They Saw Me Too Late

I died on the day I was supposed to receive the Silvermoon Devotion Medal from the pack. My family, though—they were busy celebrating my little sister winning the "Pack's Best Neighbor" award at her birthday party. While she made her wish for the whole family to love her forever, I dialed my fated mate, Alpha Theodore, begging for help. He cut me off with an impatient snap— "Diana, this is the most important moment of Elara's life. Quit pulling those petty stunts for attention." It was the ninety-ninth time he'd chosen her over me. But there won't be a next time. Because I'm already dead. Chapter 1 The call dropped. The rogues lunged at me like mad, and I blacked out within seconds. Three days later, Elara's skin got corroded by silver on her hand, and she needed me—a healer—to fix it. That's when they finally remembered I existed. But I wasn't home anymore. My soul stood right in the middle of the living room, watching my father and mother tear into each other over my disappearance. "If she's going to be this reckless, then we trigger the Karma Settlement right now. Make her pay back everything she owes Elara, then banish her from the territory!" "If it weren't for Elara's weak constitution, she'd be the one Alpha Theodore should take as his future Luna!" Father told Theodore to call me. But Theodore was too busy fussing over Elara. He didn't even look up. Theodore was my fated mate. In the beginning, he promised he'd be my strongest anchor. Then Elara came along. She was frail, fragile—and Theodore could never stop worrying about her. Elara always played the victim with that fake sweetness. First, she made my parents think I was always bullying her. Now? She'd made Theodore believe the same thing. Eventually, he always preferred taking care of Elara. She'd get a paper cut, and he'd ditch Alpha duties to stay by her side all night. Meanwhile, I'd come back bruised and broken from training, and all he'd give me was a cold, "Train harder. Don't embarrass the pack." He got used to my compliance. He got used to choosing her over me, every single time, without a second thought. "She'll come back on her own," Adrian cut in with a sneer. "It's just another one of her disappearing acts to get our attention." With that, Adrian stomped upstairs and crawled into that cramped little attic room. The moment he pushed the door open, he spotted bloodstained bandages scattered across the floor and a diary ripped to shreds. He kicked them aside in disgust— "Damn it, how many times have I told Diana not to leave her crap everywhere?" He had no idea those bandages were from my injury last week. And that diary—the one that held every single bit of my pain—Elara had torn it apart with her own hands. Down in the living room, Elara's eyes were red-rimmed. She fumbled for her phone with trembling fingers, calling my number. Of course, no one answered. She collapsed into Mom's arms, sobbing like she was about to pass out. "Dad, Mom, I'm so worried about Diana. What if something happened to her? If I hadn't thrown that party, would she still be here? Would she have run off at all?" "This isn't your fault, Elara. You deserve everything good in this world." Mom pulled her tighter, her voice thick with pity. Everyone comforted the sweet, thoughtful Elara. But no one noticed the phone screen still glowing in her hand—with the message she'd sent me: [Hope those rogues marked you real good. The party was amazing, by the way. Also, hope you had fun with them. Even better if you're dead.] Chapter 2 Three days ago. Elara's birthday. I'd planned to leave early because I had my medal ceremony to attend. Since I couldn't make it to the party, I gave Elara her gift ahead of time—a carved redwood figurine. The second her fingers touched it, she dropped it with a shriek— "That's silver..." I stared in confusion. It was redwood. But my father stormed over— "How could you be so cruel!" I was crying, begging, "I didn't! I don't know how this happened!" My parents threw me out. I ran through the forest, sobbing, begging the Moon Goddess—please, just treat me gently, even for one day, the way they treat Elara. But the Moon Goddess didn't answer. Instead, rogues emerged from the darkness. They shoved me face-first into the mud. I screamed, I fought, I begged—they just laughed, that sick, chilling sound. The leader backhanded me hard. "You're not walking out of here alive. Not like it matters. You're just some mediocre gray wolf. Even if you lived, you'd end up a rogue like us—rotting somewhere." They tore my clothes off. Bit into my neck. Drowned me in filth and cruelty, their words getting uglier with every second. In the struggle, my skull cracked against a sharp tree root. Blood poured out instantly. They panicked, thinking they'd actually killed me, and scattered like cowards. I dragged my shredded body across the ground, inch by inch, until I reached my phone lying a few feet away. I used my tongue to swipe the screen, dialing for help. The pack bond should have alerted them to my life-threatening danger. But my parents had cut the link themselves—because they believed I'd given Elara silver on purpose. The only call that went through was to Theodore. "Help me... Theodore... I'm dying..." "Diana, enough! This is Elara's big day. Have some decency and stop competing for attention!" His voice dripped with pure disgust. Then he hung up. Clean and final. So I lay there in the freezing dirt, bleeding out until my lungs gave up and my heart stopped. Back at the old house, Elara couldn't get through to me, so she pretended to be frantic and called my best friend, Maria. The second the line connected—before Elara could even put on her little act—Maria's voice exploded through the speaker, raw and hysterical: "Elara! You sick, twisted bitch! How dare you call me?! Your whole family is a pack of animals!" Theodore's brow twisted. He grabbed the phone and snarled into it— "Maria, what the hell is wrong with you?! Diana's the one throwing a tantrum and hiding, making everyone worry. Elara's just trying to be kind—watch your damn mouth! Tell Diana to get her ass home and apologize to Elara now!" He ended the call. He didn't hear Maria's scream on the other end— "Go home? Ha... hahahaha..." "Theodore, you bastard! Diana's dead!" Chapter 3 After Maria's call, the living room went dead quiet for a few seconds. Theodore stared at his phone screen, a strange, restless unease coiling somewhere deep in his chest. But that unease didn't last. The warmth in front of him quickly washed it away. "Dad, Mom, Theodore, please don't blame Diana," Elara sniffled, tears still clinging to her lashes, her voice soft and pleading. "It's all my fault. If it weren't for my party, she wouldn't have gotten so upset that she ran off..." "Elara, this isn't on you," Mom said, pulling her into a tight, protective hug, her voice dripping with tenderness. "You're always so thoughtful and kind. If she had even a fraction of your goodness, this family wouldn't be drowning in all this drama." Dad and Adrian crowded around too, cooing soft reassurances at Elara. I hovered in midair, watching them huddle together like that, and all I felt was a bitter, burning irony. I thought back to when I was twelve. I'd studied until my eyes burned, trained until my bones ached, and scored first place in both theory and combat across the whole pack. I ran home, clutching that certificate, beaming—just hoping for one word of praise from Mom and Dad. But that day, Elara—who'd placed seventh—was curled up on the couch, sobbing like her world had ended, wailing to our parents about how useless she was, how she could never measure up to her sister. Dad flew into a rage. He screamed at me, called me selfish, an attention-seeker, a vicious girl who only existed to humiliate her little sister. That was the day I learned: in this house, my excellence was a crime. My very existence was an offense to Elara. I'd never been given even a sliver of "family love." "But... Diana still hasn't come back," Elara suddenly piped up, tilting her head with feigned hesitation. "Do you think she really doesn't want this family anymore?" "Good riddance!" Adrian scoffed from the side. "What has she ever done for this family? All she does is suck up resources like a parasite. What else? She's not even worth one of Elara's fingernails!" Elara's eyes darted. She put on that hesitant, guilt-ridden act again. "Then... should we really activate the Moon Goddess Karma Settlement? If it calculates that she owes too much to the family, will she blame us for not being forgiving enough..." The more she played the martyr, the hotter my parents' fury burned. "Forgiving? We've been too forgiving with her." Dad let out a cold snort. "Just last month alone, she drained fifty thousand dollars from the family account, claiming it was for supplies." Hearing that accusation, my soul trembled violently in the air. The injustice flooded through me like poison. That fifty thousand—Elara had used it to buy designer luxury bags. She'd sweet-talked me into filing the expense report under my name. "And at the last family gathering," Mom chimed in, her voice sharp and venomous, "all the elders were there. And what did she do? Used 'sick' as an excuse to hide in her room. Didn't even bother to show her face. Absolutely no manners." The truth? I'd already changed into my gown that day. Elara had locked me in the basement attic. Then she'd smiled at all the elders and said: "Sorry, my sister says she's not feeling well. She said these gatherings are too 'crude' for her taste." They believed every single lie that fell from Elara's lips. Every drop of filth they threw, they threw at me. My soul spun frantically in the air, screaming to set the record straight. But all that came out was silence. Empty, dead silence. Then—knock, knock, knock. Sharp, urgent raps cut through the living room's tirade. Mom went to the door. Outside stood two representatives from our pack's council. They carried a heavy, gilded trophy and a certificate. "Are Diana Mitchell and Elara Mitchell home?" one of them asked politely. "Today was Diana's ceremony for the Silvermoon Devotion Medal. She never showed up to claim it, so we figured we'd deliver both awards together." "Oh, thank you so much! Our Elara really is such an exceptional girl. Such a shame she can't travel far." Mom took my trophy and wiped it down carefully. "But even without going far, she still brought home such a beautiful award. If it weren't for her weak health, she'd accomplish even greater things." The rep opened his mouth, probably to clarify that the trophy was actually mine—but before he could, he asked the real question: "And Miss Diana? Where is she?" Mom let out a laugh, like he'd just said something ridiculous. She waved a hand as she took the trophy inside. "Oh, her? She was jealous of her sister and tried to hurt Elara. Now she's run off out of guilt. I apologize on her behalf to the council." She shut the door without waiting to see the stunned looks on their faces. Outside, the two reps exchanged confused glances. One of them stared at the certificate in his hand and muttered under his breath: "Diana hurt Elara? How does that even make sense? Every time Diana comes out of that house, she's covered in bruises." The other shook his head with a sigh. "Right? Diana's tiny. What are these people even thinking?" Chapter 4 I stood behind the door, watching the reps get dismissed, while my family carried on in the living room, still venting and cursing my name. Theodore leaned against the wall, but that restless feeling wouldn't leave him alone. He pulled out his phone and scrolled through our message history. Always me sending ten texts. Him replying with one. He let out a breath and finally—like he was doing me a favor—typed out a message: [Enough. I know you're upset. If you come back right now, we can talk things through properly.] But the message sank like a stone. The screen lit up. Then went dark. Then lit up again. No reply. Not a single word. Theodore's brow furrowed tighter, his irritation mounting. On impulse, he opened the patrol's internal channel and dialed the border station. "Check something for me. Any rogue activity or disturbances along the territory edge in the past three days?" Before the guy on the other end could answer, Elara—who'd been lounging on the couch—suddenly went rigid. She doubled over, clutching her stomach, and retched violently. "Ugh—" Her whole body convulsed as she collapsed into the cushions. Her face drained to a paper-white, and she started vomiting bile streaked with blood, cold sweat pouring off her. "Elara! What's wrong?!" Mom shrieked and lunged toward her. Dad and Adrian panicked too. "It's... it's the silver poisoning..." Elara sobbed weakly, her voice hitching between gasps. "The poison... from the gift my sister gave me... it's spreading to my organs... it hurts so much..." Watching Elara writhe in agony, my family's fury hit a boiling point. "All because she's jealous of Elara? She wants her dead?!" Adrian paced in circles, fuming, then jabbed a finger at Theodore. "Alpha Theodore, we can't wait any longer. Petition the Moon Goddess for the Karma Settlement right now. Make that traitor—that sister-murdering piece of trash—pay for what she's done!" Theodore looked down at Elara, writhing and whimpering in his arms. The last flicker of hesitation in his eyes died. He pulled out his phone and filed the petition. A holographic screen materialized in the air. [System Confirmation: Initiate irreversible Moon Goddess Karma Settlement against pack member 'Diana Mitchell'?] My whole family crowded around the screen. Not a trace of doubt. One by one, they pressed their bloodied palms to the confirmation seal. [What the Karma Settlement actually was: the Moon Goddess's ultimate ledger, tracking every act of giving and taking across a lifetime—time, care, resources, emotional support, all of it. When someone petitioned for a Settlement, the system balanced the cosmic accounts and broadcast the truth for the entire pack to witness.] Theodore and my father hesitated for a split second—but one look at Elara's pitiful face, and they slammed the button. First, they didn't believe I could possibly be dead. Second, they didn't believe I'd ever contributed anything to this family. They said I needed to be punished. Behind the screen, my face showed nothing. That night, the pack's altar blazed bright as daylight. As the car rolled toward the altar, Theodore sent me one final warning: [We're on our way to the altar now, Diana. This is your last chance.] Still nothing. Theodore gritted his teeth and dialed Daniel—his childhood friend, now a beta stationed at the border. One last confirmation. The second the call connected, Daniel's voice came through, cold and mocking: "Alpha Theodore. Finally remembered to check in?" "Cut the crap. Have you seen Diana at the border?" "So you finally remember she exists?" Daniel was my friend. He'd never liked Theodore. "I'll look into Diana's safety myself. Heard you filed for the Karma Settlement. Planning to kick her out?" Theodore's voice sharpened. "How do you know about that?" "Please. A Karma Settlement? That hasn't happened in centuries. Half the packs nearby are probably here by now, just to watch. All for an eighteen-year-old girl. You guys are something else." "You—" Before Theodore could explode, Daniel hung up. The car fell into dead silence. Elara leaned against Theodore's shoulder, fragile and whining: "Theodore, I'm sorry. It's all my fault—my weak body takes up so much of your time. No wonder everyone thinks you've been neglecting Diana—" He patted her head, forcing down the unease clawing at his chest, and softened his voice. "Don't overthink it. Nothing matters more than your safety. Because we're family." Chapter 5 Half an hour later, the altar was packed. The whole pack had gathered. The public hearing for my settlement had begun. Whispers rippled through the crowd. "I heard Diana was jealous of her sister. Even colluded with rogues. A total disgrace to the family." "Their Elara's always been frail, and Diana not only refused to take care of her—she bullied her, poisoned her with silver, then went AWOL. The family had no choice but to trigger the Karma Settlement to track her down." "That poor girl, Elara..." The crowd's sentiment was unanimous. And why wouldn't it be? For years, my parents and Elara had carefully crafted a narrative—and I'd done nothing to correct it. Because I'd been working in secret. The Silvermoon Devotion Medal I was supposed to receive wasn't for something flashy. It was for anonymous service: healing injured pack members at the clinic under a false name, delivering supplies to border patrols in the middle of the night, teaching orphaned pups to read and fight without ever taking credit. I'd done it all quietly, because I'd learned early on that any achievement of mine would only make Elara cry—and make my parents hate me more. So I'd hidden every good thing I ever did. The pack saw a quiet, awkward gray wolf who kept to herself. They heard my family's stories about how lazy, selfish, and cruel I was. And they believed it, because they had no reason not to. Until now. To my surprise, the pack council had taken notice. They knew who I was behind the anonymity, and they didn't hold back their praise. It made me feel like I actually existed in this pack, like I mattered. I'd planned to slip away and claim the medal quietly, but Elara found out. My family and Theodore stood tall at the center of the altar, backs straight, chins high. [Moon Goddess Karma Code—Phase One: Assess the contributions made by family and mate to the subject.] A beam of light engulfed Theodore and my parents. Instantly, a massive number blazed above their heads: +2 million dollars! "Holy shit! Two million! Alpha Theodore and her family poured that much into her?!" Gasps erupted from the crowd. My father lifted his chin and announced loudly, "You all see it! We treated her well. She's the one who never appreciated it. She doesn't deserve to be part of this family! No one tolerates a traitor under their roof!" Everyone turned to stare at the empty defendant's seat, spitting venom in their minds, waiting for me—the "sinner"—to fall from grace. Then—a thin, determined figure charged up to that seat. It was Maria. My best friend. Her eyes were bloodshot, her face streaked with frozen tears, and she laughed—a cold, bitter laugh—right at my family. "You say she gave nothing? You call her a traitor? Fine. Today, I'll stand in for Diana. Let's settle this." Maria slammed her palm onto the Settlement Stone. Theodore sneered. "Maria, stepping in for her won't change anything. It'll just expose how she's bled this family dry for years in front of everyone—" But before he could finish, the stone let out a deafening boom. His smirk twisted into shock, then contorted into something grotesque.