought you were kind, but you’d do something like this out of jealousy!”
Ryan’s voice was furious.
“I was on my way to give you your award gift. It’s a family heirloom, a pendant to congratulate you. But now, you don’t deserve it. Consider this your punishment.”
“You’d better pray Ella is okay. Otherwise, consider our Mate Bond ceremony cancelled!”
I listened to his accusations, my heart too weary to even feel a thing.
I should have known long ago.
We had fought over Ella many times before. During a hunting training session, he had been completely focused on Ella’s agile form; when I tripped over a root, he just called me clumsy. When we ate together, he never remembered that I couldn’t handle spicy food, yet he could personally bake over twenty different kinds of desserts to make Ella happy.
I argued with him about these things countless times, only to be told, “You’re overthinking it. I just think of Ella as a little sister.”
His coldness made me feel like a possessive lunatic.
But I loved him so much. I thought his presence was a gift from the Moon Goddess, that he could be mine and mine alone.
I was wrong. So completely wrong.
My parents loved Conner and Ella for their bloodlines. Why did Ryan love her? I didn’t know.
And now I’d never have the chance to find out.
Because now, whether I fell or was beaten, I would never feel pain again.
After midnight, Dad, Mom and Conner finally returned home, exhausted.
I floated in a corner of the living room and heard my mother sigh.
“It’s a shame Ryan’s bloodline isn’t strong enough for Ella. They’d be perfect together.”
“Look how attentive he was at the clinic.”
My spirit froze.
Then I heard Dad speak. “Yes, Ryan is quite capable, and I think Ella likes him too. It would be perfect if they were mates. But these things are guided by the Moon Goddess.”
“Don’t overthink it,” Mom said. “Ryan’s bloodline isn’t worthy of our precious white wolf. It’s better to let him be with Sophie. Their gray wolf bloodlines are a better match.”
“Even if he completes the Mate Bond with Sophie, he can still dote on Ella,” she added casually, then looked up and noticed the house was dark.
A faint, metallic smell hung in the air.
“Looks like the moonstones in the house have run out of energy,” Dad said, annoyed. “Conner, go to the basement and get a new one.”
Conner grunted in agreement and strode toward the basement.
The closer he got, the stronger the metallic smell became. His wolf instincts made him frown, but he dismissed it as a dead rat in the house.
“What’s that smell?” Dad and Mom followed him toward the basement door.
Conner pushed it open.
A thick, nauseating stench of blood and decay rushed out to meet them.
In the darkness, a body lay in a pool of dried, blackened blood, its eyes not fully closed.
Conner stopped dead.
“Sophie…?”
