Chapter3

"Why is it fair?! Why does she get to drink moonberry nectar?!"

"It’s not fair! Nothing in this world is fair! What’s the point behind having this useless wolf body?!"

Serena sobbed uncontrollably, gasping for air as she pounded her fists against the armrest of the sofa. It was a stark contrast to the frail, delicate act she had put on when Caleb was here just moments ago.

My father, Thorne, snatched the plastic cup from my hand and violently threw it. With a sharp smack, the pale purple moonberry nectar splattered across the floor.

"Drink, drink, drink! That’s all you care about!" The Alpha’s roar made the entire hall vibrate. "Did you forget your sister is taking her medicine?! She hasn’t been able to keep down even a sip of liquid all week, and you think you have the right to taste something sweet?"

"I only took one sip..."

Serena’s crying grew even more hysterical. "She knows I can’t have it, yet she drinks it right in front of me! She's doing it on purpose just to spite me!"

Dad grabbed me by the back of my neck and slammed my face straight into the spilled puddle.

I thrashed and fought frantically, but his massive hand bore down like cast iron, violently unyielding.

"You like sweet things so much? Drink up!"

"Your sister is choking down bitter herbs, and you’re drinking sweet nectar. Ask your conscience—is that fair?"

My nasal passages burned like fire as tears leaked from my eyes, mixing with the sticky juice on the floor. Serena’s cries abruptly stopped. Dad yanked my hair, forcing my head up.

"Swear it. Swear that you will never touch sweets again."

I pushed up my upper body, trembling as I struggled to keep my heavy head lifted.

"Dad, Mom. Didn't you say that the sick should be cared for?"

Thorne frowned. Vera’s hand paused mid-air.

"But I'm a patient now, too. My fangs are broken, my bones have gone brittle, and my wolf core is withered. I'm sick, too."

"Why do I still have to yield to her?"

"Serena doesn't have a healthy wolf body, but neither do I!"

My mother, Vera, stared at me with calculating eyes. The fleeting moment of hesitation and shock vanished without a trace, replaced by pure ice. "Your wolf core withered? Your fangs are broken?" She let out a cold, mocking laugh. "Looks to me like you did it to yourself."

"I—"

"Just to steal attention away from your sister, you went out and tortured yourself in the wilds, breaking your own teeth and destroying your own core." Vera pulled Serena tighter against her chest, gently patting her back to soothe her. "Your sister has been frail since birth. She needs care—that’s just the natural order of things. But you? What the hell are you?"

"Mom, I didn't—"

"How dare you even try to compare yourself to your sister?" Vera’s voice spiked with venom. "Her illness is congenital! Yours? Yours is entirely your own doing!"

Dad lifted his heavy boot. Accompanied by the crushing weight of his Alpha aura, he viciously kicked my lower leg.

"Shut up! Swear to your sister!"

A sickening snap echoed through the room.

My already brittle bone shattered on impact. I collapsed with an agonizing scream, violently trembling as the words forced themselves out of my mouth. "I swear... I will never eat sweets again."

Serena suddenly piped up, her voice small but piercingly clear. "What if she sneaks sweets again in the future? She swore it, but what if she goes back on her word?"

"Then your father will teach her another lesson." Vera wiped away Serena’s tears, her voice dripping with maternal tenderness. She then turned her icy gaze to Thorne. "Don't leave her a single penny from now on. Cancel her meal allowance, her pocket money—everything. Let's see how she buys juice with no money."

But my daily food allowance was only one single copper coin to begin with. I never ate breakfast. At noon, I relied on doing chores for the cafeteria lady to exchange that copper coin for a plain bun and a meager scrap of meat. I had told my parents this before, but they never believed me.

Vera stood up with Serena in her arms. She didn’t even glance down at me.

"Thorne, let's go. Don't let this ruin our mood. Let's head downtown for some roasted beast meat."

Thorne's demeanor instantly shifted to a gentle, doting tone as he turned to Serena. "Haven't you been craving that? Daddy will take you."

Serena immediately cheered, "I want the most expensive flame-deer steak!"

The family of three got their coats on. Not a single one of them looked back at the girl lying broken amidst the sticky mess on the floor.

Right before the front door closed, I heard my mother softly remind him, "Did you lock the food pantry? All of Serena's health supplements are in there."

"It's locked tight. She can't touch them."

No one asked how badly I was hurt. No one left me so much as a crust of bread.

With a heavy thud, the front door of the villa shut. The roar of the car engine quickly faded into the endless night.

Propping myself up on both arms, I dragged my freshly broken leg behind me, inching my way forward across the cold floor. I crawled all the way to the food pantry, desperate to find something—anything—to eat.

The last time Serena snuck a bite of ice cream, my mother had noticed it was missing the next day and immediately came after me. "Did you steal it?" I had shaken my head, but she wouldn't listen. She starved me for two days until I couldn't take the blinding agony anymore, forcing me to confess to a crime I didn't commit.

Ever since then, all the food had been locked away in the pantry. Only my parents knew the combination.

The heavy security door remained tightly sealed. The faint, mouth-watering aroma of dried meat and herbal remedies drifted through the cracks. I weakly patted the door. Cold, metallic silence was my only answer.

So, sharing her burdens just meant I had to starve alongside her. And the so-called rule of caring for the sick had never, ever included me.

My stomach convulsed violently again, a sharp spasm of absolute starvation.

I curled myself into a ball against the base of the door. As my vision blurred, I suddenly spotted a small clay bowl tucked in the corner. It contained the sacred ash left over from the werewolf pack's latest ritual. Mixed within the pale white powder were fine specks of silver dust, gleaming with an icy, merciless glint under the hall lights.

Silver dust was highly toxic to wolves.

But right now, it was the only thing in this entire house that wasn't locked away.

Trembling, I reached out my hand. I grabbed a fistful of the sacred ashes, and slowly, brought it to my lips.