Kidnapped in Sister’s Place and Emotionally Numbed: The Tragic Twin Cuts All Ties Chapter 02
My name is Liora Rothmere. I was born on July seventh.
Veyra Rothmere was my twin sister. She was older by a few minutes and favored by a lifetime.
The pack elder took one look at us and declared that twin pups would bring disaster. We couldn’t be raised under the same roof.
So they shipped me off to my grandparents’ cabin in the middle of nowhere.
They barely visited. Years would pass without a word.
They didn’t send for me until my grandparents died.
I came back thinking I’d finally have a family. It took about a week to realize I was just a guest in my own home.
The day I was taken, Veyra insisted we take a back trail in the woods.
We walked for a while. Then she stopped, said she’d dropped something, and told me to wait.
That was the last thing I remember before everything went black.
But I’ll never forget those three days.
“Worthless!”
They dragged me deeper into the trees and hurt me just because they could.
They didn’t figure out I wasn’t Veyra until they contacted Frostmere to make demands.
My family turned them down. Their Blackridge backers walked away empty-handed.
Three days without food.
Three days of terror I still didn’t want to remember.
I screamed until my voice gave out, and after that, I couldn’t make a sound at all.
The pack warriors finally broke in when I was barely conscious.
I forced myself to look past them.
No one was behind them.
Not one member of my family had come for me.
I wanted to cry.
Nothing came.
After that, my wolf went quiet.
Then she was gone, sunk into a sleep she’d never come back from.
The pack doctor explained it as my wolf’s way of protecting me.
Everything had become too much, so she shut herself away—and somehow, my emotions seemed to disappear with her.
The pack doctors called it emotional shutdown.
My room at the pack hospital stayed empty.
Once the pack enforcers finished their interviews, the visitors stopped. Not that there had been many.
I might as well not have existed.
Same as right now, at this dinner table.
The three of them talked and laughed like I wasn’t sitting right there. A perfect little family of three.
Before, I would’ve fought my way into the conversation. Laughed at jokes I didn’t hear. Tried harder.
Tonight, I just sat there.
“I’m done,” I said, dropping my napkin on the plate.
“Where am I sleeping?”
Mother blinked, caught off guard.
“We haven’t set up the other rooms yet. There’s a sofa in the storage room…”
“Don’t be upset with them, Liora. They’ve had so much on their plate.”
She always did this. Played peacemaker while making me look like the problem.
It was her favorite move.
“Did I say I blamed anyone?”
I set my napkin down. My voice was completely hollow.
“You guys finish up.”
I made my way upstairs. Their voices carried up the hallway.
“What is her problem? Veyra, honey, don’t let her get to you.”
“Here, try this chicken and wild rice soup. I made it just for you.”
“Mother, go easy on her. She probably just went through a lot.”
“Went through what? She’s back, isn’t she?”
I shut the door. Their voices stopped like a switch.
The room was exactly what I expected.
No windows. The air tasted like dust and rotting wood.
I lowered myself onto the sagging sofa and let my mind go still.
Maybe this was better. At least I wouldn’t have to bother unpacking.
I pulled out my phone. The acceptance letter from Royal Evergreen Academy was still on the screen.
Royal Evergreen was the most elite werewolf academy in North America. Every major pack sent their heirs there: the best fighters, the best healers, the best of everything.
I almost turned it down once. I tried to remember why.
Right. Because I couldn’t stand the thought of leaving my family.
Lucky me. That wasn’t a problem anymore.
I hit confirm.
