Chapter 1The morning of my Luna Ceremony? I died.
Ninety-nine hours later? My family was still liking every single one of my sister's WolfNet posts.
While I'm literally dying on the cold storage floor, using my last bit of strength to swipe across my phone screen begging someone—anyone—to pick up, guess who answers?
My Alpha mate, Zephyr Kane.
The one who was supposed to be at the ceremony with me.
And he hits me with: "Lyric. Enough! Don't ruin Echo's big day."
One hundredth time. Perfect.
One hundred times they picked her over me.
The last time.
They thought I was throwing a tantrum. Thought I'd come crawling back with my tail between my legs like I always did.
Surprise—I'd been home all along.
Just not breathing anymore.
---
Just past midnight, my spirit drifted free from the cellar.
The door to my room flew open.
My brother, Riven, stormed inside, his lip curling when he found the space empty.
"What are you, twelve? Hiding out like some petulant kid?"
Once, I would've snapped back at him.
Now, I hovered silently at his shoulder, voiceless.
Riven tried calling. No answer. Frustrated, he dragged a hand down his face and noticed a small counting calendar sitting on my desk.
He picked it up.
The number displayed: 100.
The tally of every time they'd failed me.
He stared at it, confused, then tossed it aside and left a voice message.
"Quit screwing around. Echo wants those lemon bars you make. Get your ass back here and bake them."
A pause.
Then, colder: "It's her graduation. Don't you dare ruin it! You've got one hour to show up, or I'm done covering for you."
He pocketed his phone and headed back downstairs.
"She's not in her room," Riven announced to the others.
"Phone's going straight to voicemail. Classic Lyric—makes everything about her, then vanishes so we'll come running."
Cinder Ash, my father and the Ash Pack's Alpha, let out a long sigh.
"We've coddled her too much. No one reach out this time. Let her sit with it. She'll come slinking back tomorrow."
Echo glided over, resting a delicate hand on his arm, her expression the portrait of worry.
"Dad, don't say that. What if something's actually wrong? Maybe I should check in? You know how close Lyric and I are." Her lashes fluttered down, the image of a sweet, innocent doe.
I watched as she pulled out her phone, fingers flying across the screen.
[I bet those Storm Pack wolves have marked you everywhere. Which one did you fancy? By the way, the party was perfect without you. Thanks for standing me up. Seriously, you might as well be dead!]
She sent it. Then deleted it. Then typed another one.
[Sis, where are you? We're all so worried. If you're upset with us, take it out on me. Just come home, please.]
After sending it, she held up her phone to show everyone—such proof of her concern for me, her love for her sister.
Briar Ash, my mother and the Pack's Luna, pulled her close.
"You're too good to her, sweetheart. This isn't your fault. Lyric's just being childish."
Childish?
I laughed.
To them, Echo was the sun.
And me? I was barely a shadow.
None of them even remembered that today—today—I was supposed to undergo my Luna Ceremony, a sacred ceremony that so many wolves look forward to most in their lives.
Knowing they'd all be tied up with Echo's celebration, I'd told them not to bother attending my ceremony.
I never fought Echo for their love.
I stopped trying years ago.
But just as I was about to leave for the venue, three wolves from the Storm Pack had kicked in our door and dragged me down into the cellar.
I thrashed, terrified. "How did you even get in?"
One of them dangled a keychain in front of my face.
Echo's.
"Don't bother fighting, sweetheart," he drawled. "You're not walking out of here."
"Yeah, Zephyr has tormented our pack so badly, thank goodness for giving us this opportunity. If his Luna were tormented like this, do you think he'd go crazy?"
"Hahaha..."
I panicked, trying to run to the door behind me, but they grabbed me back.
"No, please, just let me go—"
They didn't listen.
They held me down, tore into me, sank their teeth into my neck over and over while they took photos, laughing through every second of it.
I fought back with everything I had.
In the chaos, my skull cracked against the edge of a metal shelf.
Blood poured.
That's when they panicked. They bolted.
They had just forced a large amount of wolfsbane juice into my throat; my wolf desperately tried to heal but couldn't.
I used the last shreds of my strength to pull myself toward my phone, licking the screen to unlock it, to call for help.
Every werewolf can sense when a packmate is dying through the bond. But mine had been blocked and severed by them.
They all thought I was faking.
The only reply I got was a text from Briar:
[Playing dead again? Give it a rest. Your father and I are done with your theatrics. We've already cut the bond!]
Only Zephyr picked up when I called.
"Help… Zeph, I'm dying…"
His voice was blade-sharp.
"Lyric, cut it out! This is Echo's night. I'm not doing this. I told you I'd make it up to you later with a gift."
But Zephyr… I was already dying.
A bitter smile ghosted across my lips.
Shame you'll never get that chance now.
In less than forty-eight hours, the stench will seep up from the cellar no one ever goes into.
Echo always said she wished I'd just disappear, so no one would take attention away from her.
Looks like she finally got her wish.
Chapter 2
My spirit hung in the living room, forced to watch their perfect family moment.
Cinder, who usually crashed before ten, sat bright-eyed next to Echo as she ripped into graduation presents. Briar scrolled through shopping sites, picking out a whole new wardrobe for Echo's post-grad trip.
"Mom, seriously, my closet's already stuffed," Echo said sweetly.
"Just throw them in Lyric's room. She's always so busy with pack stuff—barely owns anything cute. She won't even miss the space."
"But won't she be upset…"
Briar's face tightened. "Echo, stop being so careful around her. Your older sister should be happy to help you out."
Riven sat on the floor, cracking walnuts and dropping them onto Echo's plate one by one.
I floated there, silent, watching their warmth bloom in a space I could no longer touch.
Turns out, ghosts can cry.
The happiness was theirs. The emptiness was mine.
"She's still not back," Echo whispered, her voice shaking just enough. "Won't even answer my texts. You think she's really mad? I hate not knowing where she is…"
At Echo's words, the three of them finally looked up, like they just remembered I existed.
Cinder's jaw clenched. "Don't worry about her. She's just looking for attention. When's she gonna grow up?"
Briar's face showed irritation. "A Luna Ceremony isn't even that big a deal—it's just tradition. Doesn't she get that Echo graduating from Moonshadow Academy happens once? Why does she have to make this night about her?"
Echo tilted her head at Briar, her pout perfect. "Mom, don't say that. Lyric will feel awful if she hears you. She's been getting ready for this for months… oops, did I say too much?"
The words sounded sorry. But the look in her eyes? Not at all.
I'd always known Echo wasn't innocent.
Growing up, her grades never beat mine. But even with Cinder, Briar, and Riven obsessed with her, Echo would still make up "proof" that I'd copied her work. Every single time, Cinder would come down on me without asking questions.
Since I was little, I told myself that someday, I'd find my mate—someone who'd choose me first, just once.
I never thought that two years after meeting Zephyr, he'd start pulling away from me too… toward Echo.
I should've felt something. Hurt, maybe. But I'd been numb for so long, I couldn't even feel the sting anymore.
Aldric Gray walked in with a tray of pastries—all Echo's favorites. Of course, they stopped talking about me.
"Echo, Moonshadow's training must've worn you out. Come on, eat up."
Cinder and Riven kept feeding her until her cheeks puffed out like a squirrel's. She grinned, going on about her wins at the academy. She'd already landed a spot in the Silverpine Syndicate's top strategy team; her future looked wide open.
They hung on every word, pouring praise all over her.
And I just drifted off to the side, unseen.
The clock hit two in the morning. I still hadn't shown up.
Briar's face shifted, like guilt finally kicked in. She grabbed a few slices of raspberry tart—something Echo hated—and slid them toward Riven.
Her voice wavered. "Riven, save this for Lyric. She can have it when she's done being dramatic and comes home. Don't want her thinking we only care about Echo. See? We saved her some."
I stared at the tart slices, feeling nothing.
Riven paused, then reached for the plate.
Out of nowhere, Echo screamed and jerked her hand back from a gift box she'd been touching.
"Mom, it burns! This gift—it's made of silver!"
Chapter 3
Cinder, Briar, and Riven rushed over instantly.
Seeing the angry red welt spreading across Echo's palm, panic set in.
"No humans were even at the party. What wolf would wrap a gift in silver?!"
Briar's gaze swept the room, landing on an unwrapped box sitting nearby.
"Wait… that box. Isn't that from Lyric?"
Echo's eyes filled with tears immediately.
"Mom, please don't get mad at her. It showed up on my nightstand this morning. I thought… I thought she was finally trying to make things right."
How ridiculous!
She threw away the obsidian bracelet I gave her a long time ago; I don't know where she found the packaging from.
But fury and disgust twisted across Cinder and Riven's faces.
"Of course! That's why she's been hiding. She wanted to hurt Echo!"
"What kind of sister does something like this?"
"Enough talking—get her to Dr. Thorn now!"
Cinder shoved the gift box across the floor and slammed his fist on the armrest.
"We're out of bandages. I'll grab some from the cellar," Riven said, already turning toward the door.
Echo's eyes flickered. She grabbed his wrist.
"No, don't. Dr. Thorn will have supplies. Let's hurry and find the healer, it really hurts…"
If Riven had taken just two more steps toward that cellar, he would've caught the heavy, metallic stench of blood hanging in the air.
But he didn't.
At Echo's plea, they all bolted for the door, leaving nothing behind but my spirit, drifting alone in the empty room.
I wanted to scream that I didn't do it.
But I had no voice left.
Of course, I knew that even if I could, they wouldn’t believe me.
It didn't matter anymore.
Aldric, my father's Beta, hearing the chaos, stepped out to tidy up.
He let out a long breath.
"Miss Lyric… why didn't you ever stand up for yourself?"
My spirit floated back toward my bedroom.
Seeing the small counting calendar still sitting on my desk, a wave of old memories hit me all at once.
When I was ten, our family held the Once-in-a-Decade Bloodline Rite.
That ceremony decided every young wolf's rank and future within the pack.
Riven went first.
His wolf emerged sleek and jet-black—a sign of strength and born leadership. Cinder watched him with open pride.
Then came Echo's turn.
Her wolf was snow-white, a rare coat that radiated calm and drew every pack member toward her like moths to a flame. Briar pulled her close, calling her the pack's blessing.
I didn't want to let my parents down, so I stepped onto the stone circle with hope still burning in my chest.
But when my wolf finally surfaced, the crowd went silent.
She was just… gray.
No glow. No unusual markings.
Nothing that made her stand out.
So ordinary, she'd vanish in a crowd of a hundred wolves.
From that day forward, I became the family's "average one"—not worth the time or resources.
Even after I topped every exam at Moonshadow Academy, they still believed blood decided everything.
Riven and Echo got all the attention, all the investment and all the love.
And me?
I was left with a bloodline as forgettable as my wolf's coat.
