Raised with Love, Except They Never Loved Me

I stood outside the shrine, watching my mother place the family necklace around Sienna Mallory's neck.

My brother, Rhys Ashford, stood behind her and made a promise in front of everyone. "No matter what happens, I'll always protect you."

Sienna's eyes turned red as she threw her arms around them. The three stood together, looking like a real family.

I didn't open the door.

So Mother hadn't been too busy, and Rhys hadn't been incapable of protecting someone. They simply had never been willing to give their time or tenderness to me.

I lowered my eyes to my phone. There were only three days left to confirm my admission to the Northland Academy.

For the first time, I turned and walked down the steps without waiting for them to look back at me.

Once I reached the bottom, I sent Sienna a message. "I'm dealing with something unexpected and won't be able to make it. I left your birthday present by the door. Don't forget to pick it up."

Sienna replied almost immediately, "Are you sick, Wren? You're not like yourself lately. Please don't push yourself too hard."

Until just moments ago, I'd been grateful for her. I'd considered her my best friend.

When I'd had such a high fever that I could barely walk, she was the one who realized I was sick and carried me all the way to the infirmary. When the other wolf pups from our pack locked me in the cellar, she had sat outside and kept talking to me. She stayed until the guards came to let me out.

But the people she considered her mother and brother were the very same people I cherished most in the world.

I'd spent ages searching for a moonstone to give Sienna as her coming-of-age gift. But now, I didn't want to give it to her anymore.

When I got home, I pulled out the box I'd hidden beneath the floorboard and went over the materials the Northland Academy required. After that, I sat in the living room and waited for them to come home.

Part of me was curious. After celebrating someone else's coming-of-age ceremony while ignoring mine, would they feel even the slightest bit of discomfort when they saw me?

It was well past midnight when Mother and Rhys finally came home.

As Rhys took off his coat, a photograph slipped from his pocket and fell to the floor. In the picture, Sienna wore the ceremonial flower crown reserved for the eldest daughter of a family, with Mother and Rhys standing on either side of her.

The three of them stood close together.

Rhys glanced at me and quickly picked up the photograph. He hastily shoved it back into his pocket.

Suddenly, I remembered something from when I was 12. Our pack had held a hunting competition, and I'd won first place. I'd been so excited that I'd called Mother, hoping she and Rhys would come help me bring my kill home.

Mother had only replied, "I'm busy with meetings today. You'll have to figure out how to handle such a small thing yourself."

I remembered how disappointed I'd been. But I'd still dragged the carcass that was about 300 pounds home. I'd stopped to catch my breath every few feet until I'd finally managed to get it there.

When I got home and showed Mother, she merely glanced at it and casually said, "See? You managed just fine."

Then there was the day of the pack's worship ceremony. I'd been attacked by a rogue wolf in the forest. They had torn a chunk of flesh from my leg, and I used the last bar of battery on my phone to call Rhys. I still remembered how badly my leg had hurt.

My voice had been on the verge of tears. "Rhys, I'm in the border forest. A rogue wolf attacked me, and I can't move. Can you come get me?"

There was silence on Rhys's end for several seconds, as if he'd decided I was being a nuisance. "Call for the guards. There are plenty of them near the border. Keep shouting, and someone should come find you."

"I don't have the strength," I said.

His voice turned cold. "You had enough strength to call me, didn't you? I'm really busy right now. Can you stop making a fuss?"

I'd never forgotten how helpless I'd felt that day.

I didn't hate Sienna. She hadn't stolen their love from me. It was just that Mother and Rhys had willingly handed everything to her.

However, I couldn't keep standing beside her and watching her possess everything I'd once begged for.