My family failed me

~MY FAMILY FAILED ME~

“How can you be so stubborn as to sacrifice yourself for your sister?”

I sit up slowly and rub the back of my neck, the ache still lingering from everything I can’t remember and everything I wish I could forget.

“Dad? How can you say that?” My voice cracks before I can steady it. “If I killed myself to escape this man, that means he’s horrible beneath his charming face.”

Father exhales like I’ve disappointed him. Like I’m the burden.

“Should I rather give him Betty?” he shoots back. “She’s my only daughter.”

The words slice clean through me.

My heart splinters. “What am I then?”

Silence.

“You’re so ungrateful,” he says coldly. “Whether you like it or not, you’re marrying him. Or I throw you out for the rogues.”

Rogues.

The word doesn’t just mean exile. It means death. Starvation. Being hunted like an animal.

I stare at the man who raised me and realize something brutal—love here is conditional. Survival is transactional.

He walks out, angry, leaving me with Mother.

I swallow hard. “What if he finds out? What if he scents that I’m not his mate?”

Mother’s face turns serious. Calculating. “He won’t. A scent maker is working on a potion. I’ll give it to you to use on the night of the ritual.”

My stomach tightens. “Rit… ritual?”

She opens her mouth to explain, but there’s a knock.

Three sharp knocks.

Doctor Karl enters for my daily check-up. He offers a curt nod of greeting as he walks toward me, his medical bag heavy in his hand.

He doesn't wait for permission. He simply begins his examination, pressing a strange cold instrument against my chest. I shiver, the metal feeling like a shard of ice against my skin. His brows draw together, a deep, frustrated furrow forming between his eyes.

“Hmm,” he lets out a sharp, frustrated sigh.

Mother stiffens in the corner, her hands twisting together. “What is it, Karl? What’s the problem?”

He hesitates.

“I know she escaped death,” he says carefully. “But her wolf…”

My fingers curl into the sheets. “What about my wolf?”

He closes his eyes briefly as if hoping he’s wrong. “I can’t feel it.”

The room tilts.

Mother’s mouth falls open so fast I’m afraid her jaw might hit the floor. “What do you mean you can’t feel it?”

He adjusts the device against my chest again, then shakes his head slowly. “It’s gone.”

I stutter. “What… what does that mean?”

He stands straighter.

“She’s wolfless.”

The word hangs there.

Heavy.

Impossible.

Mother gasps. “What?!”

“It’s strange,” he continues. “The day she woke up, I could feel her wolf. Faint, but present. Now? It’s silent. Like it’s dead. I sense weakness in her body. Disconnection.”

Dead.

My wolf.

I don’t fully understand what that means, but from the look on Mother’s face, it’s worse than death.

“Will it return?” she asks, her voice trembling now.

He doesn’t meet her eyes. “I don’t know. We can only hope for a miracle from the Moon Goddess.”

A miracle.

That’s what people say when they have no answers.

After he leaves, Mother begins pacing the room. Back and forth. Back and forth. Like she’s counting the steps to her own execution.

Father storms in again, and she tells him everything in rushed whispers.

His face darkens.

“This is your fault!” he explodes at me. “You tried to kill yourself and now you’re useless! Wolfless? Do you know what that means?”

I shrink into myself.

“It means disgrace,” he continues. “It means weakness. If the Alpha finds out—”

He stops.

Because we all know what happens to weak things in this world.

“They must not know,” Mother says firmly. “Especially him.”

Father nods once, jaw tight. “It stays a secret.”

Like I’m a stain to be hidden.

The door bursts open.

Betty.

Of course.

She leans against the frame, arms crossed, a slow smile spreading across her face. “Well, well. Not only are you getting married to the bloodthirsty Alpha… but you’re wolfless too?”

She laughs softly.

“Girl, you’re going through a lot.”

Her eyes glitter with cruel delight. She enjoys this. My humiliation. My fear.

I look at her, really look at her, and something inside me twists. I don’t remember everything about my past—but I know betrayal when I see it.

Then she straightens.

“Oh, and by the way? Trevor’s in the sitting room. He and I have something to say.”

Trevor.

The name hits me strangely. Khloe told me he was my ex. But how can she be dating him?

How can my sister be with the man I used to love? Or did I love him?

God, I need my memories back.

We all walk out of my room.

The hallway feels longer than usual. My legs feel weak—maybe because they say my wolf is gone. Maybe because I’m realizing I’ve never truly belonged here.

We enter the sitting room.

Trevor stands when he sees us.

He’s handsome. Confident and strong.

His eyes flicker to me for half a second—then away.

That hurts more than if he had stared.

Father clears his throat. “What is it?”

Betty moves closer to Trevor, sliding her hand into his. Possessive and claiming.

“We’re getting mated,” she announces.

My breath leaves my body.

Trevor nods. “It’s official.”

Official.

I search his face for something—guilt, hesitation, a memory of us.

Nothing.

Just calm detachment.

“I thought you should all know,” Betty adds sweetly.

Mother forces a smile. Father looks relieved.

Relieved.

Because one daughter secured. One daughter sacrificed.

Trevor finally looks at me fully.

I straighten my spine.

“Congratulations,” I say. Honestly, I don’t feel sad. I just feel betrayed—but then, he isn’t even my type. I wonder why I ever dated him anyway.

Betty studies me, clearly disappointed I’m not crying.

“Oh, don’t act strong now,” she says lightly. “You couldn’t even survive without trying to kill yourself.”

Father shoots her a warning look, but she just smirks.

Trevor shifts uncomfortably. “That’s enough, Betty.”

Oh.

So he does have limits.

Just not for me.

I turn away before they can say more hurtful things to me.

I don’t remember loving Trevor.

But my body remembers something.

Because it stings.

Because it feels like something was stolen from me twice—first my wolf, now whatever future I once had.

And now I’m expected to marry a bloodthirsty Alpha while pretending I’m whole.

While hiding the fact that I’m broken, weak and disposable.

If the Alpha discovers the truth… that I’m not his mate or sense that emptiness inside me.

He won’t just reject me.

He’ll kill me.