All Chapters of Daughter’s Regret After Telling the Truth: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

As werewolf birthrates kept falling, the law had grown more protective of our pups than ever before.The latest welfare ordinance required the Council to register every pup by name, to stop packs from snatching one another's young.When the Council caseworkers made their rounds to our house, my seven-year-old smiled and blinked up at them. "Why do you come and look after us?"One of the caseworkers warmly scooped her up."To keep all the little pups in our pack safe, sweetheart. To make sure no bad people trick you away from your mom and dad."Lyra nodded, looking thoughtful. "But the bad person you're talking about is my mommy. A few days ago she told me herself that she snatched me from another pack."The caseworker's face changed at once.I stared at Lyra, at the flash of smugness in her eyes, my mind buzzing.Lyra had always loved her little "truths," the kind that left me hurt and humiliated.Yesterday, when I wouldn't let her play on the phone before bed, she called me wicked and

After the caseworkers left, Lyra sat down on the couch and stole glances to see whether my eyes had gone red.When I showed no reaction, her little face fell.I couldn't help asking, "Why did you say Mommy trafficked you?"Lyra pouted, full of righteous certainty."You're the one who said you bought me. I only told the mister and miss what you said. I'm a good, honest girl. My teacher says we can't lie."Now I was certain she had done it on purpose.Her whole aim was to make my own people and the Council look at me with those suspicious eyes.I forced myself calm and asked her again."And if Mommy took you back from other bad people, and your birth parents weren't good wolves either, so Mommy never returned you to them, would you still call the people at the Council and have them take Mommy away?"Lyra nodded without the slightest hesitation."Of course I would. Mommy, I'm a good girl who tells the truth."I went rigid where I stood, a ringing in my ears.My husband had come back at so

"Mommy, where are you sending me? I'm your own daughter!"The smile could no longer hold on Lyra's face.When I didn't react, she ran over to look at the file.There were too many words she couldn't read, but she made out the photographs clearly, and her expression turned grave."Who are they? They look so mean and cruel. Mommy, I don't like them."The Head, wanting to smooth things over, crouched down with a pained look to explain."Sweetheart, these are your birth parents."Lyra's little mouth parted, and then, as if she'd remembered something urgent, she whipped her face around."Mommy! You're the Luna. Whatever you say, these people will do. I was only being honest with you, and you can't take the smallest joke. If you're this angry, then maybe you really did sell me, and you're the one who ought to be a rogue."Lyra hurled her questions at me one after another, and not one of them stirred the faintest ripple in my eyes.I only watched her quietly, the way I'd watch a stranger."No

The scarred man stared the two of us down.He had no idea that with a flick of a finger we could drive them out of the pack entirely."You raise the brat when it pleases you and dump her when it doesn't. You came to adopt our Roxy dressed so plainly, we figured you had no money. Turns out you're loaded. So hand over a hundred thousand, and be quick about it.""Who do you think you are, talking to us like that?"My husband shot them a vicious glare.Perhaps it had been a misjudgment of mine, years ago, to set up that rescue post along the border.I should have exiled wolves like these long ago.When we adopted Lyra, we'd gone to their home to sign the papers.The whole place was bare, nothing in it but two old wooden cots and a single iron pot.I could see the marks of drug use on the man, and I knew neither of them lived an honest, decent life.Their pups, from nine years old down to barely six months, were every one of them thin as kindling.Sensing my bloodline, the two of them put o

Sick of the noise, the scarred man grabbed her by the leg and hauled her up.Then he brought a hand down across her face."You're deafening me. Shut your fucking mouth."I listened to Lyra's words, and all I did was slide open the little window in the door."I stopped counting on you long ago. You said it yourself, that I'd die sooner or later. Don't you remember?"Lyra seized on a thread of hope and said quickly,"Mommy, I only said that to make you angry. It wasn't my truth."My voice held no warmth."I know."Then I spoke with a smile."But it was your truth, wasn't it? Have you forgotten? I still remember. You told me you were the kind of child who loved the truth best of all."She'd meant to fling some vicious line back, but it had never crossed her mind that I simply no longer cared.Those sharp words of hers were all stuck in her throat now, impossible to spit out and impossible to swallow.Lyra didn't want to go, and the heavy woman didn't seem to want to take a daughter home e