Chapter 4
The doctors diagnosed Ethan with acute appendicitis.
He needed surgery, but no blood transfusion.
Even so, Mom's first question had brought back memories I'd spent an entire lifetime trying to forget.
In my last life, Ivy suffered a medical emergency during her second year at Moonvale Academy.
She needed heart surgery.
The hospital's blood supply was running dangerously low, and everyone in my family demanded that I donate.
I'd been staying up night after night preparing for an academic competition. I was exhausted, and my weight had dropped below ninety pounds.
The doctor explicitly advised against taking my blood.
Ethan pointed at me anyway.
"That's your own sister in there! How can you be so selfish?"
Adrian held me down long enough to make me sign the consent form.
I'd always been told werewolves were stronger than humans.
That our bodies could endure more.
Apparently, that meant mine could endure anything Ivy needed it to.
I passed out in the hallway after giving blood.
When I woke up, there wasn't a single familiar face in the room.
They were all celebrating Ivy's successful surgery.
Now, sitting in the corridor of the pack medical center, I forced those memories back down.
Dad had gone to settle the hospital bill.
Mom stayed beside Ethan.
Adrian had taken Ivy for an ECG after she complained that her heart was racing.
In the confusion, someone handed me Ethan's phone along with the rest of his belongings.
The screen was still unlocked.
His banking app was open to a transfer record.
I looked down.
The fifteen thousand dollars he'd taken from my education fund had already been divided into two payments.
$7,500 had gone toward the deposit for Ivy's European tour.
The other $7,500 had been transferred to Adrian.
The transaction note read:
Ivy's Surprise Fund.
I photographed everything.
The following afternoon, I visited the Pack Financial Oversight Council.
The officer reviewed Grandma's trust documents and my recordings, then contacted Dad.
"That ungrateful daughter!" he roared over the phone. "Fifteen thousand dollars, and she's willing to ruin her brother's Alpha succession!"
The officer replied calmly.
"Alpha Blackwood, protected trusts fall under Council jurisdiction. Unauthorized withdrawals can affect heir qualification. We recommend immediate repayment."
By four, all fifteen thousand dollars was back in my account.
Ethan flooded my phone with messages.
Happy now?
My Alpha Heir Qualification Review is next year. Do you know what you've done?
I wasted eighteen years looking after you.
I couldn't remember him ever looking after me.
At ten, when Ivy and I both had fevers, he carried her to the medical center and made me walk behind.
At thirteen, bullies locked me in an equipment room, tore my dress, and broke my leg.
I called Ethan.
He said Ivy's competition mattered more and accused me of lying for attention.
At fifteen, I won an elite academy scholarship. Ivy missed her entrance assessment after getting food poisoning.
My family ordered me to impersonate her.
"You're twins. No one will notice."
"If she still doesn't qualify, give her your place. You can try again next year."
My grades collapsed afterward.
The physical injuries healed, but I became terrified of exams. My mental health deteriorated.
If Adrian hadn't once rescued me from the bullies and told me I deserved love, I might never have fallen for him.
After recovering the money, I submitted my documents to Dr. Carter. My Frostland scholarship entered final review.
Twenty days remained before departure.
I rented a studio near the academy.
Nobody noticed. They were busy caring for Ethan and comforting Ivy over her canceled vacation.
Then came our official coming-of-age ceremony.
As Alpha Blackwood's daughters, Ivy and I were formally presented to Blood Moon Pack and its allied families.
The manor's ballroom glittered with silver decorations. Dad wore his Alpha insignia. Mom stood beside him as Luna.
Nearly every guest's attention went to Ivy.
Adrian stayed close to her.
Two years earlier, he'd promised to reveal our relationship at this very ceremony.
In my last life, I'd waited all evening. He'd claimed Ivy was unwell and asked me to keep our relationship secret a little longer.
This time, I expected nothing.
After the formal blessings, our friends gathered in a lounge to play Truth or Dare with a popular lie detector.
Adrian and Ivy were paired together.
Someone grinned.
"Have either of you ever liked the other?"
Ivy blushed.
"No."
The machine sounded.
LIE.
Everyone burst into laughter.
"Adrian, don't tell us you like Ivy too!"
In my last life, he'd admitted his feelings for her during this game.
Later, he'd cornered me behind his car and kissed me, insisting it was only a joke.
This time, I sat quietly at the edge of the group.
Adrian suddenly looked at me.
One of our old friends followed his gaze.
"Wait. Adrian, is Abigail the one you're in love with?"
Everyone turned.
Under the table, my phone lit up.
An email from Frostland Academy.
[Congratulations, Abigail Blackwood. You've been awarded a full scholarship to the Advanced Wolf-Core Research Program.]
Full tuition.
Four years.
A future that belonged entirely to me.
At the same moment, Adrian placed his hand on the detector.
"No."
The screen flashed.
TRUE.
The answer I'd spent an entire lifetime searching for took one word.
After the ceremony, Adrian caught me outside.
"Abby. The machine was acting up. Don't overthink it."
I opened my umbrella.
"I'm not."
"Then why aren't you answering my messages? We're supposed to leave for academy together."
Ivy hurried down the steps.
"Adrian, I forgot my umbrella!"
He immediately pulled off his jacket and held it over her head.
Just like last time.
I walked into the rain.
He didn't follow.
...
Ten days later, I was in a cab heading for the airport.
My phone buzzed.
Ethan had posted in the family group.
Abigail, where the hell are you?
Then came a photograph.
My bedroom was empty.
On the bed lay my academy application guide, opened to the last page.
I'd written one line there.
10:20 A.M. — International Departure.
And my flight was leaving in sixty minutes.
