Spent All 99 Favor Cards, The Unwanted Daughter Escaped Chapter 04

Spent All 99 Favor Cards, The Unwanted Daughter Escaped Chapter 04

The day our final high school rankings came out, Mother and Father were already gathered around Sabine that morning.

I was alone in my room, logging into the school system on the old laptop they’d thrown away.

The thing was ancient.

It took forever for the page to load.

Then I heard Mother’s excited voice through the bedroom door.

“You got a B!”

“That’s still amazing. I’m so proud of you!”

A few minutes later, my own page finally loaded.

[Academic Ranking: No. 1]

[Overall Lycan Evaluation: S]

I stared at the screen and finally let out the breath I’d been holding.

I’d done it.

I hadn’t let myself down.

And now I finally had what I needed to enter Royal Ashbourne Academy.

At dinner that night, Mother seemed to remember I was there.

“Tavia, what did you get?”

Before I could answer, Sabine spoke for me.

“S.”

Her eyes suddenly turned red.

“If my ears were fine, I wouldn’t have gotten just a B.”

“Mother, maybe I shouldn’t have been born.”

Mother immediately leaned toward her.

“Don’t say that. Her rating doesn’t matter.”

“You’re always going to be our pride.”

I lowered my head.

My wolf whimpered inside me.

The child who was loved could get bad grades and still be comforted.

The child who wasn’t could come in first and still not matter.

A moment later, Sabine pulled the last No-Refusal Card from her bag.

The 99th.

“Tavia, I’m using the last one.”

She leaned back in her chair.

Her tone was casual, like she was asking for a new dress.

“I know you’re going to apply to the best colleges, right?”

“I want you to give them up.”

“You’ll stay in Spokane and get a job.”

“The private college I want to attend is expensive. You can help Mom and Dad pay for it.”

“Give me your paycheck every month. I’ll use it for tuition.”

I looked up sharply.

That was the future I’d fought for through countless sleepless nights.

I’d earned it through one competition after another and an S-level evaluation.

I wasn’t giving it up.

“That’s my life. I want to go to college, too.”

My voice shook.

Mom had already taken the No-Refusal Card.

“Tavia, Sabine is going to have a harder time finding a job than you.”

“She needs a real college degree.”

“You’re different. You’re healthy, and your wolf is strong. You don’t need college to make a living.”

Dad chimed in.

“I can get you a full-time job at one of the Pack’s distribution centers.”

“The pay won’t be great, but it’ll be enough to cover Sabine’s tuition.”

“Besides, she used her No-Refusal Card. Just give in one last time.”

One last time.

This time, they weren’t taking a piece of cake.

Or a dress.

Or some money.

They were taking my future.

Sabine leaned back on the couch, completely at ease.

“Tavia, you’re so smart. You’ll have plenty of opportunities later.”

“I don’t want to go to community college. I want to go to this private school. What’s so hard about letting me have it?”

I looked at the three of them.

And just like that, whatever love I had left for them was gone.

I lowered my head and pretended to give in.

“Fine. I’ll do what you want. I’ll get a job and stop applying to college.”

Mom visibly relaxed.

Dad did, too.

They went back to planning Sabine’s graduation trip and college life.

Not once did they ask what I wanted.

They had no idea their obedient daughter was lying to them.

Back in my room, I pulled out my journal.

Slowly, I filled in the final box.

[Give up my college and work to pay for Sabine’s tuition.]

Then I crossed it out.

99 boxes.

Every single one was filled.

Over the next few days, I told my family I’d found a summer job.

They didn’t question it.

I left early every morning and came home late.

In reality, I was getting ready to leave.

On the day I left, I dragged an old suitcase out of the Pack House.

As the car headed toward the airport and crossed out of Stonepine territory, I checked my phone.

Then I left the family group text.

One by one, I blocked everyone in the Norwood family.

My wolf slowly rose inside me.

For the first time in 18 years, it wasn’t afraid of leaving the Pack.

Royal Ashbourne Academy was more than 2,000 miles away.

And those 99 No-Refusal Cards would stay behind in Spokane forever.

From now on,

I owed them nothing.