HINA'

sleeples

he unfamiliar silence of this new house felt louder than any absence. Every t

ar Wars comforter, his breathing deep and even. Thank the moon for small mercies. This modest house mig

ied through my blackout curtains, a

'd bury

hip had died long before his heart stopped beating. No, it was the prospect of facing my family's ju

erm scraped again

e sat, already dressed in the miniature black suit we'd picked out

hed me a smile that did

back at me wore Kieran's strong jawline, his piercing gaze. A l

pered, smoothing his

nd put the video game console aside. "Let's go," he

view, Daniel's courage faltered. His knu

his tense should

red me. "We didn't... we didn't get to say goodbye.

my father's absence had become my normal, Daniel had lost h

ere, my love." My voice cracked. "And here." I tapped his templ

ome of the tension leavin

ea

gth I needed. Together, w

lies from neighboring territories, and a scattering of human associates who'd done business

ont pew. My mother's head rested aga

o

ht through stained glass windows gilded her perfect blonde waves, her designer dr

roached-not for me, never for me-but for the grandson who

ll frame disappearing against her black lace. That left only on

t her hatred hadn't dimmed. She inched away as I sat, the silk

the hall-and land on another family that didn't want me. The Blackthornes occupied the opposit

. Like my family rejected me, the Blackthornes refused to a

tle was passed to Kieran. Now, she regarded me icily. I'm sure she was

elf from my mother's clutches and now formed a living barrier be

needed to be the brave one. The organ's mournful chords signaled the service's s

*

ing Daniel was settled with his grandparents for the evening, I'd rushed to the

y silence of the day had been replaced by the low hum of conversation

n a decade. Ten years ago, I was merely Celeste's shadow. In the ten

of the inner social circles of either the Lockwoods or the Blackthornes. I kept to the edges, a

k suit perfectly. Her hand was tucked possessively in the crook of his arm, her head tilted

erly Alpha from a neighboring pack, undoubtedly introd

yed nerves, but I knew I had forfeited a

ow it was alwa

de. Abby, Celeste's friend from our youth, ap

e been at their wedding a decade ago, not a funeral. Don't get

de, brittle as it was, wouldn't let me crumble

"If you were any kind of daughter, you wouldn't have driven your own sist

my heart since the hospital. I knew, with a certainty that hollowed me ou

ace and slink back to their littl

d her hip against mine. The motion was disguised but effective. I stumbled backward, my

like cruel diamonds on the marble floor, champagne pooling around my ruined shoes. A wave o

aphi

ng more than the broken glass. Ethan was at her side, his eyes blazing

s furrowed, a muscle ticking in his jaw. But before he could speak or move, Ce

raised her voice slightly, a gentle command to the onlookers. "It's just a little accident. Nothing to see. Please,

este-her timing was

small, opulent sitting room often used for private conversations. The m

replaced by a cold, glacial calm. She rel

" she said, her voice soft but devoid of a

en years, sister," she hissed. "Ten years you played house with my life. But I'm rec

you're going to

father's memorial,

ll. Their love, their loyalty, Kieran's heart

let the bitterness seep through. "It seems you haven't changed either

and satisfying, flashed across

't innocent, Celeste. I offered to run, to do anything to stop the wed

nt flush creeping up her neck betraying her. The old wound still fest

what it was? Your perfect image came first? So you ran across an

ion settling into one of cold, triumphant pity. "You've gotten better at twisting the truth in ten years. I had to leave b

my lungs in

d. How else could you have made yourself feel better abou

he urge to wipe that smug look o

s. Mother and Ethan froze you out. But you know what? Even from overs

nd you still couldn't earn their lo

ment wound ripped wide open anew.

e year. Even when I never wrote back, he never missed on

trembling. "I don't care anymore, Celeste. Kieran and I are div

ur paths don'

g guests, out of the grand hall that had never been my home, away from the people who had never been my family. T

his grandparents, go back to our little house, and

rring the stately drive of the Lockwood Hotel into a watery smear of green and gray. Sobs shook my shoulders, making it hard to breathe

inded by grief and rage and a desperate need to escape. The

n't see it until

the dense undergrowth to my right. It wasn't a deer. It moved on two legs,

ro