Wrong Way, Wrong Mate Chapter 07

Paxton and Zane return to the Darkhowl Pack House.

They lock themselves in the study and dig out every old family photo album they can find.

At first, they want to find a few pictures of me looking happy, something to prove that they haven’t been completely terrible brothers.

But after searching through all three years of high school photos, they realize they can’t find a single birthday picture that belongs to me alone.

Every year, the birthday cake is strawberry-flavored, Lacey’s favorite.

Since I’m allergic to strawberries, I can only eat the bits of frosting around the edges that haven’t touched the

strawberry jam.

Whenever it’s time to open presents, Lacey is always the first to rush forward.

“Willow, this hair clip is so pretty! Can I try it on first?”

And every time, I quietly stand to the side and nod.

Mom pushes open the study door with a tray of cookies and drinks. Seeing the photo albums scattered across the floor, she can’t help sighing.

“Don’t be so hard on yourselves. Lacey lost her mother when she was little. As the leaders of this Pack,

what’s wrong with showing her a little extra love?”

“Willow has always been mature and sensible. She won’t hold something like this against us.”

Paxton looks up at her, his eyes red.

His voice is painfully hoarse. “Mom, just because she doesn’t complain, does that mean she doesn’t hurt?”

The tray in Mom’s hands jolts. An apple rolls onto the carpet.

Dad sits silently on the living room couch, smoking a cigarette.

He remembers the day I place first in the Pack Warrior Rankings.

That same day, Lacey develops a slight fever and cries that her head hurts.

So the entire family stays at the Pack hospital to keep her company while she receives fluids. Not a single person attends my awards ceremony.

Meanwhile, Nathan sits alone on the training field, staring blankly at the old compass in his hand.

He remembers when we were six.

I’d gotten lost in the woods, and when the Pack Warriors finally found me, I was crying so hard I couldn’t get

a single coherent sentence out.

Nathan had taken my hand and held it tightly all the way back to the Pack House.

Back then, he believed I was the person in the world who needed his protection the most.

Then Lacey came along.

She would tug playfully at his sleeve and sweetly call him “Alpha Nathan.”

She would stand on the sidelines while he played basketball, loudly praising him as the best player on the

court.

Gradually, he began to see my quiet dependence on him as a burden.

He even convinced himself that I was so sensible and well-behaved that I didn’t need him to go out of his way to comfort me.

He opens my chat window and scrolls back to the day we submitted our college applications.

I’d asked him, [Would you be happy if I went to Lunaris Academy?]

He’d replied, [Of course. We’ll all be together. It’ll be fun.]

He’d always assumed I was only going to Lunaris Academy because my grades weren’t good enough for anywhere better.

It wasn’t until yesterday, when he saw the file on the academic advisor’s desk, that he learned the truth.

My grades had been more than enough to qualify me for one of the top three universities in the world.

I’d given up a much bigger future with my own hands, all because I wanted to stay close to them.

Over the phone, Zane completely loses it and screams at Nathan.

“She stayed for us, and we treated her like a joke! We drove her away with our own hands!”

Just then, Lacey arrives at the Darkhowl Pack House, her eyes red from crying.

As usual, she tries to throw herself into Mom’s arms and pour out her grievances.

“Luna Lily, people online are saying such horrible things about me. I honestly don’t want to live anymore.”

In the past, Mom would have immediately pulled her into a comforting embrace, gently patting her back and reassuring her that everything would be fine.

But this time, Mom stands frozen.

At the foot of the stairs, Zane and Paxton watch the scene unfold. For the first time, neither of them rushes to defend Lacey.

Lacey immediately senses the change in their attitude, and her tears fall even harder.

“Luna, do you not want anything to do with me anymore, either?”

“I’ve already lost my mother. If even you all blame me, I’ll have absolutely nothing left.”

Mom looks at the familiar face before her, and her eyes gradually turn red.

But this time, all she says is, “Lacey, losing your mother doesn’t give you the right to hurt Willow.”

Lacey goes deathly pale.

She takes an incredulous step backward, a flicker of panic crossing her eyes.

That night, Lacey returns to her apartment.

She stares at the endless stream of partnership termination notices and hateful private messages flooding her phone, gritting her teeth in fury.

Then she calls a reporter.

“Hello? I have a story for you.”

“That girl who withdrew from Lunaris Academy, Willow Bellrose? She’s not some innocent victim.”

“She’d already secured a place at a university in the Lycan Realm. She deliberately set me up to make me look like the villain!”