Chapter 3 No Illusions Left

Aurora's POV

The afternoon was heavy with heat. The nurses herded us outside for collective labor. They called it therapy, but we all knew it was just forced work.

I sat among the other patients in the large workshop, stitching clothes for the factory. The smell of fabric dust filled the air. The clicking of sewing machines mixed with the dull groans of tired patients.

My hands moved slowly, stiff from old bruises. I tried to keep my seams straight, tried not to draw attention. A nurse leaned down and asked quietly if I needed more thread. I nodded and answered "Yes"softly.

That was all it took.

The witch appeared. Her shadow stretched over me, thin whip coiled in her hand. The whip she used whenever she wanted to remind us who had power.

Her voice was sharp. "Why are you distracting the nurse? Do you think you're special?"

I shook my head quickly. "I was only answering her question."

She didn't care. The whip cracked through the air and slashed across my shoulder. Pain burned deep, cutting through the thin cloth of my shirt.

I bit my lip to stop the cry.

Another strike followed. My hands trembled, but I forced my eyes to stay down. I had endured worse.

I wished I could disappear, vanish into the noise of sewing machines. But when I lifted my head slightly, my breath froze.

Across the yard, beyond the fence, stood Alpha Keith.

The Alpha of the Silver Moon Wolf Clan. My older brother.

The sun caught in his dark hair. His presence carried weight even from far away. For a heartbeat I thought I was imagining him. My chest tightened. Was he really here?

The whip struck again. White pain shot through me. My body, already weak from hunger and exhaustion, couldn't hold me upright anymore. The ground tilted, my vision blurred, and my knees buckled. I collapsed and drifted into darkness.

When I woke, I was in a room again. My head throbbed, my limbs heavy, but I was alive. The nurse and doctor stood beside the bed.

"You can end your treatment early," the doctor said briskly, like he was crossing a task off a list. "You will be discharged today. Alpha Keith will be here to pick you up."

The nurse set a small bag on the bed. "Pack your things. You leave today."

I nodded. My hands moved slowly as I folded the few belongings I owned. Small things, but they were mine.

When I stepped out of the psychiatric hospital, sunlight hit my face. And there he was.

My brother, leaning against a sleek black sedan with his arms folded, eyes sharp and cold.

He looked me over with open disdain, his jaw clenched as he was here to pick me up and looking at me like I was already a burden he couldn't wait to drop off.

"So, you're still pretending to be weak?" he muttered as I staggered forward, his words coated in sarcasm.

I didn't respond. I had learned in that place, among padded walls and needle-proud doctors, that silence is the only dignity a caged wolf has left.

He stepped toward me, hand extended to help me, and I instinctively refused. His scent, familiar, like pinewood, sharp and threatening. His hand dropped awkwardly, his frown deepening.

His brows furrowed. I saw a flicker of conflict in his eyes, but he didn't press. He only said, steady and firm, "You're coming home."

I forced a polite smile, though my chest ached. "Thank you, Alpha Keith."

The words tasted empty.

I was meant to carry strength in my blood and fire in my bones.

But the day my mother gave birth to my baby brother, only for him to take his last breath hours later, the mourning howls turned into whispers.They said I brought misfortune.

When I turned fifteen, the pack changed their tune. My parents suddenly took me back. They welcomed me back, cloaking their guilt in false smiles.

I wanted to believe it meant something. I tried to belong.

Especially with Keith.

He was my older brother. The one I looked up to. The one I wanted to make proud.

I still remember one night during training season. A storm had rolled in, and the pack house was filled with the scent of wet earth and lightning.

I ran barefoot through the rain, clutching a container of the meal I had cooked myself, hoping it would cheer him up after his long training with the elders.

I stood outside his training hall, shivering and soaked, waiting for him to come out. My wolf stirred nervously inside me, desperate for his approval.

When he finally appeared, he took the food from my hands without meeting my eyes. He didn't say a word. Not even a simple "thank you." He just walked past me, his Beta trainees following behind him.

I swallowed the ache rising in my throat. Every time I was ignored, every cold glance, I told myself it was fine. If I worked a little harder, if I stayed patient, one day my family would fully accept me.

But I was wrong.

Three years later, I stood in a courtroom being accused.

Keith stood before the elders, swearing under oath to defend Helen, the little she-wolf the pack welcomed into our home years ago.

Now he stood here, frowning like I was being dramatic.

The silence was thick, pressing on my chest. Finally Alpha Keith cleared his throat. "Everyone is waiting for you. They want you back."

I stared at him. My voice came out flat, but my heart pulsed with quiet rage. "Their waiting means nothing to me."

I sneered inwardly. Those were not my parents. They were Keith and Helen's parents.

His mouth tightened.

I stood my ground, my body tense, refusing to take even a single step toward him.

Keith's eyes narrowed as he stepped closer, voice cold and sharp.

"You think walking out of there all fragile and broken is going to make anyone forget what you did?" he said. "Vicky's still lying in that hospital bed because of you. You ruined her life."

His words hit like a blow, sharp and rehearsed.

He didn't stop there. His voice lowered, filled with growing annoyance.

"Don't forget, it was you who pushed Vicky down those stairs five years ago, leaving her in a vegetative state. And you even tried to frame Helen. After five years locked away, you still haven't repented. It seems your reform wasn't thorough enough."

His tone hardened, like a scolding Alpha disciplining a disobedient wolf.

"Don't think your five years in that hospital erased your guilt. Your debt won't be paid until Vicky wakes up."

He took another step, voice sharper.

"And you still owe Helen an apology."

When I didn't move fast enough, he reached for me, grabbing my wrist with the same commanding grip he used in training, like he could force obedience the way he used to.

"You're coming home," he growled through clenched teeth. "Get in the car. Don't make me say it again."

Without a word, Alpha Keith opened the door. He stepped into the car, closing the door behind me with a solid thud.

As the car rolled forward, Alpha Keith finally broke the silence.

"Listen, Aurora," he said, keeping his tone flat, like giving orders to an omega wolf. "You've just gotten out. Don't cause trouble. And control your temper I don't want to hear about you fighting with Helen or creating scenes."

I didn't answer.

He glanced sideways at me, then added, as if to sound concerned, "You don't know how much stress you've caused. Dad and mum have wasted away worrying about you these past years."

At that, my lips curled slightly.

"They haven't visited me once in five years," I said calmly, my voice steady, even though the weight of those words burned inside. "Not once."

Alpha Keith stiffened. His face twitched, but he quickly tried to cover it with a careless shrug. "Father was handling important matters. You know how much responsibility the Alpha carries. Mother... she couldn't bear to see you like that."

Hypocritical excuses. Lies spoken so easily they almost sounded practiced. But I wasn't interested in arguing with him. I had stopped expecting truth from any of them long ago.

The rest of the ride passed in silence. My gaze stayed fixed outside, but my mind was far away.

Memories pressed in on me. Forcing myself to study dance. the one subject I hated because Father demanded it. My legs ached, my spirit resisted, but I obeyed, hoping it would make him proud.

Every Christmas, I wrote down small wishes. Simple things. Every year they went unanswered. Helen's wishes, meanwhile, glittered under the tree.

I had grown used to their favoritism.

Alpha Keith's gaze flicked toward me. My silence seemed to push him to the edge. His patience broke.

"You're too quiet," he snapped. "Always silent, always withdrawn. You should learn from Helen. She is lively. She brings warmth. You..." His voice faltered. "You are not like her."

The words landed heavier than the whip had.

I kept my expression calm, but inside my chest burned.

When we reached the Packhouse, I stepped out of the car and looked at the building I once called home.

It looked the same. But I wasn't the same girl who had left five years ago.