They Faked her Death For Months, When I Truly Died, They Went Mad Chapter 01

They Faked her Death For Months, When I Truly Died, They Went Mad Chapter 01

Three friends joined me on the Greyhaven University 

mountaineering club’s graduation trip, and then an 

avalanche hit. All three of them “died.” 

So why was I, the one who least deserved to survive, still alive? 

dropped out. I swallowed pills. I stood on the dorm roof 

more times than I could count, ready to join them. Every 

time, my best friend Selene Holloway pulled me back. 

After the ninety–ninth time she wrestled the pills out of my 

hands, she finally broke. 

*Rhoslyn! If they were alive and saw what you’ve become, 

they’d regret ever saving you!” 

was always falling over as a kid, so Oren Blackwood started 

studying bandaging and first aid with a Pack healer. 

loved sweets, so Wilder Fenrir opened a dessert shop beside the school.

Once, when a rogue followed me home, Mistral Veyne joined 

Evershade Pack’s patrol team and swore he’d protect me for life. 

And now all three of them had lost their futures because of me. 

While Selene went to find our advisor, the phone she’d left in 

the dorm lit up. 

On PackLink, a group chat called “When Will She Finally 

Realize She’s the Fool?” pinged with a new message. 

Below the video of me on the rooftop, Selene had tagged the 

three men who were supposed to be dead. 

“Look, your precious childhood friend is acting up again.” 

Oren: “Wilder, she’s your problem.” 

Wilder: “No. She’s Mistral’s.” 

Mistral: “Gross. Don’t pin that on me. I’m into Selene.” 

My own brother Cael sent a smirk emoji. 

She still hasn’t figured out you faked your deaths just so you 

could go to Aurora Isle with Selene?” 

Even my biological parents had liked the post. 

I stared at the screen. The wolf inside me let out a sound that 

was almost a broken whimper. 

I dialed the number the witch had left me. 

Prepare a potion that can sever every bond.” 

The line was silent‘ for a moment. Then the woman’s voice, 

the one that always felt almost familiar, laughed softly, 

“As you wish.” 

“But it will only work when you’re truly close to death.” 

So even leaving them had to wait for an accident dangerous enough to kill me. 

But I’d been wanting to go home for a long time. 

Far north, in Frostmere Pack, my adoptive parents lay in 

comas after a car crash. I’d come south in the first place to 

find a way to mend their wolf spirits, and that was how I’d met the witch. 

She said she would guide me through the fog of fate. That 

was how I met Oren, Wilder, Mistral, and Selene, and found 

the Ashborne family, the blood kin I believed I’d recovered after losing them. 

used to believe those bonds would warm me for the rest of my life. 

Now betrayal was tearing through my soul along every bond, 

and my wolf curled up in pain, unable even to howl. 

My advisor Morrath happened to message me, 

Rhoslyn, there’s one spot left in the Aurora Isle exchange 

program, Confirm before midnight.” 

Two weeks ago, I’d turned it down. 

Back then, I’d sworn off any place with snow, because my 

three friends had “died” on Frostpeak Ridge, 

Now there was nothing left to think about. 

I clicked confirm. 

Selene pushed the door open just as I submitted the form. 

She checked her phone first, then looked at me. 

“Did you touch my phone? You didn’t see anything, did you?” 

She asked too fast, her guilt barely hidden. 

I didn’t answer. I only stared at the white hoodie she was 

wearing. A crooked moon was embroidered on the chest, the 

one I’d stayed up three nights to make for Oren. 

He’d said it was childish and never wore it once. 

Now it was on Selene, still carrying his cedar scent. 

“No.” I threw the rest of my pills in the trash. “I just realized 

how stupid I used to be.” 

Selene let out an obvious sigh of relief and came over to hug me. 

Don’t say that. You just loved them too much.” 

Her phone rang again. 

The caller ID read “Dear Oren.” 

Selene turned away in a hurry, but I’d known the voice on the 

other end for five years. 

“Selene. Come down.” 

Oren wasn’t dead. 

Only then did the words in the group chat turn into a real 

knife, stabbing into my chest. 

Selene grabbed her jacket. 

“I’m going to the counseling center. Wait for me like a good girl.” 

The dorm door closed, and I followed her at once. 

A black SUV sat outside the building. 

Oren leaned against it, his white shirt so clean it hurt to look 

at. Four months ago, one of his so–called keepsakes had been 

a white shirt too. I’d held that blood–stained fake and cried 

for a whole month. 

Selene jogged over. 

Why are you so late?” 

Oren opened the car door for her, then bent down to smooth 

her skirt where it had bunched. 

I had to help out at the Pack clinic.” 

It’s all Rhoslyn’s fault. She was acting up again today, and I 

almost couldn’t get away.” Selene’s complaint sounded more 

like a coy whine. 

Oren’s brow furrowed at once. 

“She’s giving you trouble again?” 

“No. She’s just pathetic.” 

“You’re too soft.” He ruffled her hair. “Don’t take on every mess. 

When my teeth hurt, he always complained I cried too loudly 

while he checked them. 

I’d thought he was just bad at comforting people. 

Turns out he wasn’t. 

He just didn’t want to comfort me. 

I called a ride and followed them. 

The SUV finally stopped beside an abandoned observatory. 

There was a glass workshop inside, the secret base we’d all 

built together freshman year. 

I’d painted the stars on the walls, Wilder had carved the door 

sign, and Mistral had written a line in the corner: 

Rhoslyn’s spot. No outsiders allowed.” 

But today the place was packed. 

Wilder was putting candles on a lemon cream cake, 

Mistral was holding a banner that read, “Best of luck at 

Aurora Isle, Selene!” 

My biological parents were setting out plates. 

Cael was crouched on the floor, assembling the constellation 

projector Selene had asked for. 

Everyone was here. 

They just didn’t remember that today was my birthday too. 

“The star of the show is here!” 

Wilder whistled. 

The moment Selene walked in, confetti landed all over her. 

The table was covered with her favorite lemon cake. 

strawberry mousse, and hot chocolate. 

I used to love sweets too. 

But Wilder always swapped my milkshake for unsweetened 

iced tea, saying my teeth were bad and I couldn’t be spoiled. 

And I’d mistaken his fussing for affection. 

A delivery worker carried in a gift box as tall as a person. 

“For Miss Selene. The one–thousand–day anniversary gift box. 

Please sign for it.” 

Inside were all the things she’d casually mentioned: a 

limited–edition wolf cub plush, a rare vinyl, and a handmade photo album. 

The cover read: 

“From the first day I fell for Selene:” 

Day one thousand. 

So while they were swearing to protect me forever, they’d 

already fallen for her. 

I pushed open the glass door. 

The laughter stopped at once. 

Oren was the first to stand. 

“How did you find this place?” 

Wilder instinctively moved to block the cake. 

Mistral stepped in front of Selene, as if I were a rogue about to attack. 

I looked at three living, breathing people and didn’t cry, 

didn’t lunge at them. 

Was the mountain cold?” 

No one answered. 

Did you enjoy your own funerals?” 

I kept going. 

Was it fun watching me cry over three empty coffins?” 

Selene’s eyes turned red. 

Rhoslyn, don’t blame them. I’m leaving for Aurora Isle soon, 

and I just wanted them to stay with me for a while- 

Did I ask you?” 

The color drained from her face. 

Oren held her closer. 

“Rhoslyn, that’s enough.” 

I nodded. 

“Fine. Then let me ask you this. You lied to me for four 

months, watched me try to die with you again and again, and 

made the whole Evershade Pack play along. So what am I to 

you, exactly?” 

Oren was silent for a few seconds. The last trace of guilt in his 

eyes turned into irritation. 

In front of my biological parents and all our friends, he 

answered word by word: 

‘A stranger who barged in looking for trouble.”