Chapter 3

"Just take care of yourself. As long as you're safe, we're satisfied. As for Lana, as long as she's still breathing, who cares what she's doing out there?"

Every time Mom mentioned me, her voice was filled with impatience.

Maybe it was because I'd grown up outside the pack. I was ignorant of its customs and always embarrassed her.

In their eyes, Eve was their only daughter.

At that very moment, they worried endlessly about Eve's safety. None of them worried about me even if I was their biological daughter.

I wondered what expressions they would wear the day they learned how I had died.

After all, my death was entirely Eve's doing, and they were her accomplices.

Mom gently told Eve to get some rest before hanging up. The moment the call ended, Lucian called.

"Lucian, when are you coming back? Eve's been waiting for you to watch her competition!" Mom asked impatiently before he even had a chance to speak.

The day I was brought back home, everyone else had surrounded Eve and comforted her. Only Lucian had stayed by my side while gently ruffling my hair and telling me not to be nervous.

In that cold family, he was the only one who had ever shown me warmth.

There was a brief pause before Lucian spoke. He sounded confused.

"Isn't it Lana's aptitude evaluation? I thought that wasn't until next month–"

Mom cut him off impatiently.

"Lana this, Lana that! Is she the only person you ever think about? How many times do I have to tell you? Eve is your real sister. Lana doesn't deserve to be part of this pack!"

Lucian sighed softly. He couldn't understand Mom's hostility toward me.

"Mom, don't believe everything Eve tells you. Lana is actually kind and well-behaved. You should pay more attention to her.

"I just called her, but she didn't answer. She hasn't replied to any of the messages I sent a few days ago either. Isn't she home?"

Mom snorted nonchalantly.

"She's an adult werewolf now. How could I possibly control her? She's probably off fooling around somewhere again. Tomorrow is Eve's hunting competition. If you can't make it back, forget it."

A few seconds later, she added coldly, "You tell Lana this. If she thinks disappearing will make her dad and me worry about her, she can keep dreaming. If she doesn't show up at Eve's hunting competition tomorrow, then she can forget about ever returning to the pack.

"Dad and I will never acknowledge her as our daughter again!"

Lucian tried to defend me, but Mom had already hung up.

Dad returned with the search party and noticed her irritated expression.

"Did something come up during the corpse examination?"

Mom shook her head. "It's Lana again. She's probably complaining to Lucian about how terribly we've treated her. Those two must've joined forces to skip Eve's competition on purpose."

Dad's expression darkened. "She knows how much the pack needs us, yet she still insists on causing trouble. She's becoming completely unreasonable! I'm calling her right now."

He dialed my number again and again. Every single call ended the same way. There was no answer.

"What an ungrateful child. It would've been better if we'd never found her in the first place. All she's ever done is cause problems!"

An elder standing nearby frowned after hearing everything.

"When Lana disappeared years ago, the two of you resigned from your duties without hesitation and searched for her for an entire year. Now that you've finally brought her home, why do you treat her like your enemy?"

I sniffled. Tears welled up in my eyes.

It was only because when I was found, I was a filthy, timid pup who knew nothing about pack customs.

When I returned home at fifteen, I walked alone into that enormous, luxurious house. The first thing I saw was my parents holding Eve tightly in their arms while gently comforting her as she cried.

Meanwhile, I stood there in patched clothes and lowered my head awkwardly as I stared at my mud-caked shoes.

Eve looked at me, wiped away her tears, and asked with feigned innocence, "Who is this dirty girl?"

My parents' expressions immediately darkened. It wasn't because Eve had been rude, but because I didn't resemble the noble, elegant daughter they had imagined.

-

"We've already confirmed it. No missing werewolf reports have been filed by any pack members in the past week." A warrior stepped forward with the records.

"A pup disappears, and her family never even reports it? Were they not close?

"How could parents possibly care so little about their own pup's safety?"

The murmurs echoed around me. The overwhelming grief left me unable to breathe.

My parents would fight for justice when hearing about a murdered stranger.

Yet it had never crossed their minds to wonder whether I was even alive during the days I'd been missing.

Back then, when I disappeared as a pup, they had abandoned everything to search for me for an entire year.

Now, they simply believed my disappearance was another stunt to get attention.

Maybe I never should have come back.

This was Eve's home. It had never been mine.

The love my parents once had for me had long since been stolen by Eve.