Luna Who Stopped Giving In Chapter 03

Luna Who Stopped Giving In Chapter 03

The next day, the Caldwells booked a private room at the Blackthorn Pack Club for Lily’s graduation dinner.

Relatives and a handful of Pack elders crowded around the table.

“Alpha Theodore, you must be proud. Lily getting into Blackthorn Pack University is no small thing.”

My uncle raised his glass, beaming.

Dad waved the compliment off, flushed with pride.

“She’s always been delicate, health-wise. We’re just happy she’s staying close to home at a solid school.”

“Blackthorn’s a great choice. Close enough that she can still come home for Sunday dinner.”

My aunt nodded along, then glanced over at me.

“What about Amelia?”

The table went quiet for a moment.

I kept my eyes on my plate, playing with the salad without a word.

Mom jumped in before the silence could settle.

“Amelia’s staying at Blackthorn too.”

“It works out perfectly. She can help me keep an eye on Lily.”

The relatives murmured approval around the table.

My hands didn’t stop moving.

I’d shredded the lettuce on my plate into nothing.

They didn’t know.

The day applications closed, Caleb stood behind me and watched me pull up Blackthorn Pack University’s page.

The second he turned to get Lily a drink, I closed the tab.

And submitted my application to Royal Warrior University instead.

“Amelia, stop zoning out. Go flag down a waiter for a water refill.”

Marcus kicked my chair.

I set down my fork and stood.

I’d barely stepped into the hallway when I heard Caleb’s voice drift out behind me.

“Don’t worry, Mrs. Caldwell. Once we’re all at school, Amelia and I will look after Lily together.”

“It’ll be just like it’s always been. The three of us, every day.”

In the restroom, I turned the faucet on and held my hands under the cold water.

I looked at myself in the mirror.

Heavy black-framed glasses. A washed-out T-shirt. A face gone pale from too many late nights during senior year.

This was all they saw when they looked at me.

An accessory that didn’t need a life of her own.

By the time I got back, the main courses were on the table.

Caleb was wiping his hands on a napkin, setting freshly peeled shrimp on Lily’s plate.

“Squeeze some lemon over them first. Your stomach’s touchy. Don’t overdo it with the seafood.”

Lily swatted his arm, playing annoyed.

“I know, I know. God, you’re such a nag.”

Caleb smiled, peeled another, and set it on my plate.

“Have some, Amelia.”

I looked at the shrimp.

The vein was still in it, a thin dark line. He hadn’t even cleaned it properly.

Just like everything he ever gave me.

Always half-hearted. Always someone else’s leftovers.

“I don’t eat seafood.”

I picked up my fork and pushed the shrimp to the edge of my plate.

Caleb’s expression hardened.

Marcus slammed the table.

“Caleb peels a shrimp for you and you give him that attitude? Who’s that for?”

Mom’s voice went flat.

“She’s been like this since she was little. Whatever Lily gets, she has to make it about her. Now she can’t even let one shrimp go.”

Lily’s eyes welled up, her lip trembling.

“Amelia, if it bothers you, I won’t let Caleb peel them for me anymore.”

I didn’t look at them.

I pulled a linen napkin from my lap and dried my fingers, one by one.

“I’m allergic to seafood.”

The whole table went silent.

Caleb’s hand stopped halfway to the plate. He turned to stare at me.

“Allergic? You’ve eaten it before.”

I looked at his confused face and almost laughed.

When I was ten, he took me to a seafood buffet.

He’d paid with his own allowance. Just me and Lily.

Lily wanted lobster, so he peeled her a whole plateful.

I didn’t want him to think his money was wasted, so I forced down a few bites.

That night, my whole body broke out in hives. My wolf was still too young to heal me, and the fever wouldn’t go down. I spent the night scratching myself raw on the hard mattress in my storage closet.

The next morning, when he came by to hang out with Lily, Mom told him I was just being lazy and sleeping in.

I never touched seafood again.

“Yeah. I’ve had it.”

“And then I almost didn’t make it through the night. In the storage closet.”

Mom’s fork stopped. She cleared her throat.

“It wasn’t that serious. And this really isn’t the time or place.”

Caleb stared at the shrimp sitting on the edge of my plate. He looked sick.

“Amelia, I didn’t know you were allergic.”

I set my fork down.

“I’m done.”

I sat back in my chair and listened to the relatives toast Lily’s future.

Caleb sat next to me and didn’t say another word for the rest of the meal.

Every few minutes, he’d glance over.

Waiting for me to break first, the way I always did.

But I just kept my eyes on the acceptance letter from Royal Warrior University glowing on my phone screen.

The blue crest shimmered at the top, quiet and steady.