Family's Regret After She Kneels

Aurora's POV

The nurse walked in holding a clipboard. Her steps were sharp and fast, echoing in the silent room. She didn't pause before setting the form in my lap.

"You're being discharged today," she said flatly, her tone leaving no space for questions.

I lowered my eyes to the paper. My name was written across the top in bold letters. At the bottom was a blank space waiting for my signature.

She slipped a pen into my hand. "Sign here."

I didn't argue. My hand moved slowly, dragging across the line as I wrote my name. The pen scratched against the paper.

The nurse took it back at once and stamped it hard, the sound sharp in the quiet room.

she said without looking at me. "Your brother Alpha Keith will come to pick you up."

My fingers curled tightly on the edge of the bed. I never thought of Alpha Keith as my brother.

I was born the daughter of an Alpha, raised with the bloodline of a leader. Yet they treated me as though I had been adopted, like I was an outsider in my own home.

Helen was the one adopted into the family, but they loved her more than anything. They protected her, praised her, and believed her every word.

When Helen testified against me, when she stood before them and claimed I had tried to kill Vicky, no one doubted her.

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

But, without hesitation, Keith chose her over me, accusing me of a crime I hadn't even been there to commit.

His words were enough. It carried the weight of Pack Honor. I was accused of attempted murder.

They called me unstable. They said I was dangerous. They labeled me with a sickness I never had.

And for five years, they kept me locked away like a rabid beast in a werewolf psychiatric hospital.

The weight of that truth pressed against my chest until it was almost hard to breathe.

The nurse snapped the clipboard shut and gave me a quick glance. "Let's go," she said, her tone clipped, leaving no room for hesitation.

I pushed myself to my feet. My hospital gown brushed the floor as I followed, each step pulling me back into the life they had condemned me to

We walked past rooms I had memorized. The smell of antiseptic clung to the air. When we reached the ward, the nurse unlocked the door and nodded for me to go in and she turned and left.

I walked in.

And stopped.

A witch stood in the center of the room. Her arms were folded tightly across her chest. Her face held a smirk, but her eyes were cold.

She looked directly at me and spoke with clear hatred. "Well, look who decided to come back. The Alpha's useless mistake."

I didn't respond. There was no point in answering her. No one else was here. No one would protect me.

She tilted her head and stepped forward. "Did you really think they would take you back after everything you've done?"

I still didn't speak. My heart was pounding, but I stood still.

She suddenly reached out and grabbed my throat. Her fingers squeezed tight, and her nails dug into my skin. I gasped as the air was cut off from my lungs.

Without warning, she lifted me off the ground by my neck. My feet dangled in the air. My chest burned as I struggled to breathe.

She brought her face close to mine. I could smell blood on her breath.

"You're still just as weak as before," she said.

Then she threw me across the room.

My body hit the wall with a loud thud. I fell hard to the floor. Beneath me, glass shattered. The shards tore through my hospital gown and sliced into my back. A sharp pain rushed through me.

I tried to move, but my arms trembled and gave out. I collapsed again, unable to get up.

The witch walked toward me. Her boots hit the ground heavily with every step. The sound was slow and steady.

She reached down and grabbed a handful of my hair. With a sharp tug, she yanked me upright. Pain shot through my scalp, and my neck jerked back.

She slapped me across the face. The hit was hard. My head snapped to the side. My vision blurred.

Before I could steady myself, she slapped me again. Then she shoved me to the ground.

Her foot slammed into my stomach. My body folded inward as I gasped from the impact.

She kicked me again, this time in the ribs. I felt something shift inside me. It hurt more than anything I had ever felt before.

Then came another kick. This one landed on my back.

I tried to protect myself. I pulled my knees to my chest and covered my head with my arms. But she kept going. The pain didn't stop.

Blood filled my mouth. I turned my head to the side and spat it out on the floor.

She only stepped back when the door creaked open again.

Another witch entered the room. She walked slowly, dragging a long black whip behind her. The whip slid across the floor. The tip of it dripped with a thick, dark green liquid.

I smelled it immediately.

It was wolfsbane.

The second witch moved around me in a circle. She didn't rush. Her boots tapped steadily on the floor.

She raised the whip high into the air.

The first lash struck my back. It tore through the gown and ripped open my skin. I screamed from the pain. It felt like a knife cutting straight through muscle.

Before I could catch my breath, the whip hit me again.

Then it came down a third time.

The wolfsbane burned in the open wounds. The pain wasn't just sharp. It was deep. It felt like fire spreading through my entire back.

My skin felt like it was peeling off. My body was soaked in sweat. I couldn't cry out anymore.

Everything started to go dark.

The pain kept coming, but I couldn't stay awake.

My body shut down.

I passed out.

Later I woke up to the sound of beeping machines.

The ceiling above me was bright with white lights. Tubes ran into my arm. My head was throbbing. My back felt numb. My ribs didn't move properly when I breathed.

My arms were tied to the bed.

I tried to sit up, but the pain stopped me.

The door opened.

A doctor stepped in first. A nurse followed.

"Stay calm," the doctor said. "You're in the hospital."

I didn't trust him.

I tried to pull away, but my body was too weak. I froze in place.

"We had to perform emergency surgery," he continued.

"There were hundreds of shards in your back. Your ribs were broken, your jaw fractured, and wolfsbane had poisoned your blood. You lost so much blood that you came close to death."

I turned my head slightly. The nurse walked over and held out a glass of water. I didn't move at first, then I opened my mouth and drank.

The doctor checked the chart in his hand. "When is your birthday?" he asked.

I blinked. "I don't know."

He looked up.

I said. "My mother gave birth to a younger brother after me. He died shortly after. The pack blamed me. They called me cursed. When I was six, they threw me out. I've been a rogue ever since."

The nurse's hand paused.

"I returned to the pack when I was older," I said. "They said I brought misfortune. That the Moon Goddess had marked me with darkness.They casted me out. As soon as I could walk, like a cursed pup unworthy of their name."

"You was just a toddler, barely able to speak, yet the pack saw You as something cursed?"the doctor sighed.

Said it was for the good of the pack. But I remember. I remember the cold.

No warm hands. No lullabies. Just the silence of the forest and the growl of distant wolves that wouldn't let me near.

They called it "rogue training." I called it survival.

The room was quiet for a moment.

He spoke again, pulling my thoughts back.. "Your wolf hasn't awakened yet?"

"No."

He sighed and stepped closer. "It might happen soon."

"What does that mean?" I asked.

"You might feel changes. You might look slightly different when you wake up next time."

"Because of the injuries?"

"No," he said. "Not because of a medical reason. It is a sign that your wolf is about to awaken."

Aurora's POV

I woke up in the hospital bed with my body stiff and my head heavy. For a moment, I thought nothing had changed. Then I looked at the small mirror on the wall across from me.

My eyes were no longer the dull brown I had grown up with. They glowed silver, sharp and alive-the color of the wolves I used to dream about.

I lifted a hand, tracing the skin beneath my eyes, as if touching them would make the change real. My chest swelled, tight with something I had almost forgotten: excitement.

I had waited for this moment all my life. My wolf had been locked away twice, once when I was six, the day I was thrown out, and again when I returned to the Silver Moon Wolf Clan.

Both times, the bond to my wolf had been stolen from me like punishment. But now, sitting in this cold hospital room, I felt her stirring, weak, but present.

A small smile pulled at my lips. Despite the pain, despite the chains on my freedom, this meant I wasn't broken. I wasn't powerless anymore.

When I returned to my room, that fragile joy didn't last long. The witch was waiting for me. She stood in the corner, arms crossed, her smirk curling in that way that always made my stomach twist.

"You think glowing eyes make you special?" she hissed. "You think this changes what you are? You are nothing. You will never read your books again. I forbid it. I forbid you from wasting your time with words."

I froze in the doorway, my fists clenching. Books had been my only escape, my way of feeling free inside these walls. Now she wanted to rip even that away.

"Why do you care if I read?" I asked, my voice low.

She stepped closer, her shadow sliding over me. "Because someone doesn't want you free. Someone doesn't want you to live like the others. I only follow orders."

The way she said it made my blood run cold. She wasn't acting alone. Someone else was pulling the strings.

That night, I couldn't sleep. My eyes stayed on the ceiling, my fists clenched against the sheets.

I knew who it was. Vicky's brother,who is the accident victim.

He was the one who had sent witches after me, the one who had destroyed everything. The thought of him stealing my freedom burned so deep it kept me awake until morning.

By the next day, my body felt like stone, heavy from lack of rest. I dragged myself into the common room, still full of anger, when the television caught my eye.

Helen's face filled the screen. She was smiling, her hand wrapped around Beta James's hand. My former fate mate.

The caption below twisted my stomach: "Beta James and Helen announce their wedding date."

I froze. My whole body locked in place. The room faded. All I could hear was the pounding of my own heart in my ears.

This was the man who had once sworn to protect me as a Beta of the Silver Moon Pack.

Five years ago, when my world crumbled, he was the one who was supposed to stand by me.

But when Helen's tears came and the accusations rose, Beta James stood before the Elders.

He publicly accused me of seriously injuring Vicky, defending the Donald family and throwing me under the bus as if their lies were the truth.

Beta James also openly refused to make me his mate before the court.

Instead, he chose Helen, the one who framed me and stood by her as if I had never existed.

On the screen, Helen leaned into James, her head tilted toward him like she belonged there. He looked down at her with the same gentle expression that had once been mine, the expression I had once craved.

My chest tightened so hard it hurt. He had promised me forever. He had told me I was his choice. But there he was, holding her hand, smiling at her like I had never existed.

Behind them, my family appeared. Their faces weren't shocked or angry. They were blessing her. Smiling at her. Reaching out to comfort her, as if she had been the one abandoned. As if she had been the one who suffered.

A knot rose in my throat, thick and suffocating. No one had ever looked at me that way. No one had ever reached for me.

I stood there trembling, my fists tight at my sides. The world had moved on without me. I was left carrying the weight of betrayal alone.

The despair sank so deep it felt like my bones were hollow. I wanted to scream, to break, but I stood frozen, silent, my hands shaking.

The witch noticed. She leaned close to my ear and whispered, "Look at them. Look at how happy they are without you. Do you understand now why you are here? You will never leave. You belong to me."

I turned my head sharply toward her. "I don't belong to you."

Her eyes narrowed. "Don't speak back."

I raised my chin. "I'm not afraid of you."

The slap came quick across my face, her nails scraping my skin. My eyes stung with tears, but I refused to lower my head.

"You changed my eye color," she snapped, her face twisting with rage. "You think you can use your tricks on me? I'll make you regret it."

I pressed my lips together, swallowing the pain. If I answered, she would only hit me again.

The next morning, the doctor gathered us in the hallway. His voice carried over the murmurs: "You will work today. All of you. No exceptions."

We moved as a group. I stayed near the back, but the witches and their followers always found me.

Their elbows jabbed into my ribs, their shoulders slammed into mine. Finally one shoved me so hard I crashed to the ground.

"Get up," one of them laughed.

I pushed myself to my knees. My pride wouldn't let me beg. But when another shoved me again, something snapped inside me. I shoved back.

My hand landed on the witch's arm. Fire burst from my skin. The smell of burning flesh filled the air. She screamed, jerking away, her arm blistered where I had touched her.

Gasps filled the hall. I pulled my hand back, staring at it in shock. Faint light glowed along my skin, power humming under the surface.

The silence lasted only seconds. Then chaos erupted.

"You freak!" the witch screeched, clutching her arm. "You'll pay for this!"

The others lunged. They slammed me to the ground, my head cracking against the floor, their hands tearing at my clothes.

I fought, but there were too many. They stripped me bare, and one yanked scissors through my hair, hacking it short and uneven. Locks fell across my skin, scattered across the floor like pieces of me.

When they were done, I was naked, shivering, surrounded by fragments of hair. My sobs broke free, unstoppable. My chest ached as if my heart itself had cracked open.

Then, through the haze of tears, I heard her.

My wolf.

Her voice filled my mind, strong and steady. "Endure. Hold on. We will not always be alone. We will find our companions. Our gifts are not only glowing hands. We are stronger than this."

Her words wrapped around me like armor. My hands still shook, but I wiped the tears from my face and forced myself upright.

I picked up what remained of my clothes. They were filthy and torn, but I pulled them on anyway.

I walked back to my room, head lowered, changed into what clean clothes I had, and prepared for dinner as if nothing had happened.

The next few days passed in silence. No one dared touch me again, but their eyes followed me everywhere, filled with hate.

By Sunday evening, I felt almost broken. After dinner, I was sent to restock food in the hallway.

I carried boxes quietly, the weight biting into my arms. That was when the witch appeared again.

She grabbed my arm so hard I dropped the box. Her nails dug in, and then the sting of a blade cut my skin. Blood welled up instantly.

Her face hovered inches from mine, her breath hot with hate. "If you tell anyone about the bullying, you'll regret it. You'll regret ever opening your mouth."

Blood ran down my arm. My fear rose in my throat, but I forced it down.

"I'm not afraid to die," I said.

Her eyes widened for a moment. Then her face twisted with rage. She shoved me back, turned, and stormed off.

I pressed my bleeding arm close, breathing hard.

And I thought she would come back for revenge, but I was ready.

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.