The Crippled Triplet Luna Severing the Bloodline Chapter 03

The Crippled Triplet Luna Severing the Bloodline Chapter 03

When I woke up the next morning, the house was empty.

My head pounded heavily, and my right leg—throbbing all night—had gone completely numb.

Then my wolf stirred inside me, letting out an anxious growl.

The acrid smell in the air grew thicker by the second.

Something was wrong.

I glanced toward the kitchen. Thick smoke was already rolling out.

Familiar terror surged through me.

It was ten years ago all over again.

I tumbled off the sofa and dragged my useless right leg across the floor toward the front door.

Reaching the threshold, I forced myself upright and grabbed the handle.

It wouldn’t budge.

The door was locked from the outside.

I rattled the handle helplessly while dialing Mom and Dad over and over.

Every call was rejected the moment it went through.

The smoke grew suffocating.

My wolf thrashed against my mind, trying to force a shift, but her crippled hind leg couldn’t support a full wolf form.

As darkness swallowed my consciousness, the icy automated prompt was the last thing I heard.

…

I opened my eyes again to find myself in Aldercrest Medical Center.

The first thing I saw was Mom’s anxious face.

In an instant, all the hurt I’d been holding came rushing up.

Eyes burning, my voice came out hoarse.

“Mom.”

But her expression shifted to fury in an instant.

She glared down at me with pure disgust.

“Don’t call me Mom.”

“Setting the house on fire? I don’t have a daughter like you!”

Dad patted Sylvie’s pale shoulder, his voice ice-cold.

“The Pack Safety Unit checked. The stove was left on.”

“Nola, the rest of us were out. You were the only one home.”

“You went way too far this time.”

My head buzzed.

I instinctively looked at Sylvie.

Her eyes darted nervously as she lowered her head.

She was the one who used the kitchen this morning.

I even remembered her heating up breakfast before leaving.

But before I could get a word out, Mom was already screaming.

“Fine, I admit it! We took Sylvie to her ballet competition today!”

“And yes, we locked the door on purpose—we didn’t want you tagging along and messing with her big day!”

“Nola, we’ve catered to you enough over the years. What more do you want?”

The screaming made my head throb.

Patients and visitors across the room cast strange looks in our direction.

Mom acted as if ten years of suppressed rage had finally found an outlet.

“It was the same thing back then! The three of you were home alone, and a fire started out of nowhere!”

“Yet you’re the only one who wasn’t trapped. You’re the one who had the strength to pull them out.”

“Nola, sometimes I genuinely wonder what you’re trying to get out of us!”

The world went completely quiet.

I couldn’t even hear my own breathing.

I stared blankly at Mom for a long time before asking softly.

“Mom… so that’s what you’ve thought of me all these years?”

She didn’t answer.

She just turned her head away and wiped her tears.

Silence was an answer enough.

All the words I wanted to say swelled in my throat, fighting to come out.

But in the end, I said nothing.

There was no point anymore, was there?

I knew those weren’t just words said in anger.

Deep down, they probably wished every single day that I hadn’t survived that fire.

Then they wouldn’t have to bear the responsibility.

They wouldn’t have to spend money on me.

They wouldn’t have to feel forced to favor me.

My wolf curled up, tucking her injured hind leg beneath her belly, and stopped looking at them.

I should have cried.

But my fingers brushed what was in my pocket, and I forced the tears back.

It was a flight ticket to Colorado for tomorrow.

Just one more day. One last day.

…

Since the smoke inhalation wasn’t severe, I was discharged that night.

As I was about to step into the car, Callum suddenly rushed over, his eyes bloodshot, and yanked me back out.

“Nola, where’s my money?”