Sixteen Years Waiting, Still Below the Dog Chapter 07

Sixteen Years Waiting, Still Below the Dog Chapter 07

The days went on.

I stopped thinking about that so–called home in Everden.

Life in Brackenfield was quiet.

Every morning I woke at five. Made breakfast. Fed the animals on the small farm. Then biked twenty minutes

to school.

My goal was simple–get into a top Lycan Academy.

Then I’d be able to give Gran a better life.

My mother sent a few messages during that period. I never answered.

Twice, they even rode all the way to Brackenfield with armfuls of gifts. They stood outside the old border

cottage shouting my name.

I never went out.

Gran wouldn’t let them in either.

Later, some pack members started talking, They’re her parents after all. How can she be so cold

When Gran heard that, she chased them off with her broom.

If you don’t know what happened, don’t go judging.

Her Alpha wolf aura had long since faded.

But that day, no one on the entire block dared say another word.

Soon, junior year arrived.

I poured every minute into my studies. My grades kept climbing.

Finally, Pack Entrance Exam scores came out.

I got a perfect score.

Top of the entire Greylock Pack.

Gran laughed and cried at the same time, rubbing my hands.

I knew it. My Sunny is amazing.

The day the acceptance letter arrived, Brackenfield’s community board played the announcement three times

in a row.

[Congratulations to Sunny Moore.]

[Westmere Academy graduate Sunny Moore achieved the highest score in the entire district and has been accepted by her dream Lycan Academy.]

The whole town celebrated. They wanted to throw me a graduation gathering.

Relatives spread the word–everyone said they’d come to congratulate me.

The news reached Everden. My mother ran into Verena at the market.

Verena looked surprised.

Mirella, why aren’t you back in Brackenfield for Sunny’s graduation celebration

My mother blinked. What celebration

Verena’s eyes went wide.

Sunny’s academy acceptance. She got pack first. You didn’t know

My mother’s face went stiff.

She really didn’t know.

She hadn’t seen me in two years. I didn’t answer her messages, and she couldn’t get through the door when

she came back.

At first, she was angry. Thought I was stubborn and ungrateful.

Eventually, she got used to it.

She still had Silas and Brielle at home anyway. One less daughter didn’t make much difference.

She didn’t even know I was applying to academy this year.

Several pack members nearby turned to look at her.

She forced a dry laugh and quickly covered.

Of course I know. We just haven’t figured out the timing yet.

Verena gave her a knowing look and didn’t say more.

My mother’s face burned. She grabbed her goods and hurried home.

Silas was sprawled on the couch when she got there, gaming on his console with the volume blasting.

Last year’s entrance exam, he’d scored barely passing.

He’d scraped into a mediocre training institute. Dropped out after six months, saying the place was beneath

him.

Now he spent every day at home gaming, drinking with friends, spending coin.

Brielle was trying on new clothes. The floor was littered with outfits and shopping bags.

She hadn’t even passed regular Pack School. Got into a vocational track instead.

Within a year, she’d picked up a bunch of bad habits–shallow, materialistic, always comparing herself to

others.

When Brielle heard her mother come in, she flashed a playful smile.

Mom, I saw this bag my classmate had. It’s so pretty. Can you buy me one too It’s not that much. Just two

thousand marks.

Silas looked up too.

Mom, give me two thousand too. I’m going out with friends tonight.

My mother stared at her two kids, who only knew how to spend. Her chest tightened.

All you two do is spend coin. Can’t you learn something from Sunny She got top of the pack on her entrance

exam!

She did that from a country school. And you two, with all the resources you had, can’t even get into a decent

academy.

Silas’s face dropped.

Now you remember her You’re the ones who couldn’t stand her, who didn’t want her here.

Now she’s top of the pack and suddenly she’s great

Too late. Does she even acknowledge you Last time you went to see her, did she open the door

Brielle was annoyed too.

Exactly. You left her in the countryside for sixteen years. When you finally brought her back, you gave her the

sunroom and beat her up. If I were her, I wouldn’t want you either.

That last sentence struck my mother like a knife.

Silas stood up, grabbed his jacket, and headed for the door.

Don’t compare me to her. She’s good because that’s who she is. And I turned out this way because of how

you raised me. Take it or leave it.

The door slammed, rattling the picture frames on the wall.

Brielle went to her room too. Her door slammed even louder.

My mother stood there, lips trembling, unable to speak.

When my father came home, he found her sitting on the couch with red–rimmed eyes.

What’s wrong

My mother told him what Verena had said.

My father was quiet for a long time.

What if… we go back

Give her a proper apology. She’s our own flesh and blood. She wouldn’t really disown us, would she

My mother nodded, but her heart wasn’t in it.