Chapter 7
430 Words
(Lilly)
Lilly had known Mia her entire life.
There had never been a moment where she wasn’t there.
Their parents had built this pack together—back when peace between vampires and werewolves was nothing more than a fragile idea people were afraid to even speak out loud. Lilly’s father had stood at Mia’s father’s side through it all, second in command, unwavering and loyal.
And their mothers—
Family.
Blood.
Lilly’s mom and Mia’s mom were cousins, raised close long before the wars ended. That bond had carried forward into the next generation.
Into them.
Lilly and Mia had grown up watching something impossible take shape—watching enemies become allies, watching love form where hatred used to live.
Watching a new world build itself from the ashes of the old one.
And they had always stood side by side in it.
Always.
Lilly had learned early what loss looked like.
She had a brother once.
For only a moment.
A life that barely had time to begin before it was gone.
Her mother almost didn’t survive it either.
The stories were quiet, spoken in low voices when they thought Lilly wasn’t listening—but she always did. She always heard.
The blood loss had been too much.
Too fast.
They couldn’t replace it in time.
And though her mother lived…
Something in her had dimmed.
Lilly saw it growing up—the sadness that lingered behind her smiles, the quiet grief that never fully left.
So Lilly became something else.
Something brighter.
If there was silence, she filled it.
If there was sadness, she challenged it.
If a room felt heavy, she made it lighter.
Jokes. Laughter. Energy.
Not because she didn’t understand pain—
But because she did.
School had always been their battlefield.
Not hostile.
Never cruel.
But competitive in the way only they could be.
Grades. Sports. Challenges.
“Bet I beat you.”
“You won’t.”
“Watch me.”
They pushed each other constantly—never tearing down, always building up.
Mia was focused.
Driven.
Quietly intense.
And Lilly—
Lilly was everything else.
Social. Loud. Impossible to ignore.
People gravitated toward her without trying. She didn’t even understand how it worked—it just did.
But Mia—
Mia was different.
People didn’t avoid her out of fear.
Not exactly.
It was… hesitation.
Uncertainty.
Like something about her didn’t quite fit into what they understood, and instead of figuring it out—
They kept their distance.
Lilly hated that.
Always had.
Because to her—
Mia wasn’t strange.
She was home.
- Writer
