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My Family Bet on My Love. I Walked Away

My Family Bet on My Love. I Walked Away

Short Story · Werewolf
By:  LyraCompleted
Language: English
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Synopsis

Remorse Family

Family Emotions

Familial Bond

Inspirational

Bias

Awakening

On the night of the Moonlight Festival, my sister Bella called me in tears. “Mom’s been poisoned with wolfsbane! The healer says she might not make it through the night!” Still bleeding from a rogue wolf attack, I drove halfway across town to the clinic without even stopping to clean my wounds. Then I spotted my family raising their glasses in the tavern next door. Bella was doubled over laughing. “Thirty-six minutes! I won! Pay up!” Mom waved me over with a fond little sigh. “Come here, honey. You look scared to death. You really will believe anything Bella tells you, won’t you?” Dad laughed and tossed Bella a hundred-dollar bill. “Should’ve known better. She always comes running.” I stood frozen, staring at my Alpha mate, Declan. He was pouring Bella a glass of wine. “I picked a clinic that far away and bet you’d take over forty minutes. Still lost.” They clinked glasses to celebrate. I tipped my head back and blinked away the tears. For once, I didn’t ask why. Last year, they’d told me a rogue had attacked Dad. I missed my qualifying exam to become a certified potion maker. Last month, they’d claimed Grandma’s wolf was fading. I gave up a place in an advanced training program in the north. Every time I came running, someone won a bet. And I lost another chance to build a life of my own. I opened the job offer from the Silver Moon Pack and accepted the ten-year post as their resident potion maker. I was done calling these people my family.

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Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Only then did Mom notice the blood on my sleeve.

“Sienna, why are you bleeding so much?”

She took my wrist and pushed back my sleeve, frowning.

Declan set down his glass and pulled out a chair for me.

“What happened? Why didn’t you tell me you were hurt?”

“Bella said Mom was dying,” I said flatly.

Bella’s smile faltered.

“I didn’t know you were hurt. I never would’ve called if I’d known.”

Mom sighed.

“All right. She didn’t mean any harm.”

Declan pressed a clean napkin against the wounds.

“They’re just scratches. Get them cleaned up and you’ll be fine.”

My phone buzzed. It was the head healer from the infirmary where I worked.

I stared at the screen for a moment before answering.

“Sienna, where are you? You said a rogue scratched you. Weren’t you coming back to get those wounds treated?”

I said, “Something came up with my family.”

He paused.

“Everyone okay?”

I glanced at the awkward faces around the table.

“Yes.”

“Then get back here as soon as you can,” he said with a sigh. “The longer you leave those wounds, the harder they’ll be to heal.”

After I hung up, Bella spoke softly, her eyes red.

“I’ll go with you. I can’t sit here and eat while you’re like this.”

But she stayed in her seat, still clutching the money she’d won.

Mom gave her a little pat.

“Don’t get in the way.”

Then she turned to me.

“Come straight back afterward. It’s the Moonlight Festival. Don’t keep the whole family waiting.”

Dad nodded.

“Exactly. If something really had happened to your mom, you’d have had to come anyway.”

“Thank Moon Goddess. Mom’s okay,” Bella added. “I was only teasing you.”

That was when I noticed a piece of paper beside her phone.

Three messy lines were scrawled across it.

Dad attacked: 27 minutes.

Grandma’s wolf failing: 33 minutes.

Mom poisoned with wolfsbane: 36 minutes.

Below the last line was a downward arrow and a note: Getting slower, Sienna!

I stared at it for a long moment, then let out a laugh.

“You’ve been keeping records?”

Bella followed my gaze and picked up the paper.

“Of course! These are my wins.”

She eagerly held it out to Declan.

“See? I told you using Mom would work.”

Declan glanced at it and gave her a playful flick on the forehead.

“Don’t go so far next time, Bella. You scared Sienna so badly she rushed over without even getting her wounds treated.”

I lifted my head. I could barely believe what I was hearing.

“Next time?”

His smile faded a little. He picked up the bottle and poured me a drink.

“I didn’t mean anything by it. Do you have to pick apart everything I say?”

He slid the glass toward me and leaned closer.

“Come on,” he said quietly. “Everyone’s having a good time. Don’t make this awkward again.”

Moonberry wine had always been my favorite. Now the sight of it turned my stomach.

It was eleven by the time I got home after having my wounds treated.

An email from the Silver Moon Pack was waiting for me. The paperwork for the job I’d accepted was ready.

Ten years with the Silver Moon Pack. I was due there in three days.

As I confirmed, Bella’s laughter drifted in from the living room.

“Mom, what should we tell her next time?”

“There’s always Declan,” Dad said casually.

They all burst out laughing.

I closed my laptop and let them laugh.

Next time, I wouldn’t be here.
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10 Chapters
Chapter 1
Only then did Mom notice the blood on my sleeve.“Sienna, why are you bleeding so much?”She took my wrist and pushed back my sleeve, frowning.Declan set down his glass and pulled out a chair for me.“What happened? Why didn’t you tell me you were hurt?”“Bella said Mom was dying,” I said flatly.Bella’s smile faltered.“I didn’t know you were hurt. I never would’ve called if I’d known.”Mom sighed.“All right. She didn’t mean any harm.”Declan pressed a clean napkin against the wounds.“They’re just scratches. Get them cleaned up and you’ll be fine.”My phone buzzed. It was the head healer from the infirmary where I worked.I stared at the screen for a moment before answering.“Sienna, where are you? You said a rogue scratched you. Weren’t you coming back to get those wounds treated?”I said, “Something came up with my family.”He paused.“Everyone okay?”I glanced at the awkward faces around the table.“Yes.”“Then get back here as soon as you can,” he said with a sigh. “The longer
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Chapter 2
The next afternoon, Bella doubled over, clutching her stomach.“Mom! My stomach hurts!”Mom hurried out of the kitchen and caught her before she could fold any further.“Where does it hurt? Show me, honey.”Dad switched off the TV and called the clinic.“My daughter’s got a sudden stomach pain. We’re bringing her in. Can you have a healer ready?”Declan took Bella’s arm and steadied her against the couch.“Did you have too much wine last night?”She stayed bent over, her lips pale.“I don’t know. It really hurts.”Nobody laughed. Nobody reached for a phone to start a timer.Dad was in such a rush that he even put on the wrong shoes.I stood in the doorway as they scrambled around her. I felt like a complete fool.At the clinic, the healer examined Bella and said the alcohol had irritated her stomach lining. It was acute gastritis, nothing more.Only then did Mom loosen her grip on Bella’s hand.“Thank Moon Goddess. I thought it was something serious.”Dad took the prescription and chec
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Chapter 3
On the third day, the Silver Moon Pack sent the forms I needed to sign and scan back.I picked up the family tablet in the living room. As soon as I unlocked it, a group chat notification appeared.[The Sienna Betting Pool]They even had a separate group chat just for placing bets on me.Bella had sent a crying emoji.“She’s barely talking to me. Winning money isn’t even fun anymore.”Dad replied, “Give it a rest for a couple of days. Don’t really piss her off.”Mom added, “She missed her training because of that stunt with Grandma last month. Haven’t you had enough?”My grip tightened around the tablet.They’d all known. And every one of them had still placed a bet on the night of the Moonlight festival.I scrolled back to the day I was supposed to leave for the north.Bella had asked, “When should I call?”Declan replied, “Her bus leaves at two. Call at one forty. Any earlier and she might still make it back.”That day, I’d rushed to Grandma’s house and found her drinking tea on the
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Chapter 4
On the day I left, Mom was up early for once.I wheeled my suitcase out of my room and found her in the kitchen, spreading jam on toast.She stopped at the sound of the wheels.“Where are you going?”“Taking a trip.”“Now?” She looked surprised. “Aren’t you trying on your ceremony dress with Declan next week?”“I know.”She went back to the toast without asking anything else.“A few days away might do you good. Just stop sulking at Bella when you get back. And don’t forget about the dress fitting.”I said okay and wheeled my suitcase to the door.Bella came down the stairs in her robe, fresh out of bed.“You’re going out? I bought an apple pie. I was waiting to have some with you.”When I didn’t answer, she quickly added, “I’m not lying this time. It’s from your favorite place.”Dad laughed over his coffee.“You’ve tricked her so often she won’t believe a word you say.”Bella pouted.“I’m trying to make it up to her. She just won’t believe me.”Declan arrived just then. When he heard I
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Chapter 5
After fifteen minutes, the laughter at home began to fade.Bella stared at her phone, refusing to admit defeat.“Well, look at her. She’s actually getting better at this. Fifteen minutes and she still hasn’t turned around.”Declan frowned and called me again.My phone was off.Dad wasn’t worried yet.“She said she was taking a trip. Maybe she just doesn’t want to be bothered.”Something occurred to Mom. She got up and headed for my room.“That suitcase she had was pretty big.”All four of them froze when she opened the door.Half the closet was empty. All my documents were gone.So were the potion notes and training materials on my desk.A folded sheet of paper lay beside the bed.Declan picked it up. His face went white as he read it.It was the elder’s confirmation that our Bonding Ceremony had been canceled.Dated yesterday.Bella tried to brush it off.“She’s probably just trying to scare us. Where would she even go?”No one answered.Declan opened a drawer.His spare key was in an
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Chapter 6
It was almost eleven when I landed at Silver Moon.The colleague who met me was a young woman with short hair. Her name was Nora. She was a potion maker at the infirmary too, studying under a witch.She took one of my suitcases and asked as we walked, “Hungry? The restaurant downstairs from your place is still open. They make a great cream of mushroom soup.”My answer came without thinking.“Oh, no. I don’t want to put you out.”She glanced back, surprised.“By getting dinner? We’ll be making potions together tomorrow. You don’t have to be so polite.”I paused, then smiled.“Okay.”It was such an ordinary thing to say, but I felt myself relax.No one asked why I’d moved so far from home. No one was betting on my reaction.Maybe I could start letting my guard down.Nora didn’t pry. She just handed me a menu.I ordered mushroom soup and roasted vegetables.When the soup arrived, she pushed the bread basket toward me, then checked a message from the infirmary.She wasn’t fussing over me o
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Chapter 7
After Declan went home, my parents couldn’t stay away either.A few days later, they got permission to visit Silver Moon and came without telling me.I finished making potions for the day and went downstairs. Mom was sitting in the reception area, holding a box of maple cookies. Dad stood beside her, looking uncomfortable.Mom’s eyes filled as soon as she saw me.“You’ve lost weight.”I didn’t answer that.“What are you doing here?”Dad cleared his throat.“Let’s talk at your place.”“The infirmary arranged my housing. I can’t really have visitors.”They’d actually given me an apartment of my own.I just didn’t want my parents inside it.Dad looked taken aback, but he followed me to a nearby café.As soon as we sat down, Mom pushed the cookies toward me.“You used to love these when you were little.”I glanced at the box and looked away.“That was Bella.”Mom’s hand hovered over the table. After a moment, she awkwardly pulled the box back.“Oh. I got that mixed up.”I said nothing.Dad
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Chapter 8
After my parents went home, Bella sent me friend requests for three days.The first said, “Sienna, I was wrong, okay?”The second said, “Are you really never going to talk to me again?”The third said, “I want to tell you something.”I didn’t accept any of them.On the fourth day, Mom sent me a video Bella had recorded.She was sitting in my old room with her so-called record book in front of her.Dad attacked. Grandma’s wolf failing. Mom poisoned with wolfsbane.Page after page.For once, there were tear tracks on her face.“Sienna, I watched all the old videos today.”She was quiet for several seconds.“I feel sick watching myself.”She pulled up the recording from last year.I was wearing my white coat for the potion exam. My face went pale when I got the call about Dad’s “attack.”I ran, crying, without even stopping to tie my shoes.Behind the camera, my whole family was laughing.Bella’s voice was hoarse as she watched it.“I used to think you were just easy to fool. I don’t know
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Chapter 9
Three months later, I returned to Moonfrost with a group of potion makers from the infirmary. Several packs were holding a joint potions workshop there.I didn’t tell my family.On the day it ended, Declan was waiting outside my hotel. I didn’t know how he’d heard I was there.He seemed far less sure of himself this time.“Could we talk for five minutes?”I checked the time.“Okay.”He kept his eyes down.“Bella deleted the group. Your parents have stopped doing all that too.”I nodded.“That’s good.”He managed a weak smile.“I thought if they liked me, we’d all get along once you became my Luna. Then my mother told me I had it backward.”“I should’ve been thinking about how you felt. Not everyone else.”I said nothing.He took a small box from his pocket. Inside was the pen he’d given me when I first started learning to make potions.“You left this at my place.”I took it.“Thank you.”He looked at me.“I’m not trying to ask for anything. I just wanted to give it back.”This time, he
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Chapter 10
When New Year came around a year later, I didn’t go home.I wasn’t making a point. The stability tests on my new potion were at a stage where I couldn’t leave.Three days beforehand, Mom asked, “Coming home for New Year?”“I can’t.”Her reply came quickly.“Okay. Don’t book a flight, then. It’s a long way to go.”Half an hour later, Dad sent me some money.The note said, “Get yourself something good to eat.”Bella went further and mailed me a whole box of snacks.A note lay on top when I opened it.“No bugs hidden in here. Promise.”Below it, she’d added, “That’s not another prank. There really aren’t any!”I laughed for a good while.That evening, a few of us from the infirmary had the night off and went down to the lake to grill some food.I’d just sat down when a message arrived from the head potion maker.My improved healing potion had passed its final tests. A bottle made with the old formula lasted only a day once opened. Mine kept working for seven days. The border patrol would
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