Chapter 10: The Sister I Never Had
1002 Words
"Hello, sister."
The words echoed inside my head.
Impossible.
Absolutely impossible.
I stumbled backward from the window.
My entire body had gone numb.
Below us, the pack territory burned.
Flames devoured buildings.
Warriors rushed through the chaos.
Children cried.
Wolves screamed.
Yet all I could focus on was her.
The woman standing in the middle of the destruction.
The woman with my face.
My eyes.
My hair.
My smile.
She looked exactly like me.
Except for one difference.
Her eyes glowed crimson.
Not silver.
Crimson.
The same color as the eyes I had seen in the forest.
The same eyes watching us from the darkness.
The same eyes from my nightmares.
"Aria!"
Kael's voice snapped me back to reality.
I realized I was shaking.
Badly.
"What is it?"
His hands landed on my shoulders.
Concern filled his expression.
But I couldn't answer.
Couldn't explain.
Because how was I supposed to explain something I didn't understand myself?
A sister?
I didn't have a sister.
I never had.
At least...
I didn't think I did.
A terrible feeling settled in my stomach.
The woman below smiled again.
Then she disappeared.
Gone.
As if she had never been there.
"What happened?" Kael demanded.
I swallowed hard.
"I saw her."
His expression darkened.
"The woman from the forest?"
I nodded.
Kael cursed under his breath.
Then the room shook.
A powerful explosion echoed through the territory.
Both of us rushed outside.
The entire pack was in chaos.
Warriors battled dark figures moving through the smoke.
At first, I thought they were rogues.
Then one turned.
And my blood froze.
Its eyes glowed crimson.
Shadow Wolves.
They were here.
Not hiding.
Not lurking.
Attacking.
Openly.
A warrior screamed as one of the creatures lunged.
The thing moved unnaturally fast.
Like living darkness.
Like a nightmare given form.
Kael shifted instantly.
Bones cracked.
Muscles expanded.
A massive black wolf appeared beside me.
Power radiated from him.
Alpha power.
The kind that forced weaker wolves to submit.
Without hesitation, he launched himself into battle.
The Shadow Wolf barely had time to react.
Kael tore through it.
The creature dissolved into black smoke.
Not blood.
Not flesh.
Smoke.
My heart dropped.
That wasn't normal.
That wasn't natural.
The stories were true.
Every single one of them.
"Lady Aria!"
Martha ran toward me.
Relief flooded my chest.
She was alive.
Thank the Moon Goddess.
"Come with me!"
She grabbed my arm.
But before we could move, a chilling laugh echoed across the territory.
The laughter belonged to a woman.
A familiar woman.
Slowly, everyone turned.
The mysterious girl stood atop the Alpha House.
Watching.
Smiling.
Enjoying the chaos.
Moonlight illuminated her face.
My face.
The resemblance was terrifying.
Gasps spread through the crowd.
Every wolf saw it.
Every single wolf.
They looked between us.
Confused.
Afraid.
Whispering.
The woman spread her arms dramatically.
"At last."
Her voice carried across the territory.
"After centuries of waiting."
A chill raced down my spine.
Centuries?
What was she talking about?
The woman looked directly at me.
Her crimson eyes glowed.
"You finally returned."
Returned?
The words made no sense.
Yet somehow they felt important.
Dangerously important.
Kael shifted back into human form.
His chest rose and fell rapidly.
He positioned himself in front of me immediately.
Protective.
Always protective now.
Interesting.
A little too late.
The woman laughed.
"Oh, Alpha."
Her gaze lingered on him.
"You were always predictable."
Kael growled.
"Who are you?"
The smile widened.
Cruel.
Beautiful.
Terrifying.
"You really don't remember."
The words struck him.
I saw it happen.
For the briefest moment, uncertainty flashed across his face.
The woman noticed too.
Of course she did.
Then her gaze returned to me.
And everything changed.
The amusement vanished.
The smile disappeared.
For the first time...
She looked angry.
Furious.
Heartbroken.
Betrayed.
The emotions were so intense they took my breath away.
Then she whispered—
"You chose them again."
My heart skipped.
Again?
The woman took a shaky breath.
As though struggling to control herself.
Then she spoke words that shattered my world.
"I spent a thousand years trying to save you."
The entire territory fell silent.
Nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
A thousand years?
Impossible.
Absolutely impossible.
Yet something deep inside me reacted.
A strange ache.
A familiar sadness.
As if part of me recognized her.
As if part of me knew she was telling the truth.
The woman smiled sadly.
"I hoped this life would be different."
Tears suddenly filled her crimson eyes.
"I hoped you would remember me."
A strange pain exploded inside my chest.
I gasped.
My knees nearly buckled.
Images flooded my mind.
Not memories.
Fragments.
A silver-haired child laughing.
A dark castle.
A blood-red moon.
A woman crying.
Chains.
Screams.
Death.
Then—
A name.
One name.
The name of the woman standing before me.
"Lyria."
The word escaped my lips.
The woman's eyes widened.
Shock filled her face.
Then joy.
Pure joy.
"You remember."
The world spun around me.
Because I didn't know how I knew that name.
I had never heard it before.
Yet somehow...
It felt like the most important name in the world.
The woman—Lyria—began crying.
Actual tears.
For several seconds, she simply stared at me.
Then she smiled.
A real smile this time.
Warm.
Hopeful.
Heartbreaking.
And that's when something hit her.
A silver arrow.
The projectile pierced her chest.
The entire territory froze.
Lyria's eyes widened.
Blood spilled down her dress.
"No!"
The scream tore from my throat.
Lyria stumbled backward.
Shock covered her face.
Then she looked toward the forest.
Fear appeared for the first time.
Real fear.
As if whoever fired that arrow frightened even her.
The air suddenly turned cold.
Deathly cold.
And a deep voice echoed from the darkness.
A voice filled with ancient power.
"You were never supposed to find her."
The forest exploded with crimson light.
And hundreds of glowing red eyes opened simultaneously.
Watching.
Waiting.
Hunting.
And standing among them...
Was a man wearing a crown made of bones.
- Writer
