BELLY

"Wh-Why won't he come?"

"You know why," she said, her mood sour. "He's still mad at you. Believe me, there isn't a single day that goes by that I don't try to get him to forgive you."

My gaze fell to the floor, my heart thundering so loudly I thought it might burst from my chest.

He wasn't going to come. After I'd put in so much effort to look good for him. I wanted him to see the pretty me, at least one last time before I died.

"What about Michelle?" I sniffled, trying so hard to hold back my tears so my makeup wouldn't get ruined. "I thought you'd come with her."

"I'm so sorry, sis. She didn't want to come either."

Oh, gods.

I sank down onto the edge of the bed, my knees giving way. The sheets beneath me were stiff and starchy, cold like everything else in this godforsaken place. My own daughter didn't want to see me. How doomed was I?

"I can't die like this," I whispered, and then the dam burst. The tears fell freely, cutting through the powder on my cheeks. "I can't die without seeing Kage or...or my daughter. I don't deserve this, Annalise."

She rushed forward, sat next to me, and pulled me in a hug.

"I'm so sorry this is happening to you," she whimpered, also crying. "I wish you didn't have to go now." She pulled back, keeping her arms on my shoulders. "But you have my word, Belly; I'll take care of Michelle like she was my own. She and Eloise are already best of friends. I promise you, Michelle will have the best life."

I smiled, thinking about my little niece.

Annalise had gotten pregnant for Kage around the same time I did. I had been hurt, but she explained to me that it was a mistake and told me she was deeply sorry.

I still remember her words: "You know we were in love before he got mated to you, Belly. I didn't want this to happen. I could get rid of the pregnancy if you want."

I forbade her from doing such a thing. Today, I was glad she actually kept the child. At least, my daughter would have a sibling growing up.

I honestly didn't know what I'd have done without Annalise in my life. She effortlessly filled the space my twin sister left when she died.

She stayed with me for a long time and promised to return the next day. It hurt me to know that Annalise was the only one concerned about me. Apart from her, nobody had come to visit me in this psych facility, not even our foster parents. While everyone saw me as the mad dangerous girl who everyone should steer clear from, Annalise saw me as the sister she had grown up with.

I wished I didn't have to die now so I could spend more time with her.

Kage didn't want to see me. Yet, I was so disturbed I couldn't let it be.

He knew I was very sick but had no idea I was dying yet. I couldn't die without seeing him and our daughter. And unfortunately, the doctors and security here wouldn't let me out.

He stopped taking my calls three years ago. So, there was only one way I could reach him.

I waited for one of the doctors to come by and begged him for his phone. Since he knew I was dying, he didn't deny my request.

Alone in my room, I dialed Kage's line. Funny how I had all three of his numbers memorized.

My heart stopped beating when he picked up the call and spoke.

"Hello?"

Everything around me came to a screeching halt, as if the cosmos had forgotten to spin.

My heart resumed beating, but this time, it was too fast.

It was my Kage. By the Moon, I hadn't heard his voice in three years!

"Kage?" There was a small tremor in my voice.

He went silent. I imagined him processing the shock.

"Please, don't end the call," I added quickly when it dawned on me that he could drop it.

I tried to picture him at the moment-probably in our bedroom, shirtless. He always hated having his shirts on when he was alone in the room.

I pictured his deep blue eyes, the thin, tiny scar he had on the tip of his upper lip, and the tattoos covering his back, arms, and some part of his chest.

My god-like mate.

In my twenty-four years of existence, I hadn't met anyone as charming as Kage Keating. I didn't think my poor heart could ever love any man as it did him if I could live longer.

"What is it, Belly?" His voice was cold.

It was heart-wrenching how much he still hated me despite pleading for his forgiveness for three years. For three years, I had been on my knees even though I didn't do anything wrong. Even if I'd been unjustly sent to this place.

But he was adamant and wouldn't even come see me.

"I-I thought you'd come today." I shifted uncomfortably on my feet. "D-Did Annalise tell you I wanted to see you?"

For a moment there, I hoped he'd tell me no. Even though I knew my sister would never do such a thing, a part of me still hoped that somehow, he didn't know I sent for him.

"She always tells me." His reply crushed my heart, further than I thought possible. "I thought we had an understanding several years ago, Belly? That I'll not be seeing you."

Cold liquid touched my cheek. A tear.

I couldn't believe I was going to die knowing Kage hated me.

Well, he'd always been so cold toward me. The one time he was a bit warm was the first and last time we had sex. The night he claimed my virginity.

He'd come home drunk and suddenly grabbed me, telling me how much he'd always wanted to do this with me. That was the happiest night of my life. But by morning, he yelled at me and accused me of seducing him.

I was surprised he actually loved Michelle when I gave birth to her.

"I-I thought we could see each other." One more time.

I cleared the lump forming in my throat. "It's been a long time since you asked me to prepare your potion for you."

That was one of the things I wanted us to talk about when he did come.

Kage had serious wolf problems. There were times he'd start convulsing, and over the years, my potion was the only thing that had been of help.

A lot of people had tried recreating it using the formula I provided, but none had been as effective as mine. What they didn't know was that the secret ingredient in my formula was a drop of my blood. Each time I prepared the potion, I added a drop of my blood to it. It was the only way it ever worked.

Even I didn't understand why my blood made it work. But it was my huge secret.

Since I'd been locked here for three years, I prepared the potions weekly and handed to Annalise to give to him. But for three weeks, he hadn't asked for more.

"I don't need it anymore," his reply shocked me to the bone. "Annalise has been making effective ones for me."

Wait, what?

BELLY

My brows created a deepening crease of confusion. What was he talking about!? Annalise didn't know anything about the formula. Even when I asked her why Kage stopped demanding for fresh potions, she didn't tell me she had been making any for him.

"How does she do it? Are you sure it works?" I asked out of mere concern.

"If it wasn't working, I wouldn't have stopped you from making yours, would I?"

It hurt me to know he was being so arrogant toward me. But that was how Alpha Kage naturally was to everyone. Problem was, I wished I wasn't just 'anyone' to him.

I was still confused about the potion, but I decided to move on to something else.

"Could you just.... come see me, please? With our daughter. I-I really want to see you two. Please, Kage."

There was a long pause before he gave me the heartbreaking reply, "I'm busy. Maybe some other time."

"I didn't do it, Kage," I whimpered. "I swear on the Moon, I didn't do what you all think."

Why won't they believe me?!

He scoffed. "You should be lucky I sent you to a psych ward rather than sentencing you to death."

Before I could say something else, I heard a familiar voice in the background. "Who are you talking to, baby? Come on. You promised we'd shower together."

My heart skipped several beats as I recognized my sister's voice. Confusion drew a map on my face.

How was she with Kage? She told me they didn't have any sexual relationship going on, and she wouldn't have any for as long as we were mated. So, why was I hearing this?

Kage didn't say another word to me and hung up, shattering my heart into smaller pieces, like glass underfoot.

I fell on the bed and wept for a long time. There were so many things I didn't understand. Has Annalise been keeping a lot of things from me?

I cried until doctor Cruz came in to meet me. She was angry and scolded me for crying despite my condition.

Everything was a waste-my makeup, the effort I'd put in to look good today. Kage didn't get to see me in the end.

"Nobody loves me," I tearfully told her. "Not even my own daughter."

"Don't say that, Belly! She's just a child!" Dr. Cruz hit me on the arm.

I wept more. "I'm ready to die. At least, now I'll die knowing no one will miss me."

......

I was diagnosed with Gravitexis, a disease that meant my heart was dying.

A heart transplant would have saved me, but unfortunately, for wolves, only a person from my family could donate their heart to me. And more unfortunately for me, I didn't have any biological family. None that I knew of.

My foster parents had only come to visit me just thrice since I was locked in here. They also believed I was guilty and didn't want anything to do with me.

It was very rare for wolves to have such terminal illnesses, but it did happen and unfortunately happened to me.

I knew there was no escaping death for me. This was why I wanted to see the faces of my loved ones before I passed. Yet, none of them did come.

I laid on my hospital bed, my eyes closed as I waited for the death to come. I was growing weaker by the minute, the life slowly draining out of me.

I heard the door open but didn't bother to open my eyes as I figured it'd be Doctor Cruz. But then, the voice I heard wasn't hers.

"Belly?"

My brows furrowed weakly as I opened my eyes to behold the person before me.

Cold hazel eyes. Charcoal gray and ash colored hair.

This person was me.

I chuckled weakly to myself. I'd heard that close to death, people mostly hallucinated. So, this was me hallucinating.

However, this version of me looked better than what I'd been my whole life. She looked smarter, way prettier and more confident.

There was a woman behind at the door; someone I didn't recognize.

My look-alike came closer and sat on the edge of the bed.

"Oh, Belly," she ran her finger through the edges of my hair, tears rolling down her cheeks.

How was I able to feel her touch? Was this normal with hallucinations?

"Are you... real?" I questioned.

"Of course, I am." She laughed. "It's Isabelle, your sister. And I'm here to give you a second chance at life."

‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡

I was convinced it wasn't a dream anymore. My sister was here; the one I thought was dead.

I held her hand as she sat across from me, explaining how she had gone missing seventeen years ago.

My hand dropped from hers when she mentioned that Annalise had pushed her off a cliff after convincing her they should play together. It didn't make any sense because on the day Isabelle had gone missing, Annalise said she didn't see her.

"I don't understand." I shook my head. "How could Annalise have pushed you? That isn't possible."

"Your trust in Annalise is the reason you ended up in this situation, Belly-alone and unloved." She huffed. "Annalise has always been a snake. She's been biting and soothing you right away so you don't even notice."

She went ahead to tell me how she'd been lucky enough to survive the heavy current and had been saved by the woman in the room with her. She lost her memories, and it wasn't until years later when she got her wolf that her memories did return.

But instead of revealing herself to us, she stayed behind and watched. Afterall, she'd gotten to fall in love with her new family.

She said she noticed all the damage Annalise caused and how she slowly made me unloved. At first, it was hard to believe, but when she pointed out certain things, it started to make sense.

Our foster parents used to love my twin and I very much, but then unexplainable situations began happening that made them dislike us and started seeing Annalise as the good daughter. This was why they didn't put in much effort to find Isabelle when she went missing.

Annalise had been fooling me all along. She tried to kill my only sister, snatched the man I loved, and managed to steal my formula for Kage's potions, leaving me here to die alone while she showered with my mate.

"Annalise is the reason you're here today," Isabelle said. "She had you locked in here, took your mate, your daughter, your foster parents' love. And you just let her."

"I didn't know," I whimpered. "She was so sweet to me. Even now, it's hard to believe."

More things started to make sense. How she convinced me to always keep my hair in a bun, wear glasses, wear long dresses, no makeup. I had been a fool to think she wanted the best for me when in reality, she was hiding my beauty from everyone. The betrayal ran deep.

"I can't even do anything now. I'm dying," sobs wracked my body at the painful truth.

Isabelle smiled, taking my hand. "No, you're not."

****††****†

ANNALISE

Was this what utter happiness felt like? When you know you have everything you've ever wanted in life and there was no other obstacle in your way?

I climbed down the stairs, humming to a song with my eyes closed as I imagined how perfect my life was about to become with the last obstacle gone.

My happiness was interrupted by the bickering I heard in the living room.

"No, this was one is mine! Yours is pink!"

"You're a pathetic liar! Daddy got me brown!"

"But brown is my favorite! Daddy will never get you a brown headset. It's mine!"

I watched as the two little girls dragged a brown headset. The sight only infuriated me. How dare she argue with my own daughter?

"That's enough!" I snapped as I walked up to them.

Michelle quickly let go of the headset, leaving it in my daughter's hand.

"Mummy, Michelle is being a liar again. She claims the headset belongs to her!" Eloise reported.

But I knew the poor thing wasn't exactly lying. Kage had gotten them the headset just yesterday. Indeed, brown was Michelle's favorite, while pink was Eloise's. And that was exactly what he got them. But who said the scamp's opinion mattered?

"It's mine, mummy. We could ask daddy if you want," Michelle defended.

I rolled my eyes, feeling the need to puke. I hated it when she called me mummy. Unfortunately, I didn't have a choice.

"Let me have it." I took it from Eloise, then smiled as I stared down at Michelle. "You're so sure it's yours, huh? Is that why you almost hurt my daughter?"

"I-I didn't hurt her. I was just trying to get her to-"

"It's okay," I cut her off, straightening my spine.

She could easily win this if Kage got involved.

"I think I have a solution," I told them just before I broke the headset in two.

"No!" Michelle screamed. "Why would you do that?! It was mine!"

"Oh, dear!" I gasped, faking shock. "Did I break it? I'm so sorry. It was an accident."

But she wasn't listening and broke into tears.

The smile that plastered across my face was evil but filled with so much pleasure. Watching Michelle cry was always satisfying; just as satisfying as it was to watch her dumb mother cry.

I glanced at Eloise, and of course, my daughter was smiling too.

I heard footsteps and knew it was Kage approaching.