Aria's POV
"Breathe, Lily! Please breathe!"
My hands push down on her chest again. Water spurts from her mouth, but her eyes stay closed. Her skin is so cold it burns my fingers.
The three pack warriors stand in a circle around us. They're huge men with muscles like mountains, but none of them move to help. They just watch me with hard faces.
"Do something!" I scream at them. "Help her!"
The biggest warrior—his name is Cole—shakes his head slowly. "There's nothing to do, little Alpha. She's gone."
"No!" I push on Lily's chest harder. "She's not gone. She can't be gone. I saved her. I pulled her out!"
But even as I say it, I know the truth. Lily's lips are blue. Her chest doesn't rise. Her little fingers are curled up like dead flower petals.
I lean down and put my mouth over hers, trying to breathe air into her lungs like I saw on TV once. Nothing happens. I do it again. And again.
"Come on, Lily," I sob between breaths. "Wake up. Please wake up. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
Cole puts a heavy hand on my shoulder. "Stop, Aria. You need to stop."
"No!" I knock his hand away. "I can save her! I just need more time!"
"Time won't help." His voice is gentle but firm. "Your sister drowned. There's nothing you can do now."
The words hit me like a slap. Drowned. Dead. Gone.
Because of me.
I brought her to the forbidden river. I let go of her hand. I wasn't fast enough to save her.
My whole body starts shaking. I pull Lily into my arms and rock her like Mom does when we have bad dreams. "I'm sorry," I whisper into her wet hair. "I'm so sorry, Lily. Please come back. Please."
She doesn't move.
Footsteps crash through the forest. Lots of them. Running fast.
"Over here!" Cole shouts. "We found them!"
More warriors burst through the trees. Then the pack doctor, old Dr. Hayes, comes running with his medical bag. He drops to his knees beside us.
"Let me see her," he says, reaching for Lily.
I don't want to let go, but Cole gently pulls me away. Dr. Hayes checks Lily's pulse. Listens to her chest. Tries to pump her heart with his hands.
After what feels like forever, he stops. His shoulders slump.
"I'm sorry," he whispers. "She's been gone too long."
"No," I say. But my voice sounds far away, like it belongs to someone else.
"What happened?" Cole asks, pulling me to my feet.
The words tumble out. "We came to see the river. I found it yesterday. Lily slipped on a rock. She fell in. The current was so fast. I jumped in after her. I tried to save her. I pulled her out, but—"
"You brought her to the forbidden forest?" Another warrior, Marcus's Beta named Damien, steps forward. His dark eyes are cold. "You know that's against pack law."
"I didn't think—"
"That's right. You didn't think." Damien's voice cuts like glass. "The Alpha's daughter, thinking rules don't apply to her."
Shame burns my face. He's right. I did think that. I thought being the Alpha's daughter made me special, made me above the rules.
Now my sister is dead because of it.
"The Alpha is coming," someone whispers.
My heart stops.
Dad.
I have to tell Dad that I killed his youngest daughter.
The warriors part like a curtain. My father, Alpha Marcus Nightshade, walks through them. He's the biggest, strongest wolf in our pack. Everyone fears and respects him. But right now, he just looks like a dad.
A dad who's about to see his dead child.
His eyes find Lily first. His whole body goes stiff. "No."
"Alpha, I'm sorry—" Dr. Hayes starts.
"NO!" Dad roars. The sound echoes through the forest. Birds fly from the trees.
He drops to his knees beside Lily. His huge hands shake as he touches her face. "Baby girl? Lily, wake up for Daddy."
She doesn't move.
Dad looks up at Dr. Hayes with wild eyes. "Fix her. Do whatever you need to do. Use any magic, any medicine—"
"There's nothing I can do, Marcus." Dr. Hayes's voice breaks. "She's been dead at least twenty minutes. Maybe longer."
"Then bring her back!" Dad's voice cracks. "You're the pack doctor! Bring my daughter back!"
"I can't." Dr. Hayes is crying now too. "I'm sorry. I can't."
Dad's face crumbles. He pulls Lily into his arms and holds her against his chest. His whole body shakes with sobs. I've never seen my father cry. Never even thought he could.
It's the worst thing I've ever seen.
I want to run to him. Want to hug him. Want to tell him how sorry I am.
But my feet won't move.
Then Dad's head turns. Slowly. His eyes lock onto me.
They're not his normal warm brown eyes. They're cold. Empty. Dead.
"You." His voice is barely a whisper. "You were with her."
I nod. My throat is too tight to speak.
"What happened to my daughter?" Each word comes out hard and sharp.
"She fell," I whisper. "Into the river. I tried to save her."
"You tried." He stands up, still holding Lily's body. "You tried."
"I jumped in after her," I say desperately. "I pulled her out as fast as I could. I did CPR. I tried everything—"
"Why was she at the river?" Dad's voice gets louder. "Why was my seven-year-old daughter at the forbidden river?"
I can't answer. My mouth opens but no words come out.
"Answer me!" Dad roars.
"I took her," I sob. "I wanted to show her. I found it yesterday and thought she'd like it. I didn't mean—"
"You took her to the forbidden forest." His voice is flat now. Emotionless. "You took your baby sister to the one place that's off-limits. The one place that's dangerous."
"I'm sorry!"
"Sorry?" He laughs, but it's not a real laugh. It's broken and horrible. "My daughter is dead, and you're sorry?"
"It was an accident! I didn't mean for her to fall!"
"But she did fall." Dad takes a step toward me. "She fell and drowned because you broke the rules. Because you thought you were special. Because you were selfish and stupid and—"
"Marcus, she's just a child," Cole interrupts carefully.
"SHE KILLED MY DAUGHTER!" Dad screams so loud I fall backward.
The whole forest goes silent.
Even the wind stops.
Dad stares at me with so much hate it steals my breath. "Look at you. Not a scratch. Perfectly fine. While Lily..."
He looks down at her body in his arms. When he looks back at me, something in his face changes. Something dies.
"What did you do?" His voice is quiet now. Deadly quiet. "What did you do to my baby girl?"
"I didn't do anything!" I'm crying so hard I can barely breathe. "I tried to save her! I swear I tried!"
"Tried." He spits the word like poison. "You tried. But somehow you're alive and she's not."
"Marcus—" Dr. Hayes tries to interrupt.
"Get out of my sight," Dad says to me. His voice is ice. "All of you, take her back to the pack house. Lock her in her room. I don't want to see her face right now."
"Dad, please—"
"DO IT!" he roars.
Cole grabs my arm. Pulls me away. I fight him, reaching for my father.
"Dad! Daddy, please! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"
He turns his back on me. Holds Lily closer. And walks away into the forest.
The last thing I see before Cole drags me through the trees is my father's back, shaking with sobs as he carries my dead sister.
The last thing I hear is him whispering to her:
"I'm sorry, baby girl. Daddy's so sorry I couldn't protect you."
But he's not sorry for Lily.
He's sorry because I'm the one who survived.
And deep down, in a dark place I don't want to look at, I know the truth:
My father wishes I had drowned instead.