ra's

d the most. The one who stood by me whe

wait for me, that he would

was the one I d

who once gave me hope and then cruelly crush

atred was always open, cold, and sharp. He never pre

red me light only to push

to know no how to survive. When you're powerless, you

t, to avoid the wolves that circle you,

their potions, their needles, thei

ike some rogue beast. I endured the beatings,

nights when I lay on the cold floor, listening to my heartbea

s car, I could feel his presence beside me. Hi

ems scattered inside. An expensive backpack sat neatly

elvet box. All of it belonged to Helen, of course. The

ndow. My worn-out top, rough from years of washi

brightly as everyone adored

deep down, seeing the difference with my o

ward, Alpha Keith fin

mega wolf. "You've just gotten out. Don't cause trouble. And control your te

n't a

rned, "You don't know how much stress you've caused. Dad an

lips curle

said calmly, my voice steady, even though the

a careless shrug. "Father was handling important matters. You know how much resp

unded practiced. But I wasn't interested in arguing with h

silence. My gaze stayed fixed o

looked even larger than I remembered. But big houses

d, Alpha Keith stepped ou

dress, a brief flicker of c

anted to say something, but instead, he

appropriate and come to the banqu

g time." With that, he

at, he

, taking in the house that was suppo

ight years ago, wearing a tattered dress, thin

owed proved I was nothin

stranger's house than my own. My feet led me down to th

sement. The place I had to share with Helen's do

damp. The bed small, the wall

old mattress, staring at the space wher

d I had been. I thought maybe, just maybe they would fin

uation party had been g

es congratulating her. As if she were t

ly at my sides, but I

ack into the Donald house, dressed

even then, it felt like I was bei

here. And now, after all these years of pretending