In A Wheelchair, They Still Can Only Look Up to Me Chapter 01

In A Wheelchair, They Still Can Only Look Up to Me Chapter 01

Once, there were five chairs, for my parents, my younger sister Maelis, my younger brother Evren, and me, the adopted one.

Now, there are still five chairs, but they’re for my parents, my sister Maelis, my brother Evren, and his dog.

I lay alone in my bed, clutching my surgical wound, unable to sleep.

In the dark, my phone glowed with a single message,

“Northern Institute of Medical Research, check-in countdown, 3 days.”

Goodbye, my chosen family. Thank you for choosing me to be one of you. But this time, I think I’m choosing to let you go.

……

I stumbled back to my room and closed the door.

On my desk still sat a family photo taken a year ago.

The five of us were laughing in front of the amusement park gates, balloons in hand.

I stood in the middle, honey-toned skin, tall frame, a dagger charm hanging at my waist. Everyone said I was the Pack Alpha’s favorite daughter. Even though my lead-gray eyes were nothing like my family’s matching blue ones, no one ever questioned my place.

They didn’t know I wasn’t really a Vale. Nineteen winters ago, Alpha Garrick and Luna Selene found me by the riverbank. From that day on, I had a new home.

On my eighteenth birthday, Dad rented out a private yacht on Moonshadow Lake, and Mom placed the Crescent Diadem on my head with her own hands.

But then Maelis was diagnosed with leukemia, and everything changed.

Dark clouds rolled over our home. The smiles faded from everyone’s faces.

Then the tests came back, and my bone marrow was a match for Maelis.

My proud father grabbed my hand, his eyes red-rimmed. “You’re both my children. I can’t bear to sacrifice one to save the other, but Isolde, you’re the healthiest one in this family. She’s your sister. Will you help her?”

When I nodded, my mother pulled me into her arms, sobbing.

Evren stood by the door, eyes wet, and said,

“Sister, from now on, I’ll protect you.”

For the love they once gave me, I lay down on that operating table.

But I never expected that while they took my marrow, they’d take their love for me along with it.

Maelis and I were wheeled out of surgery at the same time, Dad by her side, Mom by mine. Then Maelis’s face turned purple. Her breathing grew ragged.

“My girl!!” Mom rushed to her in an instant. Evren was already at Maelis’s bedside, frantically pressing the call button. “Doctor! Doctor!”

Cold air crept under my blanket, and I shivered. My wolf had fallen into a deep slumber because of the surgery, she was still there, but utterly exhausted. From then on, I wouldn’t be able to do anything physically demanding again. I thought about my cheerleading days, my figure skating competitions, all those beautiful moments, now gone.

I don’t know why, but right then, a single tear rolled down my cheek.

After the surgery, I grew unusually weak, and the wound became infected.

But in their eyes, I was still the same lively, strong, healthy Isolde.

A violent pounding came at my door.

“Isolde!”

My mother threw the door open, without turning on the light.

“Why are you making all this noise in the middle of the night and tormenting Maelis? She just had surgery! She needs sleep!”

I opened my mouth, my cracked lips seeping threads of blood.

“Mom. I’m not faking it. The anesthesia wore off. My back really hurts.”

She cut me off sharply, her voice heavy with exhaustion.

“Enough! She’s already been uneasy every single day because of your donation. All your moaning does is make her feel guiltier. Are you trying to remind her that she owes you her life?”

“Do you think our whole family owes you something?” Her eyes brimmed with tears.

Evren’s anxious voice called out from the hall, “Maelis is starting to get tinnitus. The doctor said she has to stay calm. If Isolde’s in that much pain, why not move her to the patio?”

“The patio’s leaking. and the puncture wound on my back is still oozing. It really hurts.” I gripped the edge of the bed, trying to push myself up.

“Just work with us here, Isolde.” Dad sighed. “We’re all making sacrifices.”

The words died in my throat.

Evren grabbed my arm and half-dragged, half-shoved me toward the patio. “Stop making noise. Do it for your own conscience, if nothing else!”

His grip was brutal, and his hand landed right on the puncture wound at my waist.

Blood seeped down my side, but not one of the three of them looked down to see it.

My mother even hurriedly urged, “Close the door, don’t let the cold air into the living room. Maelis can’t handle the chill.”

As the glass door clicked shut behind me, my weakened wolf let out a low whimper from deep inside, like she finally understood. This Pack would no longer shelter us.

The patio was freezing.

Colder than the operating table in that OR.

I leaned against the wall and pulled my phone from my pocket.

On the screen, the notification was still waiting.

“Northern Institute of Medical Research, check-in countdown, 3 days.”

The moment midnight struck, the 3 became a 2.

I stared at that number, and I just laughed.