Aria's POV
My stomach growls so loud it echoes off the brick walls. I dig deeper into the dumpster behind Mario's Pizza, searching for something—anything—that doesn't smell rotten. My fingers find a half-eaten slice with only a little mold on the crust. Good enough.
I'm eighteen years old and eating garbage. Again.
The scars on my arms burn as I climb out of the dumpster. Some are old, white lines from years ago. Others are fresh, red and angry from last week when a rogue wolf decided I looked at him wrong. Being a rogue means no pack, no protection, no one who cares if you live or die.
I've been alone for ten years.
Ten years since the day I killed my sister.
The memory hits me like it always does—sudden and sharp, like a knife to the chest. I don't want to remember, but my brain doesn't care what I want. The memory drags me back to that day whether I'm ready or not.
Ten years ago, I was eight years old and stupid.
"Come on, Lily!" I grabbed my seven-year-old sister's hand and pulled her through the forest. "I found the coolest place yesterday. You're gonna love it!"
Lily's blonde hair bounced as she ran beside me. "Aria, we're not supposed to go into the forbidden forest. Daddy said—"
"Daddy says a lot of things." I rolled my eyes. "Besides, I'm the Alpha's daughter. Rules don't really apply to me."
God, I was such a brat.
We ran deeper into the trees until I heard it—the sound of rushing water. The secret river I'd discovered was even prettier in the sunlight. The water sparkled like diamonds, and smooth rocks lined the edges.
"Wow," Lily breathed. "It's beautiful."
"I know, right? Come on, let's get closer!" I pulled her toward the water's edge.
That's when everything went wrong.
Lily's foot slipped on a wet rock. She screamed. Her hand ripped away from mine. And then she was falling, tumbling into the fast-moving water.
"LILY!" I screamed.
She hit the water hard. The current grabbed her immediately, pulling her under. I saw her blonde head pop up once, her mouth open in a terrified scream, and then she disappeared again.
I didn't think. I just jumped.
The cold water shocked my lungs. The current was so much stronger than I expected. It pulled at me, dragging me down, but I fought it. I had to find Lily. I had to save her.
I saw her then—sinking, her eyes closed, her little body limp.
I swam harder than I'd ever swam in my life. My lungs burned. My arms felt like they were on fire. But I reached her. I grabbed her arm and kicked toward the surface with everything I had.
Getting to shore took forever. The current fought me every second. But finally—finally—I dragged us both onto the muddy bank.
"Lily?" I shook her shoulder. "Lily, wake up!"
She didn't move.
Her lips were blue. Her skin was cold. So cold.
"No, no, no." I put my ear to her chest like I'd seen our pack doctor do once. I couldn't hear anything. No heartbeat. No breathing.
"LILY!" I screamed. I pushed on her chest the way I'd seen in a movie once. "Wake up! Please wake up!"
Water came out of her mouth, but she still didn't breathe.
I kept pushing on her chest. My hands were shaking so bad I could barely do it right. "Please, Lily. Please don't die. Please!"
Nothing.
Her eyes stayed closed.
Her chest didn't move.
I don't know how long I sat there, crying and pushing on her chest and begging her to wake up. Time felt weird, like it was moving too fast and too slow at the same time.
Then I heard voices. Heavy footsteps. The pack warriors had found us.
"Over here!" someone shouted.
Three big warriors burst through the trees. They saw me covered in mud and river water, crying over Lily's still body.
"What happened?" the biggest warrior demanded.
"She fell," I sobbed. "I tried to save her. I pulled her out, but she won't wake up!"
The warrior knelt beside Lily. He put his fingers on her neck, checking for a pulse. His face went pale.
"Get the Alpha," he said quietly to the other warriors. "Now."
One of them ran. The other two just stood there, staring at Lily's body. Staring at me.
Nobody tried to help her. Nobody did anything.
Because there was nothing to do.
My baby sister was dead.
The pizza slice falls from my hands. I'm back in the present, leaning against the dumpster, tears running down my dirty face. Ten years, and the guilt still crushes me every single day.
I should have watched her better. I should have held her hand tighter. I should have been the one who drowned instead of her.
My father said it himself that day at her grave, drunk and broken: "Why did she die but not you?"
I've asked myself that same question ten thousand times.
A car horn honks nearby, making me jump. I need to move before someone sees me and calls the cops. Rogues aren't welcome anywhere, especially not in pack territories.
I grab my backpack—which holds everything I own—and start walking toward the old warehouse district where other rogues sometimes sleep. The sun is setting, painting the sky orange and pink. Lily loved sunsets. She said they looked like magic.
My chest aches with the memory.
Tomorrow is my eighteenth birthday. Not that it matters. Rogues don't celebrate birthdays. We're too busy trying to survive.
But something feels different about tomorrow. Something in my bones tells me everything is about to change.
I just don't know if it'll be for better or worse.
As I walk through the darkening streets, I touch the small scar on my neck—the only mark left from that day in the river. I almost drowned too, trying to save Lily. Sometimes I wish I had.
At least then I wouldn't have to carry this guilt.
At least then I wouldn't have to remember her blue lips and cold skin.
At least then I wouldn't have to live with the truth that burns in my chest every single day:
She was dead. My baby sister was dead, and it was all my fault.
But what I don't know yet—what I won't find out until much later—is that Lily didn't stay dead.
And when she comes back, she won't be the same sister I lost.
She'll be something else entirely.
Something dangerous.
Something that wants to destroy me.
The first drop of rain hits my face as I turn the corner. I look up at the sky, and for just a second, I swear I see a pair of silver eyes watching me from the shadows.
Then I blink, and they're gone.
Must be my imagination.
Or maybe not.