Sixteen Years Waiting, Still Below the Dog Chapter 09

Sixteen Years Waiting, Still Below the Dog Chapter 09

Four years flew by.

During my academy years, I secured merit grants and worked campus jobs, paying my own way.

The year I graduated, I got an offer from a major Lycan corporation with a solid starting salary.

My first move after starting work was to rent a suburban residence in the city.

It wasn’t big, but it was clean and bright.

I brought Gran over from Brackenfield.

The day she walked in, she stood in the living room for a long time, running her hands over the new sofa and

muttering.

This house is so nice. So bright.

I bought her soft cotton slippers and took her out for a good meal.

She laughed through the whole meal, her face crinkling like a flower.

Life settled into a peaceful rhythm.

Every now and then, I’d catch news of the Greylock Pack on the PackNet.

Silas spent his days gaming at home. When his coin ran out, he’d beg for more. He got a job once, quit after three days because it was too hard. Somewhere along the line, he got into gambling. Ran up a mountain of debt. His Beta heir status was revoked.

Brielle wasn’t doing much better. She bought designer accessories nonstop, maxing out her pack credit

account.

What little savings my parents had couldn’t keep up.

First they filled Silas’s gambling debts. Then they paid off Brielle’s credit. The hole just kept getting bigger.

The Alpha got wind of it all and stripped my father of his Beta position too.

With no income left, they sold the four–bedroom house and the carriage to clear the debts.

They moved back to the old house in Brackenfield. Pinched coin and scraped by.

Even their precious dog was sold.

One time, I drove Gran back to Brackenfield to visit Grandpa’s grave.

As we passed the old house, I saw a hunched figure crouched by the door, washing clothes.

It was my mother.

She wore faded old clothes, thin and gaunt, her hair half white.

My father sat on the doorstep smoking, coughing hard.

When they heard the carriage, they looked up. They froze when they saw me.

My mother dropped the clothes into the basin, splashing water everywhere.

Silas came out of the house, unshaven and hollow–eyed.

I glanced at them and looked away.

When we came back from visiting Grandpa’s grave, my mother was waiting at the gate. She stared at me, her

lips trembling.

Sunny…

She called my name, then dropped her head and said nothing.

I looked at her and felt a distant pang.

All those years ago, I stood at this very doorstep, waiting for them to come get me. I waited sixteen years.

Now they were living in that house.

And I’d moved on to the city.

I nodded once, took Gran’s hand, and got back in the carriage.

Behind us, my mother’s muffled sobs faded.

I didn’t look back.

Through the rear window, she grew smaller and smaller.

Gran sat in the passenger seat, staring out the window without speaking.

The sun streamed in, warm and bright.

I turned to Gran and smiled.

Gran, want to come look at houses with me tomorrow

She blinked at first, then broke into a grin.

Sunny, you’re buying a house

I nodded.

Yeah. One that’s really ours.

The carriage pulled away. The oak trees along the road rustled.

I turned back to face the road ahead.

From now on, I was only walking forward with Gran.