When I woke up, I found myself in an odd room.
A healer smiled brightly at me when she saw me move.
“You’re awake!” she said and helped me sit up.
I nodded and thanked her.
“Please, do you know who brought me here?” I asked her.
“Your family, of course," she answered.
I paused at her words. They did? It was hard to believe they actually took me to the healer.
My wolf felt odd and confused.
Just then, the healer hesitated, as if there was something she wanted to say.
But after a pause, she just patted my hand gently and said nothing.
“You were really weak, so we just gave you a glucose drip. You’re too thin. You should eat more from now on.” she said.
She looked at my wrist with worry and pity in her eyes, then she left. I could tell that was not what she wanted to say, but she had already left.
Pity? Sure, my situation was pitiful. For some reason, my eyes filled with tears and no matter how I tried, my wolf felt the urge to cry.
I quietly cried myself to sleep.
Later, the healer returned to change my dressing.
She tucked in my blanket gently, then left.
I was already awake but I did not move and continued to act as though still asleep.
As the healer stepped out, my ears picked up their conversation outside the door. Even though they were whispering, I could still catch their words clearly.
"The pup's parents are still not back?" Someone asked.
“Yeah,” the healer whispered.
“Their other kid threw a tantrum and insisted on going to a restaurant, so they just left this young she-wolf here in the infirmary. I’ve never seen such absurd parents. I mean, what’s the rush to go eat?” Some else chimed in.
Her voice was soft, but each word stabbed at my chest.
My wolf throbbed with pain.
I thought I’d stopped caring about them.
Why does it still hurt so much?
That evening, Mom, Dad, my brother, and sister brought me some leftovers.
“Sister, we brought you something yummy!” my sister bounced over, almost jumping on my injured arm. I quickly raised my hand high to avoid her and the room stilled.
Everyone froze for a moment.
Seeing this, I gave a bitter smile. It was clear that they were thinking I was being difficult again.
A little flustered, I quickly took the food from her hand and tried to ease the tension.
“Thank you very much. I was just hungry," I said, then I forced a smile onto my face.
This seemed to glance things over, as they nodded, but their expressions still showed traces of displeasure.
Even though it was leftovers, I had not eaten in days so, it still smelled delicious.
I really was starving, so devoured everything within minutes.
Then I pulled the blanket tightly around me and whispered carefully,
“Thank you… for bringing me to the infirmary," I said awkwardly, trying to imitated my sisters cheerful tone. But this did not come out naturally.
They exchanged glances, said nothing, and walked out in silence.
“What? Do we look like the bad guys now or something?” my mother asked.
For some reason, I had annoyed them again. As he walked out, My brother slammed the door behind him with a loud bang.
The sound made me flinch in fear. I quickly pulled a blanket over my face, but the darkness made it hard for me to breathe.
They did not come back to see me after that day and I stayed alone till the healers discharged me.
Out in the world, it was impossible to find a proper job with packs because I was an outsider. Our pack would not accept me because I was too young and too weak to work.
So, I took up small jobs disposing of rubbish from the pack. As I did this, I would sometimes find food I could eat.
One day, I was rummaging through piles of rubbish when I heard my sister's voice.
"Mum! Buy that!" She said and I froze and looked their way. She was pointing at a stall asking for a moonstone necklace. It looked beautiful but expensive.
The contrast between us filled my wolf with pain. While I could barely eat, she was being taken care of.
I quickly covered my face by pulling my hat down and then lowered my head to make sure they did not see me. Meeting them hurt too much. It was better we did not meet.
Behind me, I could hear my sister whining and begging for the charm like a spoilt pup.
If I had done that I would have been met with disdain and irritation. But I could hear my mother coaxing her without any irritation in her voice. The contrast felt like a mockery of my situation.
I noticed my brother there, smiling at my sister who was throwing a tantrum. No one thought it was acting spoilt.
"If you don't train hard to be a strong werewolf, you will end up doing jobs like picking rubbish," I heard my mother warn my sister.
I froze, realizing they had seen me. I kept my head low, hoping they do not recognize me.
"Mum, don't worry. For our clan, I’ll become the strongest werewolf and earn us the respect we deserve," my sister declared.
They laughed as they walked away, while I continued searching for some coats I could scavenge to keep warm.
Only my brother didn’t laugh.
He turned back and stared at me for a long time before walking away.
I thought that was over and I would not see them again for a while.
"But the very next day, just as I was crouching down to pick up a silver pendant from the trash heap, my brother stormed out of nowhere. He slammed his foot down on it with a violent crunch, shards flying, and roared—
‘What the hell do you think you're doing here?!’"
