Kara's POV
"Lock her in the cells!" someone yelled as hands grabbed Kara from behind.
"I'm not a skinwalker!" Kara yelled, fighting against the guards taking her from her room. "I'm Kara Blackwood!"
The pack members gathering in the hallway backed away from her like she was sick with something they might catch. Their faces showed fear and anger. Some even covered their noses, as if her smell had suddenly changed.
"Zane, please," Kara begged, looking at the Alpha. "You can't believe this!"
Before Zane could answer, the front doors of the house burst open. A woman walked in surrounded by four big guards. She had long red hair that shined like fire and green eyes that went straight to Kara.
Everyone froze. The guards holding Kara relaxed their grip in surprise.
"What's happening here?" the woman asked, her voice sweet but strong.
"Lena?" Zane said, looking confused. "But you're—"
"In the hospital wing, I know," said the woman—the real Lena. She pointed at the stairs. "That's not me up there."
The whole room went quiet. Kara felt like her head might explode with confusion.
"If you're Lena," Caden asked slowly, "then who did we find on the stairs?"
Before anyone could answer, a scream came from the hospital wing. "She's gone! The patient is gone!"
Zane ran up the stairs with several guards. Kara stood frozen, not sure what was happening. The real Lena walked straight to her, green eyes narrowed.
"So you're the famous Kara," she said, looking Kara up and down. "I've heard so much about you."
"Who are you really?" Kara whispered, heart racing.
Lena smiled. It wasn't a nice smile. "I'm the future Luna of this pack. The job that was promised to me before you came back."
A loud crash from upstairs made everyone look up. Zane emerged at the top of the stairs, his face white with shock.
"The woman in the hospital wing," he announced. "She changed forms before escaping through the window. She's definitely a skinwalker."
Whispers burst through the crowd. Kara felt sick. Skinwalkers were real. And one had claimed to be Lena.
"Release her," Zane demanded, pointing at Kara. The guards let go of her arms.
The real Lena didn't look happy about this. She stepped closer to Zane as he came down the stairs. "You can't trust her," she said, putting her hand on his arm. "She could be one too."
Zane looked at Kara, doubt clear in his eyes. "We don't know anything for sure right now."
"I know I'm not a monster," Kara said confidently. "And I know someone is trying to make you think I am."
Lena laughed softly. "Poor little Kara. Always the victim."
Kara felt her anger rising. "And who are you? You show up with guards like you own the place. How do we know you're not a skinwalker too?"
Lena's smile disappeared. "Zane knows who I am. We've been together for years." She turned to him, her eyes soft. "Tell her, Zane."
Zane looked uncomfortable. "Lena is... was... my chosen mate. Before you arrived."
The words hit Kara like a punch. So that's why he'd been so cold to her. He already had someone he wanted.
"But the prophecy—" Kara started.
"The prophecy says the Alpha's daughter," Lena cut in. "And according to that diary, you're not his daughter, are you?"
Kara had no answer for that. The uncertainty that had been planted was growing into something dark and scary inside her. What if it was true? What if she wasn't really Kara Blackwood?
"Enough," Zane said. "We have a skinwalker loose in the house. That's our focus right now."
Lena slipped her arm through his, leaning close. "You're right. We should check the borders, make sure it hasn't escaped the area."
Zane nodded. "Gather the warriors," he told one of the guards. "Search every room. No one leaves the house until we find the skinwalker."
As people rushed to follow orders, Kara noticed Zane smile at something Lena whispered in his ear. It was a small smile, but real—something she had never seen him give her.
Jealousy burned in Kara's chest. Even with everything else happening, that small smile hurt more than she wanted to admit.
Caden appeared at her side. "You okay?"
"No," Kara replied. "Nothing makes sense anymore."
"What are you going to do?" he asked softly.
Kara watched as Zane and Lena walked away together, chatting closely. "Find the truth," she decided. "Starting with my sister."
Kara found Sasha in the library, calmly reading a book as if the house wasn't in chaos.
"Did you know?" Kara ordered, shutting the door behind her.
Sasha looked up, her face innocent. "Know what?"
"About me. About the diary. About the skinwalkers."
Sasha closed her book slowly. "I wondered when you'd find Mother's diary."
"So it's true?" Kara felt like the floor was tilting under her feet. "I'm not... human?"
"Sit down before you fall down," Sasha said, pointing to a chair. "It's more complicated than that."
Kara sat, her legs shaking. "Tell me everything. Now."
"You are Kara Blackwood," Sasha said. "That part is true. But Mother was right—you're not her daughter."
"Then whose daughter am I?"
Sasha leaned forward. "Someone important. Someone powerful. That's why they want you dead."
"Who's 'they'?"
"The same people who killed Zane's father and sent that skinwalker to pretend to be Lena." Sasha sighed. "There's a war coming, Kara. Between the wolves and the others."
"What others?"
"The ghost walkers. The skin shifters. The night hunters." Sasha counted on her fingers. "All the creatures wolves have pushed out of their territories for centuries."
Kara's head spun. "And I'm... one of them?"
Sasha's eyes were sad. "You're both. Half wolf, half... something else. The only one of your kind."
"Why didn't anyone tell me?"
"Because they were protecting you," Sasha said. "And now I have to continue guarding you. That's why I came back."
A sound at the window made them both turn. A person stood there, watching them through the glass. A figure that looked perfectly like Kara, down to the clothes she was wearing.
"They've found you," Sasha whispered, grabbing Kara's arm. "We need to go. Now."
"Wait," Kara pulled back. "How do I know you're really my sister? How do I know this isn't all some trick?"
Sasha's face changed, showing fear for the first time. "You don't. You have to trust me."
The person at the window smiled with Kara's face and pressed a hand against the glass. Where it touched, the glass began to melt.
"It's your choice, Kara," Sasha said quickly. "Stay here with Zane and Lena and pretend you belong, or come with me and learn who you really are."
Kara looked back at the window. The glass was almost gone. Her copy's smile got wider, showing teeth that were too sharp, too many.
"Decide now," Sasha whispered. "Before it's too late."