Chapter 3

His jaw tightened so fast it was almost a tell.

And I smiled again.

“But I know that wasn’t you,” I said softly. “My brother wouldn’t lie to me. Right?”

Gavin’s eyes flicked away. He looked… uncomfortable.

“Of course not.”

“You’re my only family, Lyra,” he said, voice a little too quick. “I’d never lie to you.”

I swallowed the ache burning behind my eyes and pushed him back into his room before the tears could fall.

When I finished cooking and carried the food out, the living room was empty.

I walked to his door. The wood was thin. I could hear everything.

His voice had dropped low—gentle on purpose, like he was soothing something fragile.

“Hey. Be good.”

“I set up the biggest birthday thing for you. Tomorrow I’ll celebrate with you in person.”

On the other end, Sienna made her voice sugary-sweet, fake-worried.

“But tomorrow is also my sister’s birthday… If you don’t stay with her, won’t she be mad?”

Gavin let out a small scoff—no hesitation at all.

“Don’t be stupid.”

“You’re my only precious sister.”

“Your happiness comes first.”

“Lyra hasn’t had a birthday in five years. She’s used to it. One more year won’t kill her.”

Sienna immediately brightened, practically squealing.

“I knew you loved me the most!”

I stood outside that door for a long time without moving.

Then I untied my apron and walked out.

When Gavin came out, I was already gone.

On the table was a bowl of noodles cooked soft enough for him to swallow—

and beside it, I’d left one of his “imported pills.”

He knew I had a night shift at this hour.

And for some reason, as he stared at the bowl, something twisted in his chest.

He thought about the cuts on my palm.

The way my face had been too pale.

The way my back looked—so thin it was basically bone under skin.

And he realized something that hit like a punch:

He couldn’t remember what I used to look like when I was bright.

When I was loud.

When I still looked alive.

It stabbed him, quick and ugly.

A kind of unease—mixed with guilt—crept up without warning.

He grabbed his phone and called someone, fast.

The next day, I took him in for his “checkup.”

His attending pack medic, Dr. Rowan Hale, looked almost excited—like he’d finally been handed the perfect stage.

“Miss Blackwood,” he said, “we just got news. There’s a private lab in the North—funded by the Moon Goddess Church. They developed a special serum for Silverfreeze Failure.”

“Clinical trials are mature. They’re only taking two test subjects… and I got your brother a slot.”

Compared to how hard he was selling it, I just nodded.

“What are the odds he recovers?”

“Eighty percent.”

Gavin played his part perfectly. His eyes went wet. He squeezed my hand.

“Lyra… I’m going to get better. I can stay with you forever.”

I forced a smile.

“If only one of us can live,” I said, steady and serious, “then no matter when it happens, I hope it’s you.”

He froze.

For a second he looked genuinely thrown—like he forgot he was acting at all.

“Don’t say that,” he snapped.

“We’re both going to live.”

“And when I’m better, I’ll rebuild Blackwood Pack. You’ll be my little princess again.”

But I didn’t want that crown anymore.

And I didn’t want him either.

If he wanted a “little princess” so badly—

he could give it to Sienna.

Dr. Hale used the excuse of “extended tests” to walk me out of the office.

Before, I would’ve believed it. I used to leave Gavin in the treatment wing and run straight to another job.

Now I knew it was just a way to get rid of me.

I stood at the corner of an empty hallway and watched him change clothes and head for the elevator—quick, eager.

Downstairs, a black SUV had been waiting.

The driver opened the door and even dipped his head to shield Gavin from the roof like he was royalty.

Gavin got in.

He didn’t look back once.

I stared at the closed doors for a few seconds, then turned and walked into another exam room.

“Miss Blackwood,” the medic said, eyes on my scans, face heavy, “your brain tumor is too large. Surgery isn’t possible anymore.”

“If this was two weeks ago… you’d have had a chance.”

He exhaled.

“You’ve got a day or two. Say goodbye to your family.”

I sat there quietly for a long time before I nodded.

“When I die,” I said, calm, “cremate me immediately.”

“Send my ashes to Blackwood Manor… to Gavin Blackwood.”

I left the clinic with the last bit of cash I had.

My phone buzzed.

Come to the manor.

It was from Sienna.

So I took a cab to the richest territory in the North—

to the high-walled estate where Blackwood Manor sat like a fortress.

Five years.

I thought it had been seized. Auctioned. Gone.

But it wasn’t.

It was lit up—bright, loud, alive—like a massive celebration.

Guests filled the grounds. Perfume, champagne, and pack pheromones tangled in the air.

And outside the iron gate, alone—

I looked like a shadow that didn’t belong in anyone’s world.

Sienna wore a glittering crown and a silver custom gown.

She held Gavin’s arm and smiled like she’d won a war.

A six-tier cake stood in front of her.

A whole wall of gifts behind her.

She clasped her hands and made a wish, voice sweet and clear:

“I want to be my brother’s one and only sister—his little princess for life.”

Gavin reached into his pocket and pulled out a velvet box.

He opened it—and all the blood in my body went cold.