No Bonds to Hold Me, but a Wolf to Run With Chapter 07

No Bonds to Hold Me, but a Wolf to Run With Chapter 07

I had no idea why they kept sending things.

Maybe my admission to Harvard made them think I was still useful, or maybe they just couldn’t stand the snapping of a blood tie.

Either way, I didn’t want their charity. I kept the old clothes that had belonged to me all along and shipped the unopened supplies right back.

Eleanor wired a sum of living expenses with the memo: First allowance from your birth parents.

Oh, typical of billionaires. They were always generous when it came to pay-offs.

I hit the return button.

In less than five minutes, Eleanor transferred the money again. The amount was doubled, and the memo changed to: Extra from Mom.

I still didn’t accept it.

Finally, they lost their patience and showed up at the school together.

My grades were decent enough, so tracking down my dorm room wasn’t rocket science.

Claire looked furious the moment she saw me. “Why did you send the boxes back? Everything in there is stuff you actually need.”

“I’ve already bought what I need.”

Eleanor handed over a black card. “Then take this instead. You’re my daughter, and tuition and living expenses are our responsibility.”

Victor’s expression darkened instantly. “What do you mean, your daughter? She carries our last name; you don’t get to buy your way into her life. Whatever you’re giving her, I’m doubling it.”

Marcus looked displeased too. “The whole mix-up was just an accident back then. It’s time for her

to return to her birth family.”

He muttered under his breath, “When it comes to money, who in the Silver Moon tribe is richer

than the Hartwells?”

Before he even finished, Claire pulled me to her side, acting like a mother wolf shielding her cub. “I gave her that name, and I raised her. You two show up after all these years, push her out of the

house into a dorm, and now you think you have the right to claim her?”

Eleanor’s eyes turned red. “And you people have the right? She walked out from under your noses on her birthday, and you didn’t even notice until the next day.”

The four of them started arguing faster and faster, as if whoever shouted the loudest could wash away their own guilt.

I remained calm, almost detached, and slowly pulled my sleeve out of Claire’s grip.

“You aren’t arguing over who loves me more.”

They stopped.

“You’re arguing over who messed up, and who’s to blame for me leaving.”

Victor’s jaw tightened, and the bank card in Marcus’s hand dropped an inch.

After a moment of heavy silence, all four of them promised in turn to give me a proper home.

Only every single promise came with conditions attached.

The Greys wanted me to move back on weekends and keep calling them Mom and Dad.

The Hartwells wanted me to change my last name first, update my tribal registry, and then take my time building a relationship.

The homes they offered were like four doors, and every single one required me to hand over proof of surrender at the entrance.

“I have plans this afternoon.” I glanced at my watch. “Take these things back with you.”

This time, nobody dared to accuse me of throwing a tantrum.

By evening, Sienna came to find me by herself.

She had changed out of her pearl-studded dress into a simple short-sleeve tee, carrying two takeout boxes of pasta.

There weren’t any tables near the dorm building, so we sat down on the edge of a flowerbed and

each held a box.

“I was really happy at first.”

She kept her eyes off me. “Suddenly having a pair of parents show up, saying they were going to make up for eighteen years of love… I was terrified that if I pushed them away even a little, they’d take it all back.”

She snapped her plastic fork apart without eating.

“I saw you sitting in front of that cake. I wanted to call out to you, but they kept telling me to look at the camera. So I thought I’d talk to you after the photos.”

I didn’t say it was fine.

“You’re allowed to be happy, and you’re allowed to miss either side. But they don’t get to ignore me just to prove how much they love you.”

“I don’t blame you, but I’m not playing along anymore.”

She was the golden child who had it all. Why should I pretend it didn’t hurt?