The Daughter My Mother Chose to Lose

By the time my mother finally looked at me, the silver poison had nearly reached my heart.

The family trip had been her idea.

My mother, Lucia Sweeney, asked me to organize everything, so I carefully chose a route far from the territories where rogue wolves were known to roam.

I thought my sister Linda Harper and I would be safe.

I was wrong.

The rogues came out of nowhere.

One lunged straight at Linda, its silver-coated claws raised toward her face.

I shoved her aside before it could strike.

The claws tore across my back, cutting so deep that bone was exposed. Before I could regain my balance, I stumbled over the edge of a silver mine.

I hit the ground hard.

Fragments of silver pierced my right leg, and the poison immediately began spreading through my blood.

Inside me, my wolf struggled to stay conscious.

I could feel her strength fading.

Every breath hurt. My body was growing colder, and I knew what would happen once the poison reached my heart.

But my mother was the pack's chief healer.

Surely she could save me.

I called for her, using what little strength I had left.

When she arrived, however, she barely glanced in my direction.

Instead, she ordered every available healer to examine Linda.

My sister had suffered only a few superficial scratches.

They cleaned her wounds, checked her condition, and surrounded her with concern while I lay nearby, unable to move.

“Mom, please!”

My voice broke.

“The silver is spreading. It's almost at my heart. I need you!”

Lucia finally turned around.

There was no concern in her eyes.

Only anger.

“Are you really doing this now?” she snapped. “Linda was nearly disfigured by those claws, and you're still trying to make everything about yourself?”

I tried to explain, but she wouldn't listen.

“How can you be so selfish? I can't believe someone as cruel as you belongs to our pack!”

I stared at her.

I had taken the attack meant for Linda.

I had protected the daughter she loved.

Yet somehow, even while dying, I was the one she blamed.

Then I heard something inside me.

A faint whimper.

My wolf was calling to me one last time.

I tried to reach her, but her presence was slipping away.

A moment later, our bond went silent.

She was dead.

I waited for the familiar warmth of her spirit to return.

Nothing happened.

The wind swept through the mine, chilling my wounded body.

In the distance, I could still hear my mother asking whether Linda was in pain.

I stopped calling for help.

My eyes slowly closed.

And this time, I never opened them again.