Chapter 04

Daisy's pov

"Come on, Daisy. You can do this. You don't need anybody's help."

I whispered the words to myself as I held on to the fence. My crutch was leaning against the post beside me. My bunny, Mr. Buttons, was tucked under my arm.

One step. Just one step without the crutch.

I let go of the fence. My left leg shook. My right leg felt like it was made of jelly.

"Look, everybody! The broken little Alpha pup is trying to walk!"

I didn't have to turn around. I knew that voice. It was Brody, Vespera's son. He was nine, two years older than me, and he was the meanest boy in the whole Ironpeak Pack.

Four other kids ran up behind him, laughing.

"Leave me alone, Brody," I said. I grabbed the fence again so I wouldn't fall.

"Leave me alone, Brody," he copied me in a squeaky baby voice. The other kids laughed even louder. "Hey, Daisy, why don't you run away? Oh wait! You can't!"

My face got hot. I picked up my crutch and held it tight.

"My daddy is your Alpha," I said. "You have to be nice to me."

"So what?" Brody stepped closer. "Everybody knows your daddy is cursed. And you're broken. You can't even shift. You're never going to be a real wolf."

Before I could stop him, he snatched Mr. Buttons right out from under my arm.

"No!" I reached for him. "Give him back!"

Brody held my bunny high over his head where I couldn't reach. "Come and get it! Oh, that's right. You can't jump either!"

He tossed Mr. Buttons to a boy named Theo. Theo tossed him to a girl with red hair. They threw him back and forth, back and forth, while I hopped between them on my crutch.

"Stop it! Please! My mommy gave him to me!"

"Your mommy is dead," Brody said.

My eyes filled with tears. My crutch slipped on the ice, and I fell down hard in the snow.

The kids laughed so loud it hurt my ears.

"You'll always be an Omega," Brody said, standing over me. "The lowest wolf in the pack. Nobody wants you."

"Brody!"

Everybody went quiet.

Vespera was walking toward us across the snowy yard. She wore a long red coat, and her shiny black hair was pinned up. She was smiling, but it wasn't a happy kind of smile.

"Children," she said in a sweet voice. "Be nice to Daisy."

"We were just playing, Mom," Brody said. He dropped Mr. Buttons in the snow next to me.

"Of course you were, sweetheart." Vespera patted his head. "Now go home and wash up for supper. All of you."

The kids ran off. Brody looked back at me once and stuck out his tongue.

I grabbed Mr. Buttons and hugged him to my chest. He was wet and cold. One of his ears had a small rip in it now.

Vespera knelt down in front of me. She brushed the snow off my hair. Her fingers were cold.

"It's all right, Daisy," she said. "They were only playing."

I didn't say anything. I just held my bunny tighter.

Vespera always acted nice when grown-ups were around. When Daddy was home, she brought us pies and soup and smiled at him a lot. But when Daddy wasn't looking, her eyes went hard, like ice on a pond.

"I heard some news today," she said. She leaned in closer. "Your daddy went down the mountain to get a new wife. You're going to have a new mommy."

My heart jumped. "A new mommy?"

"Mm-hmm. Some girl from the Redwater Pack." Vespera's voice dropped to a whisper. "But you listen to me, Daisy. I'm the only one who can really take care of you. Not some stranger from Redwater."

I looked down at Mr. Buttons.

"She's going to hate you," Vespera said softly. "Nobody wants a broken child. She'll take one look at you and want you gone. You'll see."

She stood up and smoothed down her red coat. Then the sweet smile came back on her face.

"Run along home now," she said. "Before you catch a cold."

She walked away. I watched her red coat until it disappeared between the houses.

I didn't go home right away. I sat in the snow and cried quietly into Mr. Buttons's soft fur. Then I wiped my face, picked up my crutch, and slowly made my way back up the path.

* * *

Hours later, I was still awake.

Mrs. Hilda, our housekeeper, had put me to bed. But I couldn't sleep. I kept thinking about what Vespera said.

*Nobody wants a broken child.*

So I sat on the bench by the big front window with Mr. Buttons in my lap. Outside, the snow was falling and the wind was howling.

Then I heard it. Footsteps on the stone porch. Heavy ones. Daddy's footsteps.

But there was another set too. Lighter. Softer.

I held my breath and pressed my face to the cold glass.

Daddy was standing at the door, his black hair full of snow. In his arms was a girl wrapped up in his big fur coat. She had long brown hair and a pale, pretty face. She looked tired and scared.

Daddy set her down gently on the porch.

"Here we are," he said to her. "This is home."