My Parents Missed My Awakening. I Walked Away

Before the awakening ceremony, our pack reserved two family seats for every teenager taking part. I handed Mom and Dad their invitations and reminded them three times when it started. Every time, Mom said, “We know. We’ll be there.” But that day, I waited outside for three hours. Neither of them showed up. Other dads had brought cameras, ready to capture the moment their children awakened. Other moms had packed their kids’ favorite fruit to help them regain their strength afterward. Mom finally picked up just as the ceremony was about to start. “Mom, why aren’t you here yet?” “Huh? Here for what?” “My awakening ceremony. You promised you’d come.” She went quiet for a few seconds. “Your sister has a dance competition today. Your dad’s there with her.” “And your brother has a toothache. I’m at the healer’s with him.” “The ceremony will go ahead whether we’re there or not. You’ll be fine on your own.” Then she hung up. I walked in alone. Some of the other teenagers gave me pitying looks. Others smirked. That day, I awakened the strongest wolf in my group. It wasn’t until dark that the family group chat lit up. Mom sent a picture of my brother eating ice cream. Dad said my sister had won a prize, and he was taking her out to celebrate. Only when tears blurred my vision did I open Silverfrost Pack’s offer to train as a warrior and accept it. If there was no place for me in this family, I wouldn’t stay. Chapter 1 By sunset, I finally gave up waiting for Mom and Dad. I texted Mom to say I was heading home. An hour later, she sent back a voice message. My brother was shouting in the background, almost drowning her out. “Okay. You’re on your own for dinner. I’m taking Connor to buy training boots.” I’d been away at boarding school since I was fifteen. I hadn’t been home once. So when I opened the front door, I felt strangely nervous. The house was dark. No one was there to meet me. Dad’s patrol jacket hung by the door. Under it were Connor’s boots and Jasmine’s new purple heels. There were no slippers for me, so I took off my shoes and walked inside in my socks. I hadn’t eaten for hours. In the fridge, I found a container of roast chicken. A note on the plastic wrap read: Connor’s. Don’t touch. I gave a bitter smile and shut the fridge. Then I boiled some pasta and mixed it with the last of the tomato sauce in a pan. I was halfway through eating when the front door opened. Jasmine came in first, carrying her new ballet shoes, and hurried straight to her room. Connor followed, playing with a brand-new tactical knife. He glanced at me as he passed the table. “Oh, hey, Abby. You’re back.” Then he went to his room too. Mom came in last with the shopping bags. She paused when she saw me at the table. “Oh, you’re here? Why didn’t you call? Your dad could’ve picked you up.” “I texted you.” “Right. I forgot. I’ve been busy with Connor.” She set down the bags. Inside were my Conner’s new training boots. I didn’t bother asking whether she’d missed my text or forgotten about me. “Mom, there’s something I wanted to talk to you about while I’m here.” She was looking at her phone. She didn’t look up. “What is it? Go ahead.” I hesitated. “I’d rather wait until Dad gets home.” “He has patrol reports to finish tonight. He might be late. Just tell me.” “We can talk later, then. It’s important.” She gave a distracted “Mm-hmm” and went to Connor’s room without asking anything else. Through the door, I heard her say, “Connor, I got your new boots. Are you wearing them to training tomorrow?” His answer was muffled. “Which brand?” Mom gave a little laugh, eager to please him. “The ones you wanted. I had to try three stores.” “Okay. Thanks.” I stood at the sink, gripping the sponge. She’d gone to all that trouble to get the right boots for his training. Yet she’d completely forgotten the awakening ceremony I would only have once in my life. Dad got home at ten thirty. He looked surprised to see me. “You’re back. How long are you staying?” I thought for a moment. “I haven’t decided.” He nodded and went straight to his bedroom without another question. I stood in the living room with a tight feeling in my chest. Today had been my awakening ceremony. I was eighteen. Neither of them had explained why they’d missed it. Neither had asked what kind of wolf I’d awakened. I hadn’t been home in three years. All they wanted to know was when I’d leave. My suitcase was still by the door. No one had helped me with it or made up a bed for me. I pulled out a dusty foldout couch in the corner of the living room and lay down. My phone lit up. The training captain had posted in Silverfrost Pack’s new warrior group chat. “Abby Merrick, your room is ready. Let me know when you’ll arrive, and I’ll arrange for someone to pick you up.” My eyes stung as I read it. Someone who had never even met me was making sure I’d have a ride. My own parents had sent me to boarding school at fifteen and never visited. They hadn’t even shown up for my awakening. I pulled the blanket up and buried my face in the pillow. The stale dust irritated my nose. I couldn’t stop crying. It was a long time before I finally wiped my eyes. Silently, I spoke to my wolf. “This is the last time I cry over this family. We have a new life waiting for us.” Chapter 2 After a night curled up on the foldout couch, I woke with a stiff back and aching shoulders. The kitchen was already busy. Mom was frying broccoli. Connor sat at the table on his phone, while Jasmine fixed her hair in the full-length living room mirror. I’d barely got up from the couch when Mom spoke without turning around. “There’s cereal and milk in the fridge. Get yourself something if you’re hungry.” There were only four breakfasts on the table. Buttered toast for Dad, an omelet for Connor, a chicken sandwich for Jasmine, and a blueberry tart for Mom. Everyone’s favorite. Nothing for me. I opened my mouth to tell her the foldout couch was uncomfortable. Then I looked at those four plates and changed my mind. What was the point? She hadn’t even thought to make me breakfast. Why would she care how I’d slept? “Mom, are there any eggs left?” “In the fridge. Cook some yourself. I’m busy.” Connor glanced up between bites of his omelet. “Abby, how much longer are you staying?” “Jasmine needs the living room to practice. Your couch is in the way.” I stared at him in shock. “But I just got here.” He looked back at his phone. “I’m just asking. I’m not kicking you out. Why are you looking at me like that?” Mom brought over the broccoli and gave him a light pat on the head. “Enough. Eat your breakfast. Abby just got home. Leave her alone.” Then she turned to me. “But Jasmine does have another dance competition coming up. She needs room to practice. Clear your things out of the living room today so she can use it.” “Where am I supposed to sleep?” “Move a few things in the storage room. There’s enough space for the foldout couch. You can sleep in there.” I’d been starving a moment ago. Now I had no appetite at all. After breakfast, Dad picked up his jacket. He stopped by the table on his way out. “Your mom said you wanted to talk to us last night. What about?” I set down my cup. “I wanted to tell you I’m going to Silverfrost Pack……” “We can’t hear you. Tell us later. Your dad has patrol.” Mom cut me off and handed him his lunch bag. I froze. Only then did I notice how loud everything was. Connor was playing a game on his phone with the sound turned up. Beside him, Jasmine kept asking Dad to watch her new dance steps. There was noise everywhere. No one was listening to me. Dad gave Jasmine some attention before turning back to me. “We’ll talk when I get home.” That morning, I sorted my clothes in the living room while Mom talked to our neighbor, Mrs. Hollis, on the porch. They’d left the door partly open. I could hear every word. “Abby had her awakening yesterday, didn’t she? How did it go?” “Fine, I suppose. She hasn’t mentioned any problems.” “What’s she planning to do? Join the patrol?” “I don’t know. Things have been so busy, I haven’t had a chance to ask. She never tells us anything.” Mrs. Hollis lowered her voice. “Well, she’s an adult now. She ought to find something to do. Otherwise, let me tell you—” “Oh, she won’t sit around. She’s always been like that. Never liked being at home.” For a moment, I wanted to open the door and tell Mom the truth. It wasn’t that I didn’t like being home. There had never been a place for me here. I was the extra person no one noticed. Then Mom’s phone rang, cutting through my thoughts. She usually took calls on speaker, and I could make out Connor’s teacher on the other end. After just a few words, she rushed inside for her bag. She remembered to speak to me as she passed. “Connor got into a fight. I have to go sort it out.” “Have yesterday’s chicken for lunch. And wash Jasmine’s dress. She spilled juice on it this morning.” Before I could answer, she slammed the door behind her. Opened shopping bags littered Jasmine’s floor. Clothes she’d tried on covered half the bed. The dress lay across the back of a chair. Its tag was still attached. I picked it up and checked the price. It cost twice my monthly allowance. The orange juice on the skirt was still wet. It left my hand sticky. My phone buzzed as I put the dress in the washer. Someone had posted a video in the new warrior group chat. Several warriors were practicing hand-to-hand combat on Silverfrost Pack’s training grounds. Beyond them stretched a pine forest. The border patrol had just changed shifts. A she-wolf named Greer sent me a private message. “I’ll show you around when you get here. I’ve already picked up your training gear. Just need your boot size.” I sent her the size, then played the video again. For years, I’d gone to the training grounds before sunrise. I’d wanted to become a warrior and protect my pack ever since I was little. Now I’d awakened such a powerful wolf. I finally had the strength to follow that dream. I replied to Greer. “Thank you. I’m leaving the day after tomorrow.” Chapter 3 Jasmine’s ballet finals were coming up. At dinner, Mom brought up the cost of competing in neighboring Silver Moon Pack. “The entry fee and costume rental come to five hundred dollars.” Dad kept cutting his meat without a word. Mom turned to me as though the answer were obvious. “Abby, you’ve been working little jobs, haven’t you? Cover it for your sister. I’ll pay you back next month.” My fingers tightened around my fork. “Mom, I don’t have much saved.” “How is that possible? I’ve been sending you spending money for years.” “I pay your tuition. The school provides your meals and a place to stay. You hardly buy any clothes. What could you possibly be spending it on?” I looked down at my sleeve. She was right about one thing. I’d worn this sweatshirt for three years. The cuffs were fraying, and I still couldn’t bring myself to replace it. Mom only gave me three hundred dollars a month. A new pair of training gloves cost thirty-five dollars. When my old pair wore through, I washed dishes in the kitchen for two weekends to buy another. Connor’s boots, which he’d worn for all of half a day, had a three-hundred-and-eighty-dollar price tag on the box. She knew nothing about the years I’d scraped by on odd jobs and scholarships. She’d never cared enough to ask. “Okay, Mom. I’ll pay the five hundred.” Her voice brightened at once. “That’s more like it. Jasmine, thank your sister.” Jasmine pushed the peas around her plate. “Thanks, Abby,” she said absently. Connor put down his fork. “Mom, what about my ski lessons? Twelve hundred. You said I could sign up.” “Start taking your school training seriously first.” “Why does Jasmine get something and I don’t?” “She’s won prizes. What have you done? You got into a fight at school today!” He shoved his plate away and stood up. “Then I’m not eating.” “Connor, get back here!” Mom called after him. Dad frowned and told him to come back. I said nothing and finished my dinner. No one asked how much I’d have left after paying the five hundred dollars. No one asked what I’d been trying to tell them that morning either. That night, I moved the foldout couch into the storage room so Jasmine would have space to practice. Clutching my thin blanket, I squeezed past the boxes by the door and lay on the couch. It was too short for me. Through the wall, I could hear Connor playing games. His laughter went on and on. Unable to sleep, I opened the family group chat and scrolled back. A week earlier, Mom had shared a video of Jasmine dancing. “Our Jasmine just keeps getting better.” Dad had replied with a string of clapping emojis. In between their messages was one from me. “Mom, could you send me a hundred dollars? I hurt my knee during training, and I can’t afford the medicine the healer prescribed.” It might as well have been invisible. Right after it, Connor had posted a picture of some training boots. Mom asked what size he needed and promised to take him shopping that weekend. My message never got a single reply. In the end, my training instructor paid for the medicine. I closed the chat and opened the documents from Silverfrost Pack. Every year, they recruited young werewolves from other packs who had awakened powerful wolves. They provided meals, housing, and a training allowance. Recruits who passed the assessments would join their warriors. The elders of both packs had approved my invitation. My transfer was arranged. All I had to do was sign when I got there. My phone lit up with my ticket confirmation. I would leave early in two days, change buses once, and arrive in the early hours of the following morning. I turned off the screen and looked at my suitcase by the wall. Over the past few days, no one had noticed the neatly folded clothes already packed inside. No one had noticed there were no shoes of mine by the door. They were all in the suitcase. I hadn’t left a single pair out. Chapter 4 Jasmine’s finals were the day before I left. Mom got up early to curl her hair and choose her earrings. For once, Dad took half a day off. He said he’d drive her to Silver Moon Pack himself. Connor was still asleep, but Mom hadn’t forgotten him. She’d left an egg sandwich and milk in the kitchen with a note bearing his name. By the time I folded my blanket in the storage room, she was ready to leave. “Keep an eye on Connor. Make him something for lunch. Don’t let him fill up on chips again.” I went over and stopped her by the door. “Mom, I need to tell you and Dad something.” She kept rummaging through her bag for the car keys. She wasn’t listening. “Where’s your dad? Does he have the keys?” “Tomorrow, I—” “Did you find the keys?” she called past me. Dad came down the hall and held them up. “Come on. We’ll hit traffic if we leave any later.” I stood between them and swallowed the rest of my sentence. Jasmine came over with her costume bag and dance shoes. Her skirt brushed my hand. “Bye, Abby.” I paused, smoothed her hair, and said only, “Good luck.” The three of them went out. As the door closed, I could still hear Mom reminding Dad. “Did you put the water and fruit in the car? Jasmine forgets to eat when she’s nervous.” I sat quietly on the couch and looked at the clutter on the table. Jasmine’s open shoebox. Connor’s game controller. A patrol schedule Dad had left there. Nothing belonged to me. Connor finally got up at twelve. He opened the fridge and looked around. “Where’s my chicken? There was some left.” “Mom told me to have it for lunch.” He turned to me, his face darkening. “That was mine.” I didn’t answer. I took his sandwich out of the oven and put it in front of him. He lifted the bread and looked at the egg inside. “I don’t want this. Make me a burger.” “Go buy one yourself.” “I’ve spent my allowance.” I stared at him for a moment. He was fifteen and already several inches taller than me. Mom packed him two lunches every day because she worried training would wear him out. Yet he wouldn’t even sort out one meal for himself. “Then eat what’s on the table.” “Seriously? How much does a burger cost?” I ignored him and went back into the living room to finish packing. I put in my charger, toiletries, and the last pair of shoes, then zipped the suitcase shut. Connor came over with his milk. He stopped when he saw the case. “You’re leaving? Where are you going?” “To work.” He looked slightly surprised. “Where?” I gave a small smile instead of answering directly. “Somewhere far away.” “Oh.” He lost interest and took his milk back to his room to play games. Mom and Dad returned with Jasmine at five. She’d only placed seventh, but Mom was still delighted. She took a coat from a shopping bag and held it up against Jasmine. “Do you like it? You worked so hard at the competition. This is your reward.” Jasmine clung to Mom’s arm. “Thanks, Mom.” Connor poked his head out of his room. “What about me?” “Oh, stop. This is Jasmine’s reward.” They laughed and talked by the door. Shopping bags covered half the couch. I picked up my suitcase to make room for them. The whole time, it was as though I wasn’t there. By eleven, everyone had gone to bed. My suitcase stood by the front door. Still, no one noticed. I sat on the couch through the night without sleeping. At four, the car I’d booked pulled up outside. I closed the door quietly behind me and carried my suitcase down the steps. At six, I was sitting in the bus station when Mom texted. “You’ve gone out? Pick up some salmon on your way back. We’re celebrating Jasmine tonight, and Connor wants some too.” I hesitated, then left it unanswered. Ten minutes later, Jasmine sent me a private message. “Connor says you’re going somewhere far away for work. Are you upset?” “No.” “Then why didn’t you tell Mom and Dad?” The driver opened the luggage compartment and began calling for passengers to board. I picked up my backpack and typed my reply. “I never got the chance.” “Tell them for me, okay?” I put my phone away, handed my suitcase to the driver, and got on the bus. Just then, Greer from Silverfrost Pack sent a message. “Abby, I’ll pick you up. Wait inside the station when you arrive. Don’t try walking up the mountain on your own.”