My Pack Ditched Me on the Holiday. Now, I’m Out of Reach. Chapter 03

My Pack Ditched Me on the Holiday. Now, I’m Out of Reach. Chapter 03

After I washed up and lay in bed, Zane texted me.

He was the future Alpha of the Sterling pack, and everyone assumed he was destined to be my mate.

His first question was simple: [You submitted your academy application, right? To Sterling Warrior Academy?]

Zane had dreamed of attending Royal Alpha Academy for years.

He’d once sworn he’d never go anywhere except the kingdom’s most prestigious school.

Then, a month before admissions selection… he suddenly changed his mind.

He said he’d never leave home.

Then he listed Sterling Warrior Academy as his first-choice school.

This time, I couldn’t help asking why.

Zane hesitated before finally answering.

“It’s because Ruby’s trial ranking wasn’t that high. If I stay here… it’ll be easier to take care of her.”

I was stunned. “So you gave up your dream just to stay by her side?”

Zane’s tone was indifferent. “It’s just a school. How could that be more important than Ruby?”

Suddenly, I wanted to laugh.

When I first learned that Zane’s dream school was Royal Alpha Academy, I’d been so anxious I couldn’t eat or sleep for days.

Back then, my trial ranking barely qualified me as an ordinary pack warrior.

Royal Academy was out of my reach.

But because I wanted to stand by his side…

I worked harder than ever.

I trained until dawn every day.

I practiced tracking, combat, swordsmanship, survival skills—I pushed myself until I could barely stand.

When the final rankings were released… I’d climbed all the way to the top six among all the packs in the North.

I cried over and over again.

Because I thought… our future was finally possible.

But Zane had given up his dream so easily—for Ruby.

And he’d broken his promise to me.

I swallowed the ache in my chest and asked one more question. “Then why did you ask me to apply to Sterling Warrior Academy with you?”

Before he could answer, a thousand possibilities raced through my mind.

Maybe he couldn’t bear to be apart from me.

Maybe he was worried about me traveling alone.

Zane chuckled softly, his tone meaningful:

“Ruby’s the lead, Selene. You’re just the supporting role. How can she shine without you standing beside her?”

His words hit my heart like a hammer.

The pain made my whole body tremble.

From the day I was born, I’d been haunted by this idea: Ruby was the star, and I was just there to make her shine.

Everyone around me—including my family—used it to lift Ruby up and push me down.

Only Zane had ever told me, “You are who you are. Even if you’re ordinary, in my eyes, you still shine with your own light.”

I believed him.

I’d naively thought that in his heart, I’d always be the one exception—until he met Ruby.

After that, his gentle gaze never left her.

I closed my eyes, forcing back the bitterness in my chest.

“If there’s nothing else, I’m going to sleep.”

I hung up before he could answer.

I was about to turn off the light when I looked up and saw Ruby standing at the door with a glass of milk.

“Selene, can I come in?”

I nodded.

She walked over and placed the milk in my hands.

“Oh, right. We’re taking a family portrait tomorrow. Don’t oversleep again, okay?”

She winked playfully and turned to leave.

I wanted to say I wasn’t going, but the words got stuck in my throat.

When we were little, Ruby was frail.

The elders thought she needed more care.

So my parents sent me to live with our grandmother on the edge of pack territory.

They were too busy to visit.

But every holiday, they’d send me a family photo.

In every picture, Ruby stood in the center, surrounded by my mom, dad, and Silas.

She was always smiling, like she had the whole world.

I envied her.

Because of that, taking a real family portrait with them became one of my deepest wishes.

After I came home, I should have had countless chances to make it happen.

But somehow, every time picture day came, I overslept.

I’d always kept a regular sleep schedule.

Yet on those mornings, I slept so deeply that no amount of knocking on my door could wake me.

After a few times, my parents lost patience.

They stopped waiting for me.

I’d already decided to leave.

But I still didn’t want to go with regrets.

To make sure I wouldn’t miss it again, I set three alarms.

I turned the volume to max.

I even went to bed before the moon rose.

But I never expected history to repeat itself.