They Voted Me Out, So I Rose as a Lycan Warrior Chapter 04

They Voted Me Out, So I Rose as a Lycan Warrior Chapter 04

When I wake up, the sharp smell of disinfectant fills my nose.

The nurse beside me visibly relaxes when she sees my eyes open.

“You’re finally awake. Your fever was close to forty degrees. If the Beta hadn’t found you collapsed outside the pack house, things could’ve gone very badly.”

I close my eyes for a moment. My throat hurts so badly that I can barely make a sound.

The nurse pours me a glass of water and tells me not to move around too much, but before she can finish, the hospital room door opens.

Sebastian walks in first, with Nathan and Clara right behind him.

The moment I see them, a dull ache still twists in my chest.

Maybe people really are that pathetic.

Even after being abandoned so many times, the first thing you instinctively look for when you wake up is still the people closest to you.

But Sebastian’s first words crush the last bit of hope I have.

“Nora, did you really have to get yourself hospitalized before you were satisfied?”

I stare at him in a daze.

There’s nothing but impatience in his expression.

“The glass had silver in it. Rebecca’s an Omega, so her healing is weaker. With silver in the wound, she needed stitches.”

He stares at me.

“You won’t even apologize, and instead you get yourself sick. Are you trying to make everyone worry about you?”

Nathan stands at the foot of my bed, his voice just as cold.

“Nora, you really crossed the line this time.”

Clara’s expression is complicated.

“You weren’t like this before. You know how worried Alpha Sebastian gets about you. And you deliberately stayed out in the rain until you got sick. What were you expecting him to do?”

I suddenly want to laugh.

So even getting sick is something I’m accused of doing on purpose.

A soft knock comes from the door.

Rebecca walks in holding a bouquet of flowers.

Her face is pale, and her injured leg is wrapped in thick bandages. She still limps slightly with every step.

Nathan immediately turns and helps steady her.

“Your leg is still injured. Why did you come?”

Rebecca shakes her head and looks at me with red-rimmed eyes.

“I wanted to check on Nora.”

She holds the flowers out toward my bedside.

“Nora, I’m sorry. I know you didn’t mean to break my phone or hurt me.”

“Please don’t be mad at me anymore, okay?”

The strong floral scent suddenly rushes into my nose.

My breath catches, and my throat instantly starts itching.

The next second, I break into a violent coughing fit.

Tears spill uncontrollably from my eyes. My nose burns, and my chest feels as though something is pressing down on it, making it almost impossible to breathe.

I reach out and push the flowers away.

“Take them away…”

Rebecca looks startled and stands frozen in place.

“I’m sorry… I really didn’t know Nora was allergic to pollen.”

When I was little, my pollen allergy nearly made me suffocate.

After that, Sebastian threw every flower out of the pack house.

Every spring, Nathan reminded me to wear a mask.

Clara even used to tease me, saying I was like the princess from a fairy tale who couldn’t touch flowers without getting sick.

They all know.

Yet in this moment, Sebastian’s first instinct is to steady Rebecca and comfort her.

“It’s okay. This isn’t your fault.”

Nathan takes the flowers from her.

“You were just trying to do something nice.”

Clara looks at me and lets out a soft sigh.

“Nora, Rebecca came all this way to see you. You don’t have to react like that.”

I’m coughing so hard that my vision goes black around the edges, my eyes burning red from the irritation.

“Get out.”

All three of them freeze.

“Nora!”

The nurse hears the commotion and immediately rushes back into the room.

She takes the flowers away at once and frowns at them.

“She’s allergic to pollen. Why would you bring flowers into her room?”

She points toward the door.

“Everyone out. She needs to rest.”

Rebecca’s tears start falling again.

Sebastian helps her toward the door, then looks back at me coldly before leaving.

“Think about what you’ve done. When you’re ready to admit you were wrong, go apologize to Rebecca.”

The door closes, and the room falls silent again.

On the day I’m discharged, no one comes to pick me up.

I handle the paperwork alone, then take a cab back to the pack house.

The living room is empty.

They’ve already gone to the Alps.

New photos keep appearing on their Instagram.

Snow-covered mountains, blue skies, prayer flags, and smiling faces in every picture.

Sebastian carries Rebecca’s bag, Nathan drapes his jacket over her shoulders, and Clara and Rebecca wear matching scarves.

Even the scarves have the exact same moon embroidered on them.

The caption reads:

[Life is meant to be lived somewhere far away with the people who matter most.]

I scroll through the pictures one by one.

Until my finger stops on a group photo.

Rebecca is standing beneath the snow-covered mountains, smiling sweetly.

And around her neck is a necklace I know all too well.

I zoom in on the picture.

In that moment, it feels as though every sound around me disappears.

All I can think about is the moment before Mom leaves us.

Her fingers are so thin that they’re almost nothing but bone, yet she still manages to put the necklace around my neck.

“Don’t forget, Nora. Mom just wants you to grow up safe and happy.”

But now, it hangs around Rebecca’s neck.

She wears the keepsake my mother leaves behind for me, standing in the center of all the love and favoritism they have to give.

My fingers tremble slightly.

I close Instagram, wipe away my tears, and block and delete every one of their contacts, one by one.

I pack my things and walk to the train station alone.

As the train slowly leaves the pack’s territory, I look back one last time at the familiar pack house through the window.

Then I turn away.

The train to the Lycan Realm carries me toward a future without them.