a's
droom-a glorified storage closet, really. I sat up on the thin mattress and ru
ords were laced with annoyance, the familiar e
kfast. Lila has a busy day, and I
efore. They were the only clothes I owned, all hand-me-downs from Lila. Nothing new, n
lashing in them, as if even the sight of me was a reminder of something she'd rather f
, her voice dripping with mockery. "You know how Mother hates it when you mess up. Again."
and adored. She had her wolf, her status, and everyone in
r sneer. "Wolfless and useless." She sighed heavily. "If only we hadn't lost Olive
a fresh wave of sadness over me. I couldn't even dare t
cture my hands covered in blood. His blood. I swallowed back the hurt and pain, fo
with people-warriors and higher-ran
I moved around, serving food,
fless daughter, the girl who cou
rs as he passed, shoving me aside to grab his drink.
rders, insults, scorn. And no matter what I did, I could never escape the shadow Lila had cast over my
ing over the room until he landed on me. He barely ever spoke to me, but whe
he said with a smirk, his voice carrying a mocking edge that made my stom
hame. Orion's words hurt, even more so because a pa
that I was the failure of the family. No one wanted me. I forced myself to ke
I'd probably never shift, how I was a liabili
l pieces of dignity I had left. As the group finally left, I san
yearning for acceptance that would never come. I wanted to scream,
ings worse. But do I really dese
ed, and the pack house was quiet. I slowly made my way back
to a disdainful smile. "Done with your duties?" she asked, fe
because of my pity, Aria. The least y
I murmured, b
ger bubble within me-a raw, simmering an
o scream, to hit something, to let them
yself to stay quiet, to keep the m
if there was a place out there where I could be free. A place where I didn't have to li
yself imagine that somewhere, so
it was just a dream-a fleeting, impos
a restless sleep, dreading t