---- Chapter 2 After the alumni reunion, my soul wandered through the empty streets. When I drifted back to my old den, I noticed a light glowing faintly from within. Curiosity pulled me closer. To my surprise, it was Julia-my best friend. She was quietly cleaning my room. Every item was still in its place, as if time had frozen. Even the herbs I'd once used to resist silver poisoning were still scattered across the table. She moved gently, reverently. Then she picked up the phone I'd used before I died, plugged it in, and charged it without a word. My soul trembled. My eyes blurred with tears I could no longer shed. Suddenly, the phone buzzed. Julia paused mid-step, then walked over and picked it up. ---- It was a message in our Pack Academy Alumni Chat. "Shawn, which date are you holding your ceremony?" Then another message followed - a photo. Shawn and his beautiful mate, sitting side by side, smiling. "Wow, they're such a perfect match. Fated mates, chosen by the Moon Goddess." "A thousand times better than that shallow, vain one." PANG. The phone slipped from Julia's trembling hands and crashed to the floor. Then she dropped to her knees, covering her face, and broke down crying. Her sobs filled the room that once belonged to me. After a long while, she reached up and took my ---- photo down from the wall. Her fingers brushed across the glass as if it were my face. "You fool..." she choked out. "You kept whispering his name until your very last breath... and now he's claiming someone else." After Julia left my den, she took my phone with her. Curious and a little confused, I followed her to her own den. Ever since my death, the only comfort I had was seeing Julia visit my room. She would always charge my phone - not knowing that through that simple act, she was giving me the only connection I still had to the living world. It was strange... even after death, I could still read the news, still see the messages, still feel a flicker of life.