Deprived in My Own Home

In my third year after joining the werewolf guard, I single-handedly cut off the rogues' supply line during a raid. For my actions, the chairman of the werewolf council awarded me a Silver Moon Insignia and granted me the right to live in a four-bedroom penthouse apartment at Moonshadow Estate. Mom once told me that if we ever moved into a bigger home, she would give me a bedroom that belonged to me alone. On the night all the furniture was moved in, I searched every one of the four bedrooms, but there wasn't the slightest trace of me in any of them. The master bedroom belonged to my parents. My older sister, Kalista, had taken the sunniest south-facing suite. My younger brother, Keane, had a room filled with newly purchased combat manuals and an entire wall of cabinets for his hunting boots. The remaining bedroom had been turned into Kalista's walk-in closet, and all my luggage had been piled outside the bathroom. I asked Mom, "Where am I supposed to sleep?" She froze for a moment before pointing at the brand-new sofa in the living room. "You're usually out on night patrol and hardly ever come home. If you occasionally stay the night, isn't the sofa good enough?" Dad frowned as well. "Family members should be considerate of one another. Although the pack rewarded you with this apartment, it belongs to the whole family too. Be generous. Don't start fighting over rooms the moment we move in." I lowered my head and looked at the insignia in my hand. Suddenly, I laughed. So the large home I had risked my life to earn had room for Kalista's clothes, Keane's equipment, and my parents' pride. But somehow, there was no room for me. That night, I received an encrypted message from the captain of the guard. [Outpost 3 on the northern frontier urgently needs a werewolf guard willing to serve there long-term. The assignment involves three years of closed rotation under harsh conditions, but each guard will be provided with private quarters.] I looked up at the four closed doors and quietly typed two words in reply. [I'm going.] If there was no place for me here, then I would go somewhere that had reserved a place for me. Chapter 1 On the first day we moved in, the apartment was filled with cardboard boxes. My dad, Frank Lupin, was crouched in the living room studying the newly purchased furniture. My mom, Mary Lupin, was helping my sister, Kalista Lupin, assess her jewelry and clothes. My brother, Keane Lupin, was busy sorting through his combat manuals. I was the only one who had been working nonstop from the afternoon until late at night. I made my parents' bed. I hung up Kalista's clothes. I then crouched on the floor and arranged Keane's dozens of pairs of hunting boots on the shoe rack one pair at a time. By the time every room had been organized, only my six cardboard boxes remained outside the bathroom. Mom glanced at them and casually said, "Don't unpack your things yet. There's nowhere to put them anyway. In a few days, we can move them down to the storage unit." I opened the top box. Inside were the certificates of commendation I had accumulated during my years in the guard, scattered mission reports, and an old moonstone desk lamp. I had traded for that lamp on the black market shortly after joining the guard. To earn enough merit points by taking on extra night patrols, I had rented the cheapest partitioned room near the guard headquarters. The room had no windows. Even during the day, I had to keep the lights on. Through countless late nights, I had sat beneath that lamp organizing intelligence, studying tactics, and recording what I had learned from every mission. I had once believed that once we moved into a larger home, I would finally have a desk of my own. But now, Keane's shoe rack occupied an entire wall. Kalista's room had an island dedicated solely to displaying her jewelry, and my lamp didn't even have a place where I could plug it in. Kalista poked her head out of her room. "Blair, I still have a few boxes of clothes over here. Can you help me move them? We're having a housewarming celebration tomorrow, and I need to get everything organized today." I didn't refuse. When I reached the last box, the bottom suddenly split open. A pair of high heels fell to the floor, and one of the thin heels sliced across the back of my hand. Kalista let out a startled cry, but her first reaction was to crouch down and inspect the shoes. When she saw that one of the heels had broken, her expression immediately darkened. "These are a limited edition. They don't make them anymore." Mom rushed over after hearing the commotion. Her expression was grim. "I only asked you to move a few things, and you still managed to break something. Kalista has guests coming over tomorrow. Can't you make things easier for her?" Blood dripped from my fingertips onto the floor. No one asked whether I was hurt. Mom merely handed me a rag. "Hurry up and wipe it clean. Don't leave marks on the new floor." That night, Dad suggested taking a family photo to celebrate the move. My parents sat in the center of the sofa while Kalista and Keane stood close to them on either side. Dad handed me his phone. "Blair, you're good at taking pictures. Make us look good." I stood outside the frame and pressed the shutter. They looked especially happy in the photo. Mom immediately posted it in the werewolf pack group chat with a caption. [Our family has finally moved into the home we've always dreamed of.] The replies were filled with congratulations, but no one asked why the person who had contributed the most wasn't in the picture. After the photo was taken, Mom spread a thin blanket over the sofa. "You'll sleep here tonight. Keane has training early in the morning tomorrow, so try not to make too much noise and disturb him." At one in the morning, Keane was still in the living room. He was telling his friends on the phone how excited he was about the move. Curled up at the very edge of the sofa, I waited until he finally hung up before closing my eyes. Before dawn, Kalista got up to look through her clothes again. She turned on the living room lights and frowned when she saw me still sleeping on the sofa. "You sleeping here makes it inconvenient whenever anyone needs to get up at night." I stared at the ceiling. After a long silence, I finally said, "Just bear with it for a few more days." She didn't understand what I meant, and I didn't bother explaining. That's because in seven days, I would be gone. Chapter 2 On the second day after we moved into the new home, Mom held a housewarming party at the apartment. She invited more than a dozen relatives and friends from the pack. Every time she showed someone a room, her face was filled with pride. "This is Kalista's room. She works so hard at the pack chamber of commerce. She deserves to live somewhere comfortable. "This is Keane's room. He's still in the guard reserve. He needs enough space to train and rest." When they reached the walk-in closet, Kalista smiled in embarrassment. "I told them I didn't need it, but Dad and Mom insisted on giving it to me." Everyone looked at her with envy and said she was very fortunate. Eventually, someone thought of me. "What about Blair's room?" Mom's smile disappeared for a second, but she quickly regained her composure. "She rents a place near the guard headquarters and usually doesn't come home. Young people should focus on their careers. Keeping a room for her here would just be a waste." Everyone nodded. "Blair is so considerate. She knows how to ease her family's burden." I stood outside the room with a fruit platter. I didn't go in. They didn't know that the place I rented was tiny. It didn't even have a window. Every month, I sent most of the high-quality supplies and allowances I earned back home while I continued living alone in that small, damp, and cold room. I had believed that if I worked hard for just a few more years and earned enough commendations, I would eventually have a place that truly belonged to me. I had been injured countless times over the years just for believing that. The worst injury had nearly even cost me my life. Yet, the home I had fought so desperately to earn didn't even have a place for me. The dinner table was filled with food. Every dish was something Kalista or Keane liked, but not a single one was something I liked. Mom placed a shrimp on my plate. "There are many guests today. Stop standing around daydreaming and help take care of everyone." I had been allergic to shellfish since I was a pup. If I ate it, my entire body would break out in red rashes, and I would have trouble breathing. Mom simply didn't remember. I put the shrimp back. Kalista immediately explained in a soft voice, "Blair can't eat shrimp." Mom froze. "After all these years, it still hasn't gotten better? Then just eat some vegetables. Don't make us prepare a separate dish just for you. It wouldn't look good in front of the guests." The housewarming party lasted until late at night. After the relatives and friends finally left, the entire apartment was a mess. Dad had drunk too much and went straight to bed. Kalista said she had to get up early to go to work at the chamber of commerce. Keane said he needed to review his training. So, naturally, the cleaning became my responsibility again. As I bent over to mop the floor, I was so hungry that my stomach cramped up. Mom came out of the kitchen with a plate of leftover shrimp. "There's still some shrimp left. Heat it up and eat it. Don't waste any food." I didn't accept it. Her expression immediately darkened. "Now that we've moved into a better home, your attitude has gotten worse too? Don't forget this, the pack may have rewarded us with this apartment, but it belongs to the whole family. It's not yours alone." I suddenly found that incredibly funny. When I received the insignia, they said it was an honor shared by the whole family. But when it came time to divide the rooms, no one considered me part of the family. When I returned to the sofa, I found that my cardboard boxes had been moved to the far end of the balcony. On top of them were Kalista's list of supplies for her upcoming marking ceremony and Keane's old protective gear. Right then, my phone vibrated. It was a message from the captain of the guard. [Outpost 3 on the northern frontier urgently needs a werewolf guard willing to serve there long-term. The assignment involves three years of closed rotation under harsh conditions, but each guard will be provided with private quarters.] [You kept saying it was too far away from home before. Would you consider it now?] I looked up at the four closed doors. After a long time, I replied. [I'm going.] Chapter 3 There were three days left before my departure. When I returned from work, I found five black garbage bags piled outside the apartment. One of them hadn't been tied properly. The edge of a familiar notebook was sticking out. I bent down and pulled it free, only to discover that the bags were filled with my belongings. There were old hunting maps, training certificates, a bone whistle, and the wrist guards my grandmother had made for me before she passed away. Everything had been stuffed together carelessly. Many of the books had pages that were already crumpled beyond recognition. I pushed open the door. Mom was clearing out the cardboard boxes that belonged to me on the balcony. "Why are my things outside?" Without turning around, Mom answered, "Kalista is having her marking ceremony soon. Members of the Frostfang Pack will be coming over in three days. Our new home needs to look presentable. Those old books and notebooks of yours aren't useful anyway, so I figured we might as well get rid of them." I stood where I was. "Those are my things." Dad frowned at me. "You're always out on night patrol. What's the point of keeping so many things in our new home and taking up space? Kalista has a lot to prepare for her marking ceremony. The balcony needs to be cleared first so she can use it." Kalista came out of her room with a new set of jewelry. When she saw the garbage bags outside the door, she immediately put on a guilty expression. "Blair, don't blame them. How about I move my things back into my room? It'll be a little crowded, but I don't mind." Mom immediately stopped her while looking heartbroken. "This is one of the most important events of your life. I won't let you suffer at a time like this." Then she turned to face me. "Blair has always been able to endure hardship. It doesn't matter where her things are. She won't mind." I didn't argue anymore. I simply walked out into the hallway and began searching through the garbage bags one by one. The document folder I needed to report for duty at the northern outpost was gone. Inside were my pack-seal certification, medical examination report, and transfer order signed by the captain of the guard. If even one of those documents was missing, I wouldn't be able to report on time. I asked Mom, "Where's the brown paper folder from the desk drawer?" She thought for a long time. "What paper folder?" Keane was sitting on the sofa while playing a game. Without even looking up, he said, "The one with a bunch of papers inside? I think I saw it when I brought some stuff to the recycling station to sell this afternoon." I spun around and raised my voice. "Where did you sell it?" He was startled by my tone for a moment, but he quickly became defensive again. "The recycling station nearby. I didn't think it was anything important, so I sold it with everything else." I ran downstairs. It was raining outside. The owner of the recycling station was loading bundles of cardboard onto a truck. Ignoring the filthy water on the ground, I dropped to my knees and began digging through the piles of discarded paper. The edges of cardboard boxes sliced open the back of my hands, and broken glass pierced my palm. Blood mixed with rainwater and dripped onto the waterlogged pages. I had no idea how long I searched. Finally, at the very bottom of the pile, I found the document folder. The seal had already split open. One corner of my medical report was soaked. The pack seal had blurred from the dirty water. But thankfully, I had found it, and it could still be used. I clutched the folder to my chest and ran home. I was soaked and filthy. The living room was already filled with things Kalista needed for her marking ceremony, including jewelry, clothes, and pack contracts. My parents were gathered around Kalista and discussing everything she needed to remember. No one noticed the blood on my hands. Kalista was the first to see the document folder in my arms. "Blair, did you find it?" I nodded. Mom's expression darkened. "You found it, didn't you? Then stop walking around with that sour expression on your face. When the Frostfang Pack comes here for Kalista's marking ceremony, don't go wandering around the living room looking filthy like this." I lowered my gaze to my palm, where blood was still slowly seeping from the wound. Suddenly, I recalled the year I had been accepted into the guard. I had wanted to buy a decent tactical backpack, but Mom had shaken her head and told me that the family had three pups to raise and wasn't wealthy. We needed to save money. In the end, she gave me one of Kalista's old backpacks. The zipper was half broken, and the straps were nearly torn through. Afraid that it would fall apart completely, I spent an entire night repairing it until it was sturdy enough to use. After that, wanting to reduce the burden on my family, I never asked Mom for anything again. Now, two brand-new backpacks sat beside Kalista's feet. Their price tags were still attached. Each one was expensive. Kalista followed my gaze and seemed to suddenly recall something. "Blair, my white suitcase has gathered some dust, and I'll need it later. Remember to wipe it clean for me. Use a soft cloth so you don't scratch it. It's expensive." Dad stood in the middle of the living room and pointed at my two remaining cardboard boxes. "If you still want those, move them out to the balcony. Don't leave them in the room where they're in everyone's way." I looked at the boxes and boxes of things that belonged to Kalista. Then I looked at the documents in my arms, which had nearly been sold as scrap paper. I couldn't help but chuckle. That night, I used tape to seal the document folder. I then pulled the old backpack with the broken zipper out of one of my cardboard boxes. I didn't clean Kalista's dusty suitcase. For once, I wanted to be selfish. Quietly, I packed my clothes into the old backpack, one piece at a time. In three days, I would leave this huge home I had earned through risking my life and move out for good. Chapter 4 The day I left for the northern frontier happened to be the day of Kalista's marking ceremony with the future heir of Frostfang Pack. Mom asked me to stand at the entrance of the hotel where the ceremony was being held and welcome the arriving guests. "Kalista has to accompany the groom's relatives. Keane is still young and doesn't know everyone. This can only be left to you." I was in my plainest white shirt. I sat behind the reception desk. Relatives from the werewolf pack gradually entered the hotel. Someone recognized me and asked with a smile, "Aren't you Blair? Why are you sitting here by yourself at the entrance?" Mom was greeting guests nearby. Hearing the question, she casually explained, "She doesn't like lively occasions. She's more comfortable by herself." It was as if she hadn't assigned me to sit there. She made it look like I simply didn't want to enter the banquet hall. By three in the afternoon, most of the guests had arrived. My parents stood with Kalista in front of the wall of flowers. Keane had changed into a new suit and squeezed in beside Kalista. Amid the laughter and cheerful chatter, Dad waved at me. I walked over, but instead of inviting me into the photo, he handed me his phone. "Blair, take a photo of us." I accepted the phone. Just like on the day we moved into the new apartment, my parents stood in the middle of the frame. Kalista held Mom's arm while Keane rested a hand on Dad's shoulder. They stood close together and smiled as happily as ever. One of the relatives couldn't help but ask, "Isn't Blair going to be in the photo?" Mom paused for a moment before quickly smiling. "She's never liked having her picture taken." I didn't explain. I simply pressed the shutter for them. Right then, Kalista suddenly cried out. "Mom, the wolf fang pendant you gave me is missing!" Mom had specially prepared that pendant for Kalista. Engraved with the family rune, it represented the protection of one's bloodline and was meant to ward off harm. Everyone immediately gathered around her. Kalista anxiously searched through her jewelry box, and tears quickly filled her eyes. Keane suddenly looked at me. "Blair was the only one who went into the lounge just now." I froze. "I only went in to put away the guest registration book." Mom's gaze immediately landed on my old backpack. Since I had to catch the transport to the northern frontier before six that evening, I had brought all my belongings to the hotel. I planned to leave quietly by myself once the ceremony was over. Mom's eyes were filled with suspicion. "Why did you bring a backpack?" "After the banquet, I'm going to stay at a friend's house for a few days." Mom didn't doubt my answer. She simply held out her hand toward my backpack. "Open it and let me see." I clutched the backpack tightly. My voice caught in my throat. "Do you think I stole Kalista's pendant?" Dad looked displeased as well. "We're family. We just need to clear things up. If you didn't take it, why are you afraid to let us look?" The relatives around us stared at me strangely and began whispering among themselves. "Blair usually seems so honest. Could she be jealous because Kalista is marrying into a good pack?" Before I could stop him, Dad stepped forward and snatched my backpack away. He yanked the zipper open. My clothes, personal belongings, and toiletry bag were dumped across the floor. The document folder that had once been soaked in filthy water fell out as well. My medical report and transfer order scattered across the floor. Dad searched through every single item, but he found nothing. The room fell silent again. Kalista bit her lip and spoke softly. "It looks like it wasn't Blair." Mom nodded. "I'm glad it wasn't." I crouched down and slowly began gathering my belongings from the floor. "Shouldn't you apologize to me?" Dad frowned. "We only checked your things. Do you really have to make an issue out of this today? Kalista's pendant was missing. Wasn't it natural for us to be anxious and try to find it?" Mom lowered her voice and warned me, "So many relatives are watching. Don't make it look like we falsely accused you. Be more generous. Don't make us the laughingstock." 'The laughingstock?' When they searched my belongings in front of everyone, they weren't worried about being laughed at. But now, simply because I wanted an apology, I was supposedly exposing the family's shame? I didn't say another word. As I gathered my things, I noticed a small length of cord sticking out of Keane's suit pocket. I lunged forward and pulled it out. It was Kalista's wolf fang pendant. Everyone froze. Keane's expression changed instantly. He stammered for a long time without knowing what to say. The moment Mom saw the pendant, she immediately rushed to defend Keane. "Oh, that's right. I asked Keane to hold onto it for a while. Look at me. I completely forgot." The crowd immediately became lively again. Mom quietly pulled Keane into a nearby lounge. Dad, Kalista, and I followed. "Keane, why did you take the wolf fang pendant?" Keane lowered his head. "I have an outdoor training exercise in a few days. I heard this one might be dangerous, and I was scared. I just wanted to carry it with me in case something happened." Kalista didn't look pleased, but when she heard his explanation, she sighed. "Forget it. If you need it, you can keep it for now." Dad nodded approvingly. Mom patted Kalista on the shoulder. "See? Kalista is the sensible one. Keane is still young. He was just confused for a moment." I looked at them. "What about what happened earlier? Why did all of you immediately assume it was me in front of everyone?" Dad looked at me impatiently. "You didn't take it, and that's all that matters. Keane is your brother. If this gets out, it could damage his reputation." I suddenly laughed. "So my reputation doesn't matter?" No one answered. Mom shook her head. "You're always making such a big deal out of everything. That's enough. Today is Kalista's special day. Stay behind after the banquet and help clean up the venue. Stop causing trouble now." A bone horn sounded from the banquet hall. The ceremony was about to begin. My parents immediately adjusted their clothes. Kalista touched up her lipstick. Keane followed them out like nothing had happened. The lights illuminated their faces. Only I remained standing in the shadows. My phone vibrated. Mom had sent the family photo I had just taken, and everyone in the group chat was laughing and offering their congratulations. At that moment, an encrypted message arrived from the captain of the guard. [The vehicle is waiting for you at the hotel's rear entrance. Departure is in ten minutes.] I let out a long exhale and pulled my backpack zipper shut. My footsteps were muffled by the carpet. The music in the banquet hall was loud, and everyone's attention was focused on the ceremony. No one noticed where I was. When I reached the rear entrance, Mom sent me another message. [The photo you took earlier is a little blurry. Take another one for us after the banquet.] [And remember to clean up that pile of your messy things from the floor. Don't block the guests' path.] I didn't reply. After I got into the vehicle, the guard liaison took my communication device according to protocol. Before the screen went dark, I looked at that family photo one last time. I then firmly pressed the power button. In the picture, Dad, Mom, Kalista, and Keane stood together while smiling happily. There were four of them, and no one was missing. The home I had earned through my own achievements had never included me in a single family photo, and it had never had room for me, but I no longer cared because I was never coming back.