Chapter 5

I gripped the phone so tightly my knuckles turned white as the call ended. My mother's voice, always warm and comforting, had been a constant source of reassurance, a reminder of home. But now, in this harsh reality, her words echoed in my mind, resonating through an empty space, making me painfully aware of how far I had drifted from everything I once knew.

I glanced up to find Kayden and Francis watching me with arms crossed, their expressions a mix of irritation and indifference. As usual.

"My friend's getting married," I said, trying to sound casual, masking the turmoil inside with a shrug. "What's with the stares? You guys wanna come?"

They exchanged looks, their disinterest almost palpable. I could already predict their response, why would they care about someone else's happiness? They didn't know, of course, that the ceremony I'd be attending wasn't just any wedding. It was a Mateship Ceremony, my Mateship Ceremony. Arranged by my family to stabilize my unstable lycan blood by bonding me to a powerful Alpha.

But what was the point of telling them? I'd be gone soon enough, leaving all this behind. I'd reunite with my family, join my real pack, where respect and support would actually mean something. Kayden and Francis's indifference just reinforced the decision to keep it to myself.

Kayden shrugged dismissively. "Go if you want. We've got more important things to deal with."

Francis, just as cold, added, "Maybe you should take some time off. Clear your head."

His sharp tone was meant to sting, but it only fueled the fire of frustration bubbling inside me. "But first," he continued, "don't you think you owe Sharon an apology? She's still recovering from the injuries you caused yesterday."

My chest tightened. Apologize?

The anger in me flared, my wolf bristling beneath the surface. Sharon had taken what was mine, acting as though she had a right to it. All I did was try to reclaim what was rightfully mine, and somehow it was my fault she got hurt?

"Apologize?" I spat, my fists clenching. "For what? Sharon clung to my reward like it was hers. I tried to take it back, and now you want me to apologize for it?"

But Francis was already walking away, his dismissal hanging in the air, as cold and silent as ever. The weight of his indifference was like ice, pressing down on me.

Once he was out of sight, I was left standing alone, my heart heavy with frustration. They didn't care. They always sided with Sharon, the picture of innocence. It didn't matter how much I tried to explain, she'd always be their darling, and I'd always be the troublemaker. The unfairness of it burned inside me, a constant reminder that I didn't belong here.

By morning, I'd shoved all that bitterness down, determined to go through the motions of my day, to push past the frustration and just focus on getting through it. I walked into the common room, bracing myself for the indifference that awaited me, but then I froze.

The room was overflowing with vases, each one filled with flowers of every imaginable kind. The air was thick with their fragrance, too sweet, too much. I staggered, my senses overwhelmed by the suffocating scent.

No. Not now.

Panic crept up on me as I felt my chest tightening, struggling to breathe. My wolf recoiled, instinctively reacting to the overload of pollen. My vision blurred as I stumbled toward the drawers, desperate for my inhaler.

"Medicine…" I managed to choke out, my voice barely a whisper. My hands trembled as I fumbled through the drawers, knocking over a vase in my frantic search. The sharp crash of glass was deafening in the silence of the room.

Within moments, Kayden and Francis rushed in. But they froze, their eyes locking on the mess, the broken vase, the flowers scattered across the floor. They didn't notice the way I could barely breathe, how my hands shook as I finally found my inhaler and took a deep, shaky breath.

Kayden's gaze narrowed, focusing on the flowers instead of me. "What the hell is all this?"

Neither of them seemed to notice how desperate I was, how hard it was to fill my lungs with air. They were too busy glaring at the spilled flowers.

Francis, clearly irritated, knelt to pick up the blooms, muttering under his breath. "Seriously, Malinda, what's your deal?"

The medication began to work, my breathing slowing, the pressure in my chest easing. But it wasn't enough to erase the sting of their neglect. I glanced down and saw blood trickling from a cut on my leg, probably from when I'd stumbled.

They still hadn't noticed.

I took a shaky step back, still clutching the inhaler, trying to steady myself. I looked at them, both still consumed with cleaning up the flowers, treating them with more care than they had ever shown me.

Resentment bubbled up, raw and unrelenting. This was all I was to them, a nuisance, a problem to be dealt with. My injury, my struggle, none of it mattered. They didn't see me. They never had.

I clenched my fists, biting back a sharp retort. The wound on my leg throbbed, but it was nothing compared to the ache in my chest, the sting of their indifference. They didn't care that I was suffocating, didn't care that I was hurt. They didn't care about me.

In that moment, any lingering attachment I had to this place, any hope that maybe they'd change, withered away. I had my answer, clear and sharp: there was nothing left for me here.

I straightened, my resolve solidifying. Soon, I'd be gone, far away from their cold indifference, from their empty gazes and harsh words. I wouldn't give them the satisfaction of seeing me hurt any longer. Let them keep their precious Sharon. I was done trying to fit in.

Maybe they'd never miss me when I was gone. But someday, when they looked back, they might just realize what they had lost.