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Chapter 2

Penulis: Ladywoffie
Three days ago. Elara's birthday. I'd planned to leave early because I had my medal ceremony to attend. Since I couldn't make it to the party, I gave Elara her gift ahead of time—a carved redwood figurine.

The second her fingers touched it, she dropped it with a shriek—

"That's silver..."

I stared in confusion. It was redwood. But my father stormed over—

"How could you be so cruel!"

I was crying, begging, "I didn't! I don't know how this happened!"

My parents threw me out. I ran through the forest, sobbing, begging the Moon Goddess—please, just treat me gently, even for one day, the way they treat Elara.

But the Moon Goddess didn't answer. Instead, rogues emerged from the darkness.

They shoved me face-first into the mud. I screamed, I fought, I begged—they just laughed, that sick, chilling sound.

The leader backhanded me hard.

"You're not walking out of here alive. Not like it matters. You're just some mediocre gray wolf. Even if you lived, you'd end up a rogue like us—rotting somewhere."

They tore my clothes off. Bit into my neck. Drowned me in filth and cruelty, their words getting uglier with every second.

In the struggle, my skull cracked against a sharp tree root. Blood poured out instantly.

They panicked, thinking they'd actually killed me, and scattered like cowards.

I dragged my shredded body across the ground, inch by inch, until I reached my phone lying a few feet away. I used my tongue to swipe the screen, dialing for help.

The pack bond should have alerted them to my life-threatening danger. But my parents had cut the link themselves—because they believed I'd given Elara silver on purpose.

The only call that went through was to Theodore.

"Help me... Theodore... I'm dying..."

"Diana, enough! This is Elara's big day. Have some decency and stop competing for attention!"

His voice dripped with pure disgust. Then he hung up. Clean and final.

So I lay there in the freezing dirt, bleeding out until my lungs gave up and my heart stopped.

Back at the old house, Elara couldn't get through to me, so she pretended to be frantic and called my best friend, Maria.

The second the line connected—before Elara could even put on her little act—Maria's voice exploded through the speaker, raw and hysterical:

"Elara! You sick, twisted bitch! How dare you call me?! Your whole family is a pack of animals!"

Theodore's brow twisted. He grabbed the phone and snarled into it—

"Maria, what the hell is wrong with you?! Diana's the one throwing a tantrum and hiding, making everyone worry. Elara's just trying to be kind—watch your damn mouth! Tell Diana to get her ass home and apologize to Elara now!"

He ended the call. He didn't hear Maria's scream on the other end—

"Go home? Ha... hahahaha..."

"Theodore, you bastard! Diana's dead!"
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  • They Saw Me Too Late   Chapter 10

    Silence.My parents' faces were hollow—absolutely gutted. Father spun around and slapped Elara across the face so hard she hit the ground."You monster! She was your own sister! How could you do this to her?!"Mother collapsed, pounding the floor and sobbing hysterically:"Elara... how could you do something so inhuman?! We loved you so much... what did Diana ever do to deserve this?!"Elara hit the floor hard, her hair ornaments flying. She clutched her swollen cheek—and finally tore off the mask. She screamed, raw and manic:"You're blaming me?! She brought this on herself! She always had to compete with me! Why did she have to go accept that stupid medal?! Why did she have to steal my spotlight?! If she was dead, you'd all be mine! All mine!""Shut up!" Father roared back, tears streaming down his wrinkled face. "She never competed with you! You took everything from her! WE failed her!"Elara sobbed, then crawled desperately toward Theodore, latching onto his leg, begging:"Theodore

  • They Saw Me Too Late   Chapter 9

    The truth was stripped bare on that massive screen. The crowd buzzed with shock."Holy shit... this family is insane!""That's not raising a daughter—that's torture!""So what if she's a gray wolf?! Does that make her livestock? A slave?!"Hundreds of pack members erupted in fury. The rage pivoted like a tidal wave, crashing straight onto my parents standing on the altar. Curses drowned them from all sides.THUD.My father and mother stared at the screen—every unbearable truth laid out in front of them—and their knees buckled. They hit the ground hard."No... no, this can't be... did I really treat her like that...?" Mother broke down, covering her face, tears and snot running as she pounded the ground and wailed. "I'm sorry, Diana. Mommy's sorry..."Father was ashen, trembling violently, eyes bloodshot as he howled into nothing:"Diana... Daddy's failed you...!"Adrian clenched his jaw, shaking uncontrollably.Elara grabbed Theodore's arm, shaking her head desperately."Theodore, you

  • They Saw Me Too Late   Chapter 8

    A few years back. Mother was suddenly struck with a violent fever, convulsing, burning up. No one was home—Dad and Adrian had taken Elara to a circus show. Theodore was off training his team.I carried her on my back, trudging miles to the pack hospital. I stayed by her bed all night, wiping her down with cold cloths, trying to bring her fever down.Near dawn, I collapsed beside the bed and passed out. When Mother finally opened her eyes, Elara—somehow already dressed in a fancy dress—was standing at her bedside, holding a cup of warm water.Mother was so moved to see Elara. Then she turned and saw me, slumped over in mud-soaked clothes, exhausted beyond words. She slapped me awake."Elara's so fragile, and you made her come all the way here at dawn to take care of me?! You're the plainest, lowliest gray wolf in this family, and you can't even handle simple caregiving? Useless! Absolutely useless!"The image froze. The Stone projected our family's bloodline forms across the sky.Father

  • They Saw Me Too Late   Chapter 7

    The first scene unfolded across the sky.Age ten. A rainy night.I was hunched over a torn piece of paper, carefully drawing a big birthday cake. In wobbly handwriting, I'd labeled each slice: biggest strawberry on top for Dad, chocolate for Mom, the filling for big brother, the frills for little sister...I clutched the drawing and ran out of my room, desperate to share my tenth birthday joy with my family.But the living room was full of laughter. Mom and Dad were fussing over Elara, who'd just taken a little fall. New toys for Elara were scattered everywhere. No one noticed it was my birthday, too. No one remembered I wanted a cake.My mother took a step back.The second scene shifted.I was scrubbing the entire house from top to bottom, every corner, sweat dripping off me.But whenever our parents came home, Elara would grab the broom a split second before they walked in, throw herself into their arms, all fragile and breathless, and say:"Mom, Dad, I helped big sis clean the whole

  • They Saw Me Too Late   Chapter 6

    "How is this possible?!"Theodore stared at the numbers on the Settlement Stone, now plummeting into the red at breakneck speed. He roared:"We owe her?! Diana was just some mediocre gray wolf who spent her whole life throwing tantrums and bleeding the family dry!""And where is she?! Why are you the one standing up for her?!"My father jabbed a finger at the altar, his voice thundering:"This is a joke! Diana's done nothing but act out for attention since she was a kid. She's a leech, plain and simple!"The +2 million above Theodore's head vanished in an instant, then cratered into a bottomless pit. Meanwhile, the divine radiance Maria received on my behalf surged to a staggering, almost obscene height.The crowd below exploded."Yeah right! Having her best friend take the stand? That's straight-up cheating!""Diana? Contribute to anything? Everyone knows she's the pack's most famous ungrateful brat!"Adrian snatched a ritual stone off the ground and hurled it at Maria."Bullshit! You

  • They Saw Me Too Late   Chapter 5

    Half an hour later, the altar was packed. The whole pack had gathered.The public hearing for my settlement had begun. Whispers rippled through the crowd."I heard Diana was jealous of her sister. Even colluded with rogues. A total disgrace to the family.""Their Elara's always been frail, and Diana not only refused to take care of her—she bullied her, poisoned her with silver, then went AWOL. The family had no choice but to trigger the Karma Settlement to track her down.""That poor girl, Elara..."The crowd's sentiment was unanimous. And why wouldn't it be? For years, my parents and Elara had carefully crafted a narrative—and I'd done nothing to correct it. Because I'd been working in secret.The Silvermoon Devotion Medal I was supposed to receive wasn't for something flashy. It was for anonymous service: healing injured pack members at the clinic under a false name, delivering supplies to border patrols in the middle of the night, teaching orphaned pups to read and fight without eve

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