Chapter 3

But everyone rushed to comfort Susie instead.

My mother promised to take her out the next day to buy the newest silk shawl. My father called me cruel and spoiled, while Damon promised to have ten servants help with her packing.

No one cared that I was still lying on the floor, unable to get up.

I dragged myself upright and slowly made my way back to my room.

The manor was huge, yet my room had always been the tiny attic.

Susie had an entire floor to herself, and so did Damon.

The attic was poorly ventilated and infested with rats year-round.

Its only window was a small skylight that let me glimpse the moon at night.

My father always said there was no point in making a bedroom luxurious. Susie, however, was different. She would help manage the pack one day.

According to him, poor living conditions might interfere with her wolf's awakening.

Yet I'd spent eighteen years living in that attic.

He knew exactly what it was like up there.

That night, I couldn't sleep.

Luna Maeve messaged me again.

"I'll send someone to meet you at the border. You're more than welcome here. With a record like yours, I promise we won't disappoint you.

"Just let me know when you'll be arriving."

I stared at the screen.

Curled up on my narrow bed without a blanket, I couldn't stop shivering.

I replied, "The day after tomorrow."

Just two more days, and I would finally be free of this place.

The next morning, I noticed that the bow mounted on my wall was missing. It had been handcrafted by the pack's finest bowmaker.

There wasn't another one like it in the entire pack. I'd won it from the elder during the spring hunt.

Ignoring the pain in my knees, I hurried downstairs to find out who had taken it.

There was Susie, happily admiring my bow.

"If I use this at my coming-of-age hunt, everyone will be so jealous," she gushed.

"That's mine," I said.

My mother's expression immediately soured. "Just let your sister borrow it."

"I won that bow at the spring hunt!"

It wasn't just a prize. It was the only thing in that house I could truly call mine.

"What do you mean? Everything under this roof belongs to this family."

My mother's face darkened. "If we hadn't raised you and sent you to the academy, would you even have had the skills to win it?

"Your sister's ceremony is only a few days away. What's wrong with letting her have it as a gift? Why are you so selfish?!"

Susie spoke in a hurt voice. "If you don't want me to have it, fine. I'll just hunt without it.

"I'll embarrass Mom and Dad in front of everyone, but I guess that doesn't matter."

Her eyes filled with tears again.

My father came in just as she started crying. "What is all this noise about?!"

One look at Susie holding the bow was enough for him to decide I was at fault.

"It's just a bow. Do you really have to make your sister cry over it?"

I ignored him and reached for the bow.

"It's mine! I won't let her have it!"

I wasn't about to let Susie take away the one thing I'd earned entirely on my own.

During the spring hunt, I'd pushed through the rainforest with branches cutting into my face and had nearly broken my leg in a fall, all to win that bow.

I'd earned every bit of it.

And not one person in my family had celebrated with me.

They'd been too busy planning Susie's next vacation.

When I refused to give in, Susie claimed she would return the bow, yet she still wouldn't let go of it.

I grabbed hold of it, but pain immediately shot through my injured hand. Fresh blood began seeping through the gauze.

I instinctively let go. Susie stumbled backward and fell.

She immediately burst into tears.

"I know you didn't want me touching it, but you didn't have to shove me! I was going to give it back. Why would you do that?"

I stood frozen. I hadn't touched her.

My father charged over. "I don't care how angry you are. You don't get to hurt your sister!"

My mother rushed to Susie's side. "Are you hurt? Does it hurt anywhere?"

After making sure Susie was all right, my mother stormed over and slapped me across the face. "Even if you wanted the bow back, you had no right to shove her!"

My fingers were still bleeding.

Between the throbbing pain in my hand and the force of the slap, I could barely think straight.

"I didn't push her," I said, my voice shaking.

"And now you're lying about it? I saw what you did!"

My mother helped Susie into a chair.

My father shook his head in disgust. "We raised you, and this is how you turned out? How can you be so selfish?"

I was too angry to speak. And through it all, Susie was still clutching my bow.

"Give me back what's mine."