Chapter 697

Baxter:

Years Ago:

When we were kids, my sister and I had once argued with our father over a toy.

That evening, my mother came to us and told us our father had died.

We cried so much that day until our father returned from the border later that evening.

Then my mother smiled and told us it had all been a lesson.

That day, sadly, was different.

My sister never came back, while my mother cried and screamed at me. I felt my heart stop for a moment.

Then I passed out, and I’m so glad I did.

I couldn’t stay awake and face myself. Or, simply put, I couldn’t live with myself.

The reality that my sister had taken me with her because she believed I would keep her safe was heartbreaking.

I didn’t.

I couldn’t defend her.

I couldn’t protect her.

She died believing her brother was useless.

The next few weeks were the hardest.

My mother wouldn’t allow me anywhere near my sister’s body.

When the funeral came, she gave me medication right before it, claiming it was to keep me calm because of the wolfsbane in my system that was injected during the attack.

In reality, she wanted me unconscious so the funeral would take place without me.

Weeks passed, but I couldn’t escape the guilt.

Slowly, everyone else started returning to their normal lives.

My mother did too.

Honestly, I thought I was the only one mourning that deeply.

Then one day, my mother told me exactly why.

“Because you killed her,” my mother said, making my body shudder.

“Stop it,” my father hissed.

“Why would I? Am I lying?” my mother shot back, raising an eyebrow.

Sitting down for dinner with them was no longer the same.

My mother had always been harsh toward me. She constantly criticized everything I did. If I ate too much, she complained. If I ate too little, she complained. It was as if she always had something negative to say about me.

When my sister was alive, she always stood up for me. She would argue with my mother and defend me.

But now she was gone.

And I was just a helpless little boy.

“There’s no need for you to take your medication anymore,” my mother muttered as

she snatched the bottle from my hand.

“What are you doing?” my father growled once again.

“They’re giving him these pills to

control him, to weaken him, because they’re afraid he’ll have a terrible transition after being exposed to so much wolfsbane and silver,” my mother hissed at my father, reminding him of what the doctor had said.

She was actually telling the truth.

Normally, that amount of wolfsbane would have killed someone. Since I survived,

the doctors were afraid it would leave lasting effects on my wolf.

“If he keeps taking these medicines, he’ll only become weaker than he already is. Then what?” my mother snapped at my father, who seemed unable to understand why she was acting this way, just like I was.

I understood she was in pain.

She was hurting.

So was I.

I truly was.

But what didn’t make sense was the way she had been behaving lately.

Whenever she left the house, she seemed completely fine. Then she would come back home, and it was as if she had fallen back into her depression.

I felt awful because I believed it was all happening because of me.

Because somewhere deep down, even I believed what happened to my sister was my fault.

The next few days were even harder.

I started having nightmares about my transition.

I remember waking my father in a panic, telling him what was happening to me.

They immediately took me into the woods, but they had to prevent my transition. “He shouldn’t be in this part of the woods,” my mother complained, pointing ahead.

“I know they are building a new pack around here. We can talk to the Alpha and make him understand why we need to use this secure place,” my father replied. This part of the woods was mostly isolated. They were preparing the area to become a new pack, but construction was still underway.

My mother was extremely reluctant to come out here, probably because she didn’t want anyone to find out I was having an early transition. Early transitions were not looked upon favorably.

“No, you don’t understand,” my mother argued. “This place is no longer isolated. People are building a pack here. Do you not understand something so simple?”

She almost shouted at my father as she grabbed my arm and tried to pull me away.

“There’s no other way,” my father

snapped at my mother. “This is the only place where he can have his

transition without anyone finding

out The workers arent here at this

time. Why don’t you understand?

It was safe to say my parents had started arguing again, and I realized it wasn’t

going to end anytime soon.

“Then what do you suggest we do?” my father shouted.

That was when I noticed something strange flicker in my mother’s eyes.

“There is a place where we can take him,” my mother muttered.

My eyes widened the moment another wave of pain shot through my neck.

This time, it was my mother who had caused it.

Everything went black.

The next time I opened my eyes, I was no longer on the werewolf land.