Bagel
My mate, David, was hailed as the most generous wolf in our pack.
He donated his entire ten-thousand-dollar monthly salary to the wolf orphanage. He didn't keep a single cent for himself.
The heavy mortgage, his parents' expensive herbal medicines, and the pack academy tuition all fell squarely on my shoulders. I had to pay for everything using my salary as an emergency room doctor.
I worked several forty-eight-hour night shifts in a row at the pack hospital. My inner wolf was utterly exhausted, but my salary was never enough to cover our expenses.
Having no other choice, I tried to talk to David. "When you get paid next time, could you leave just a little bit of money for us?"
To my surprise, his face instantly darkened. "That's my money. I can donate it however I want. Why is it any of your business?"
His parents immediately jumped in to defend him. "Everyone in the pack praises David. Instead of being proud, you're being petty. You're trying to ruin his reputation. What's wrong with you?"
Even our five-year-old son, Leo, accused me in his childish voice. "You're stopping Daddy from being a hero. You're a bad mommy!"
I looked at my fingers. They were trembling uncontrollably from pure exhaustion. I felt my inner wolf growing weak and decided not to argue anymore.
I turned around and sent a confirmation email to the Lycan Medical Center. I officially accepted their six-month isolated medical residency.
I couldn't wait to see how this family of saints would survive without the money I worked myself to the bone to earn.