Sixteen Years Waiting, Still Below the Dog Chapter 03

Sixteen Years Waiting, Still Below the Dog Chapter 03

My heart sank.

That sunroom was crammed with cardboard boxes, storage bins, and laundry baskets, with a row of clothes hanging overhead.

Brielle clapped her hands and laughed.

The sunroom’s perfect!

All that sunlight will bake the Brackenfield smell right off her.

My father carried over a camp cot and set it up in the corner.

He tossed down a thin, worn blanket.

You’ll stay here for now. We’ll figure something out later.

Later.

I sat on the edge of the cot, running my fingers over the cold, stiff canvas.

The sunroom had no curtains. The afternoon sun blazed straight in, scorching hot.

That night, I lay on the hard camp cot, wide awake for a long time.

Moonlight streamed through the glass ceiling, pooling over my worn Pack School hoodie.

The wolf at my chest lay curled and still.

I kept thinking about Gran’s words.

Sunny, you’re a good student. You can’t stay trapped in Brackenfield forever. Go to Everden with your parents. They have better Pack schools there.

Once you’re in the city, be helpful. Work hard. If they see you’re sensible, they’ll warm up to you.

So the next morning, I got up early.

I quietly cleaned the whole house—mopped the floors, took out the trash, made breakfast.

When my parents came down and saw the tidy house, they didn’t praise me.

She’s trying too hard to look good. So fake. It’s off-putting.

Ugh, country living ruined her. Good thing we still have Silas and Brielle.

My mother pulled my father into the kitchen, whispering, thinking I couldn’t hear.

They assumed a pup raised in a backward place couldn’t have a wolf. And they thought that if they hid in the kitchen, I couldn’t hear their venomous words.

But my wolf had sharp hearing, and not only that, she was a B-rank wolf, just like my father’s.

But even the strongest wolf’s heart can shatter under a parent’s betrayal.

During the day, Silas and Brielle started making my life hell.

They deliberately crumbled snack bits all over the floor, making me sweep again and again.

They hid my old clothes and watched me scramble.

Silas handed me a small piece of something with a smirk, coaxing me.

This is an imported treat. Try it. It’s really good.

I’d never seen it before. I didn’t know what it was. I took a bite.

A dry, bitter taste spread through my mouth.

Silas and Brielle burst out laughing, bent over double.

She actually ate it! What an idiot!

That’s Brisk’s dog food. The country pup’s fighting dogs for food. How pathetic!

I spat it out immediately, my eyes burning with humiliation.

But I didn’t cry or throw a fit.

I just wiped the crumbs from my mouth and kept working in silence.

I told myself to hold on a little longer. I couldn’t waste Gran’s sacrifice.

On the weekend, my parents’ friends came over.

They were all core members of the Greylock Pack.

When I brought dishes to the table, one of the women looked at me.

Oh, who’s this Such a hard worker.

My heart jolted. I looked at my mother.

I waited for her to say, This is our second daughter.

But my mother was busy peeling shrimp for Brielle. She didn’t even look up.

Oh. Just a pup from Brackenfield. Her family’s having a hard time, so she’s staying with us for a while.

Those few light words shattered every illusion I had.

So in their eyes, I was just a boarder. An outsider.

After the guests left, the house went quiet.

I cleared the table in silence.

All the hurt, the humiliation, the endurance—layers upon layers pressing down on me, suffocating.

That night, I thought for a long time.

I decided to go back to Brackenfield.

But before I could say anything, my parents called me to the living room.

My mother stared at me, frowning hard.

A thousand gold marks are missing from my vanity.

Which one of you took them