CHAPTER 1

Isla’s POV

"Aaaaaa" I shrieked in unbearable pain, tears rolling down my eyes.

The pain was deeper than I had imagined; the cracking of my bones, the feeling of my skin tearing apart...

The moonlight filtered through the trees, sprinkling my naked body as I collapsed under the ancient oak tree, my body still shivering and trembling, my skin slick with sweat. The night air had been particularly colder, making it even more painful. I had successfully endured the breaking of every bone in my body as I shifted into my wolf and back to my human form. The pain still coursed through me, like fire burning under my skin. But despite the agony, I felt happy.

I could finally feel it. My wolf. After waiting for six long years... Tonight, on the eve of my eighteenth birthday, I finally transformed. My wolf was just like me - wild and untamed. It finally surged forward and took control, breaking free of the chains that had held her back for so long.

Only I knew how hard it had been. Well, harder...

I was the younger twin - a curse to begin with. I was told I should be grateful for not being killed at birth and allowed to be raised in the shadow of my twin, Elara.

When I couldn't shift on my twelfth birthday, they mocked me. For years, I was told I was cursed, that I would never shift. After six years of whispers, of being labeled as the black sheep of the pack, being regarded as broken; I was finally laughing at their mockery in silence.

She was powerful. Dark like they painted me as if to mock them back. And beautiful. Far more than I ever imagined. The strength that I sensed when I shifted to my wolf felt ancient, like she had been waiting, biding her time for this moment.

I should feel triumphant as I wore the fresh pair of clothes I had brought along. But then something terrible happened. A faint orange-golden glow flickered through trees in the distance. I frowned, squinting to make some sense of it. Flames. A Fire!

Panic surged through me.

"Go home. Now." The voice of my wolf was quiet but firm. A warning. "But remember, no one could know this. Not yet!" She didn't tell me why, but she was clear on that as she moved to the back of my mind.

Without losing another second, I sprinted towards my home. When I reached, something felt terribly off. There was a strange ominous quiet, a steer contrast to what I had expected. This place should have been bustling with decorations, music, and preparation for our joint birthday celebration. At least they should be doing it for Elara, the favorite, the flawless, the most beautiful, the perfect future Luna. I had even expected the place to be adorned with roses - her favorites. But someone had brought white lilies instead. The once bright lanterns hung dimly as if in mourning.

The unease in my chest grew with every step, a heavy pit settling in my stomach as I stepped inside our house.

Something was wrong. Very wrong.

The courtyard was filled with pack members, dressed in black, standing in a tight circle. Some were even crying their eyes out. The smell of incense and flowers filled the air. My stomach twisted.

A funeral.

I push through the crowd, my stomach twisting with every step. And then I saw it.

There, in the center of the gathering, was a casket. Clutching the hem of my top, I peeped inside.  

“No…” a faint murmur of shock escaped me before I could stop it. Inside it were Elara’s clothes and belongings, cleanly wrapped in delicate white cloth with subtle, classy embroidery.

Stunned and in disbelief, my eyes darted around, searching for answers. Where was Elara, my twin sister? Why were her things in a casket?

My parents stand at the edge of the casket, their faces hollow with grief. My mother was sobbing uncontrollably. Her were now eyes swollen, puffy, and red. She gripped my father’s arm so tightly her knuckles were white. My father’s expression was unreadable, blank, but his eyes... I had never seen him look so broken. And my brother, Ryan, stood silently like he was going to burst any moment and kill someone. Then he looked at me, his eyes cold and accusing.

“Elara...” Ryan murmured, a single teardrop escaping his eyes. I had never seen him cry before.

His words hit me like a boulder, leaving me breathless. I stumbled backward, my heart racing at the confirmation.

Elara.

She is dead.

“No… no, that’s not possible,” I stammered, looking around at the somber faces. There was no comfort. Everyone somehow looked at me with hate, suspicion, and judgment.

It didn’t make sense. How could this have happened? I hadn’t even seen her in hours. I had just shifted. I was away, in the forest…

I stared at her belongings with a blank expression. My perfect, beautiful sister in others’ eyes. The one everyone loved. The golden child, the future Luna, the light of the pack. She was everything that I wasn't. I was the shadow, the cursed one, the wolf-less demon.

Yet, there was this other side of her that only I knew, only I could see. She was beyond cruel behind her perfect fake smile. I couldn't tell anybody when she was alive. They would have labeled me as a jealous liar. And now that she was dead, even if I told the truth, they would still call me the disrespectful jealous liar framing the dead.

Even though she was my sister, I felt detached, like I didn't belong here. The whispers didn't help either.

"She ate her twin finally."

"Cursed!"

"They should have killed her at birth."

My emotions were numb. No. Not from now. But years of being bullied and abused, shaped me into ruthless, cold, distant, and arrogant. I had to be, to survive, to make it a day alive. Yet, Elara was the one dead now. A coldness crept over me as I took in the scene. I tried hard to feel something. Guilt, sadness, relief? But there was only emptiness.

And then, I feel it.

"He is here," my wolf whispered to me.

A pair of eyes burned into me from across the courtyard.

I looked up to notice Adrian looking at me with disdain. His dark eyes, usually so calm and calculating, were filled with a rage that took my breath away as he stepped toward me, making me nervous. It was as if he was accusing me of killing Elara. A verdict that didn't need any proof! He clenched his jaws and tightened his hands into fists as he stared at me with an intensity that felt like he was trying to burn a hole through my skull.

"You," he snarled, his voice low and filled with venom. "This is your fault."

My mouth goes dry. I wanted to defend myself, but I didn't know how to speak nicely. And I was at my sister's funeral. I shook my head slightly, instinctively denying it, but his mind was already made up.

The pack members around us start to whisper, the sound rising like a wave. I catch fragments of their conversations.

“She was always jealous…”

“Maybe it was a curse…”

“Two sisters… one lives, the other dies… it makes sense…”

Were the elders' cryptic warnings coming true? Two twins are bound by fate - one destined to rise and the other to fall. They always thought I would be the one failing. But now, they will blame me for everything once again.

I looked at my parents. But they didn't even notice me, their entire attention was on Elara - their precious daughter.

“Stop! I didn’t do anything!” I finally managed to shout, my voice shaking as I tried to make them hear me. “I wasn’t even here! I didn’t—”

“Liar!” Adrian takes a step toward me, his eyes blazing with hatred. “You were jealous of her! You hated her despite how well she treated you! Why is she… when you are alive?”

“What!” I choked out, my eyes widening at the accusations. “I didn’t—”

“You wanted this,” he growls, his voice dangerously low. “Don't think I don't know you have always coveted to be in her place. Don't even dare to think you won. I swear to you, Isla, I will make you regret this for life.”

I met his cold, unforgiving gaze, my breath catching in my throat. I never knew the indifferent alpha had so much deep-seated hatred and anger towards me. What gave him the right to judge me? His position as the alpha and Elara's boyfriend? But he was nothing to me. How could he think I wanted this? Why would I ever want to be someone as fake as Elara? His need for vengeance from me was meaningless, yet so strong that it left a hole in my heart.

The crowd stirs again, whispers turning into murmurs, murmurs turning into accusations.

"He is right! It's her fault!"

"She deserves to be punished."

My heart races as I look around, desperate for someone to believe me. But their eyes are cold, distant. The judgment had been made much before I knew Elara was dead.

I take a step back, the weight of everything, especially the rage and revenge in Adrian's eyes, pressing down on me like physical force. Even after all this, my parents didn't say a word in my favor - their silence echoing with the accusations of Adrian and the pack members. There was no one there to defend me. No one to stand by my side. I was truly alone.

And I realized, at that moment, that I had always been alone. Even with Elara alive or dead, even with my family around me or not, I was always on the outside, looking in.

But now, I was more alone than ever.