My Pack Ditched Me on the Holiday. Now, I’m Out of Reach. Chapter 04

My Pack Ditched Me on the Holiday. Now, I’m Out of Reach. Chapter 04

When I opened my eyes the next morning, it was already ten o’clock.

I didn’t even stop to put on shoes.

I jumped out of bed and ran for the door.

The moment I opened it, I saw my whole family.

They’d just come back from taking the portrait.

My legs gave out, and I collapsed in despair. A piece of broken glass on the floor cut my foot.

Blood gushed out, but I couldn’t feel the pain.

My mind was full of regret and self-blame.

Silas glanced coldly at the blood on the floor.

His tone dripped with sarcasm. “You hurt yourself just to avoid taking a picture with us? Selene, your hypocrisy and coldness have hit a new low.”

With that, he ignored me and went back to his room.

My parents just sighed.

Then they went their separate ways.

Only Ruby stayed.

She chattered on about all the funny things that happened during the shoot.

Then she tried to comfort me. “Selene, I know you’re upset about missing the family portrait. But I thought of a way to make it up to you. We can Photoshop you in. What do you think?”

It sounded like she was helping me.

But her eyes were full of mockery and triumph.

For some reason, last night’s glass of milk suddenly came to mind.

I sprang up from the floor and grabbed Ruby’s arm. “Tell me the truth. Did you put something in my milk to make me oversleep?”

Ruby’s eyes instantly filled with tears. “Selene, what are you talking about? I don’t understand.”

We stood frozen there, my gaze drifting to the security camera in the corner of the living room.

My heart lurched.

I pushed Ruby aside and rushed into the study.

Then I pulled up last night’s security footage.

The image on the screen made my stomach drop.

Ruby was hiding in the kitchen, crushing a small silver herb into my milk glass before carrying it to my room.

My fury finally erupted.

So my previous “oversleeping” incidents weren’t accidents.

Just like with the family group chat, Ruby had done it on purpose.

She wanted all of our family’s love for herself.

I was so shocked I nearly lost my balance.

My arm accidentally bumped the mouse, and the video timeline jumped back two weeks.

On the screen, Ruby appeared again, putting something into my milk.

A chill ran down my spine.

Two weeks ago was the morning of the pack ability trial.

Keeping me from taking a family portrait was one thing.

But she’d even tried to destroy my future.

That day, though… luckily, the trace of wolfsbane in my system caused my wolf to destabilize, and I unexpectedly shifted into a silver wolf.

My wolf had always been weak, and I’d never fully transformed before—all because my true bloodline hadn’t awakened yet.

That was the only reason I’d avoided humiliation during the pack trial.

When I showed the evidence to my parents, I thought they’d be furious.

But the anger I expected never came.

They didn’t even say a harsh word to Ruby.

They just gently scolded her, “Don’t do that again, okay?”

Then they turned around and blamed me.

“No real harm was done. Do you have to make such a big deal out of it? You’re scaring Ruby half to death.”

They pulled Ruby into their arms and comforted her tenderly.

Silas rushed over too. “Exactly. We’re a family. Do you really have to be so petty? Even if Ruby did something wrong, don’t you think you share some of the blame?”

I looked up at the three people in front of me.

They used to be the most important people in my life.

To protect Ruby, they couldn’t even tell right from wrong anymore. Their love for her was remarkable—so great, so noble, and yet so blind.

I couldn’t help but laugh.

But as I laughed, tears streamed down my cheeks.

My parents looked at me with disgust.

“It’s just a family portrait. We’ll take you to retake it tomorrow.”

My laughter stopped abruptly.

I answered calmly, “No need.”

There was no point in retaking the portrait.

There was no reason for me to come back to this home at all.

I quietly went back to my room.

Then I pulled out my suitcase.

I packed the only things in that house that truly belonged to me.

I blocked all my family’s numbers.

I left the family group chat called “Silverstein Family Chat.”

And then I walked out of the house without looking back.

I boarded a flight to the Northern Plains.

From that moment on, the road ahead was mine to walk, and I would never turn back.