Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 1 - Chapitre 9

A little while later, my younger sister, Claire Ashford, posted again. She wrote, "Mom and Dad bought me so many souvenirs! They were all so expensive. "I kept telling them they didn't need to buy me so much, but they wouldn't listen. Oh, and they picked out a gift for Annie, too!"One person in the comments noticed something was off and asked, "Why didn't your sister go with you?"My heart lurched, and I found myself hoping Claire would reply. We were both their daughters, so why was I the one left behind? If I hadn't happened to see Claire's post, I never would have known they'd already taken her on the trip before the day we'd planned to leave. But less than a minute later, the post was deleted. I stared at the blank page, and my fingertips rested on the screen, trembling slightly. Apparently, I wasn't even worth an explanation. …Two days later, Mom and Dad returned with Claire. The moment she walked through the door, she excitedly called out to me. She was carrying ar

On the day I was supposed to leave, my parents reserved a ballroom and invited some friends from the pack. I honestly thought they'd finally arranged a proper coming-of-age ceremony for me. But the moment I arrived, I realized the whole thing was actually for Claire. Claire stood in the middle of the room in an elegant gown, her makeup perfectly done. Plenty of her friends were there as well. Mom took one look at what I was wearing and frowned. "Why did you come dressed like that?"Claire looked down sheepishly. "It's my fault, Mom. You even picked out a dress for her, but I forgot to tell her."Then, she turned to me, smiling. "You seemed so wrapped up in your designs that I didn't want to bother you. You're not mad at me, are you?"I glanced around the room. Not a single one of my friends was there. I felt like I didn't even belong at my own party. Mom waved dismissively. "It's fine that you didn't change into the gown. At least you showed up.""This may be your belated

Mom thought she'd misheard Dad. "Huh?" she asked. "What did you say?"Dad seemed unsure how to explain, so he tried again."Annie isn't home, and some of her things are missing. Do you think she went out because she was upset?"Mom set the medicine and cake she'd bought for Claire on the table, looking displeased."Upset? What does she have to be upset about? We only took Claire out to get her injury treated."As she spoke, she walked farther into the house. When she realized I wasn't there, a trace of panic crept into her voice."Maybe she just went out for a while," she said uneasily. "She'll be back soon.""Don't worry," Dad reassured her. "I'll call her in a bit."Claire's eyes turned slightly red, and she spoke up at just the right moment."Mom, this is all my fault. If I hadn't fallen and hurt myself, Annie wouldn't have been so upset that she left.""It's okay," Mom said, patting Claire's back to comfort her. "This isn't your fault. Your sister is old enough to know

Mom's frantic voice came through the speaker the moment I answered."Annie, why are you only answering now? Do you have any idea how worried your dad and I have been? You just took off without saying a single word! Do you know how worried we were?"I clenched the bedsheets and said nothing.Then Dad spoke, his voice heavy with reproach. "Book a flight and come home right away," he ordered. "Claire's been worried about you all day. She hasn't even been able to eat properly. Whatever the disagreement was, couldn't you have talked it out instead of just walking away?"After a moment, his tone softened slightly."If you left because of Claire, then when you come back, I'll have her apologize to you. How about that?"I listened in silence as the warmth I'd only just begun to feel slowly faded. Not once had they genuinely asked if I was okay. They didn't even understand why I'd left home.To them, I was just throwing a tantrum. They thought all it would take was a little coaxing for

A few months passed, and the competition Mira had told me about finally took place as scheduled.To my surprise, it was being held in the city where my pack was based.As I stepped off the plane and returned to that familiar city, I felt a strange mix of emotions.The venue was lavishly decorated, and many renowned werewolf designers had gathered to compete.With my designs in hand, I followed Mira to our seats.When I looked up, I spotted Claire in the crowd. She was dressed in a beautiful gown, with my parents standing beside her.Claire noticed me, too, and came over, bringing Mom and Dad with her."Annie, you're competing too? I've missed you so much these past few months while you've been away from home."I stepped away from her outstretched hand and looked at my parents."Didn't you say that designing was a waste of time? Then why did you let Claire study it? And why did you bring her here to the competition?"Mom's face turned pale, and for a moment, she couldn't find