Dad waited ten years for Mom to bring her three-year-old daughter and mate with him. He was my mother's second chance mate. After I was born, my sister Selene developed severe appetite loss. Only when feeding me would she smile and eat a few more bites. So whenever Selene held the spoon, Mom would press down on my shoulders, gently forcing me to open my mouth. When I was five, my teacher said pups should bravely refuse things that make them unhappy. So when I was so full I couldn't swallow another bite, I refused Selene's feeding. She cried until her face turned blue, as if she'd suffered the greatest injustice. Mom rushed over like a madwoman, her nails digging deep into my flesh. "You already have Dad and Mom's love. Why do you need to compete with your sister for attention?" "Can't you just be obedient and eat more for your sister's condition?" Dad looked at Mom with heartache in his eyes. He picked up Selene, saying he'd take her to the pack grounds to cheer up. I rolled on the floor in pain, but Mom thought I was lying. Furious, she slammed the door shut, saying she needed to punish my disobedience. I clutched my stomach, tears covering my entire face. I'm sorry, Mom. Next time I'll definitely eat my meat obediently to make Selene happy. I pressed my small hands tightly against my stomach, curling up into a ball. But my mind drifted to how every time Mom's stomach hurt, she'd take pills from the cabinet and feel better. When I finally managed to open the pill bottle, my stomach suddenly clenched in pain, and pills scattered everywhere. Just as I was about to pick them up, I heard the door open. My eyes lit up—Dad was back. I reached out to him: "Dad, there are so many bugs biting me inside my stomach..." Dad rushed toward me in panic, but Mom grabbed him. "She doesn't speak a word of truth." "Have you forgotten how she stole jerky the other day, then when I caught her, she blamed Selene!" "Now she's lying about stomach pain, just trying to fake sick so we won't take Selene out to play." That's not how it was. Last time, Selene brought the living room snacks into my room. She tore open the packages, showing off as she stuffed them in her mouth. I told her to eat less jerky, or she wouldn't have an appetite for dinner. But Selene puffed her cheeks and waved the spiced jerky in front of me. When Mom opened the door, she shoved the jerky into my hand. She wiped the grease from her fingers onto my clothes. I happily told Mom that Selene's condition was better. But Mom angrily dragged me out of the room and made me kneel in the living room to reflect. She called me a liar. Said I stole the jerky myself, then tried to frame my sick sister. I cried, saying I didn't steal anything. Mom's face turned as cold as the snow outside. Ice-cold. She threw me out the door, saying she'd throw away lying pups. I cried for so long, begging Mom not to abandon me. Finally, Dad took pity and secretly slipped an egg into my hand. He told me to quickly admit my mistake, not to make Mom angry. The sky gradually darkened, and my stomach growled with hunger. Mom held a steaming bowl of broth and asked if I knew I was wrong. Smelling the fragrant broth, I sobbed and said I knew I was wrong. That time, I really did lie. And Mom forgave me. Thinking of this, even though I had no idea what I'd actually done wrong, I still carefully tugged at Mom's dress hem, saying over and over that I was wrong. I thought this way Mom would hold me like last time and say she loved me too. But when she noticed the pills scattered on the floor, she angrily kicked me away. "Stella, have you really become this troublesome?" "First you deliberately refused to eat to starve your sister, now you're trying to wreck the house!" "Today I must punish you!" Dad was about to speak when Mom's glare silenced him. "Lucas, if you interfere with me disciplining Stella one more time, we're getting divorced!" Dad sighed helplessly. He took me from Mom's hands. Just when I thought Dad would carry me to the Healer's Den, he personally locked me in the bedroom. Dad touched my head. "Stella, for this family, be good, okay?" I clutched Dad's sleeve tightly, crying my heart out. "But Dad, my stomach really hurts." Mom's dissatisfied urging came from the living room. "Lucas, are you favoring Stella again?" "When we mated, you swore you'd love Selene like your own daughter!" "If you keep favoring the younger one, there's no point continuing this!" Hearing this, Dad suddenly pushed me away. He left quickly. He didn't even notice that because of his force, I'd been pushed to the floor. My head hit the corner of the table, making everything fuzzy. Through the unclosed door crack, I saw Dad lifting Selene high in the air. Mom's face finally showed a smile. She turned her head and locked eyes with me. Mom frowned and slammed the door shut. The room plunged into darkness. I couldn't see anything, but I heard Mom's words even more clearly. She said: "Stella is spoiled by you." "Eating is such a blessing, yet she's learned to waste food." "Good. Lock her up for a day. Let her learn that every grain is hard-earned."
Then came her gentle voice. She said: "Selene, you'll always be Mom's precious one." "It's okay if you don't like eating, but when you're hungry, you must tell Mom." The house gradually quieted down. Pitch black darkness. My heart pounded wildly. But I was too short to reach the light switch. I had to climb onto the bed myself. If I fell asleep, my stomach wouldn't hurt. I'd always gotten through it this way before. But this time, my stomach really hurt so much. I imitated how Mom coaxed Selene to eat, gently patting my swollen stomach. "Please stop hurting!" "It's your fault, making Mom think I'm disobedient." But it wouldn't listen to me. Instead, it made me hurt even more. So when Mom scolded me for disobedience, did it hurt her like this too? Tears dripped down. I'm sorry, Mom. It's all my fault for being disobedient, making you hurt so many times. My head started hurting too. I wiped the sweat from my head. It was sticky. Remembering how last time I was locked outside for grease stains on my clothes, I frantically tried to wipe my face clean. But the sweat wouldn't wipe off. I felt colder and colder. Even after burrowing under the covers, I still shivered with cold. Gradually, I felt so tired, and fell completely asleep. When I opened my eyes again, I found my stomach didn't hurt at all. I started jumping around excitedly. My body passed straight through the locked door. I saw Dad and Mom who'd just returned. Mom was patiently feeding Selene small cakes. "Selene, eat one more bite, okay?" Selene turned her head away. "No, no. I feel sick just looking at it." Mom sighed, her brow furrowed. I raised my hand to smooth it out, but found my small hand couldn't touch Mom. I vaguely realized—I seemed to have died. Just like the kitten Selene killed. That was something Selene had begged to buy. But after just a few days, she found the kitten's litter box disgusting. Mom gave me the task of caring for the kitten. I didn't mind the kitten's mess at all. The first thing I did after training each day was change its water and add food. After spending time together, the kitten would let me pet it and act cute with me. With it around, I no longer felt sad that Dad and Mom only had eyes for Selene. Okay, I lied again. Actually, I was still a little sad. Just a tiny bit. When Selene discovered the kitten liked me more, she snatched it from my arms. The kitten meowed in fear, scratching her while struggling. That night, Mom's face was especially dark. After Selene got her shot, the kitten hid under the bed, too scared to come out. I knelt before Mom, crying and apologizing for the kitten. But Mom said animals that hurt people couldn't be kept. She also said I was heartless. "In your heart, is your sister's safety worth less than a vicious animal?" I cried, saying it was different. Selene had Dad and Mom's love. The kitten only had me. If I couldn't protect it, no one else could. Mom said I was being unreasonable and told Dad to tie me up with a belt. She grabbed the kitten and brought it to Selene, letting her decide its fate. I struggled desperately, but could only watch helplessly as the kitten was killed. I cried until my voice went hoarse. But Mom only cared that Selene ate three more bites today. As for Dad, he only cared about Mom's mood. When the kitten died, at least I was there to mourn. But when I died, no one cared at all.
Dad set down various toys from the pack grounds on the couch. He also held a red potato, knocking on my door. "Stella, are you asleep? Dad brought you something good." Selene, who'd been playing with dolls, jumped down from her stool and whined to Mom: "Mom, I want to eat the red potato Dad's holding." Seeing Selene's rare appetite, Mom immediately swapped the potatoes with Dad. Watching Selene eat bite after bite, her eyes reddened with excitement. Maybe because Mom couldn't see me, I said loudly that I hated Selene most. She was always so unreasonable, taking my things. Even with two identical portions, Selene always thought mine was better. Even Mom would suspect Dad secretly bought me better things. So what I got was always what Selene didn't want or left over. Even dresses and shoes were Selene's hand-me-downs. Thinking of this, I sighed heavily. Mom always said she envied how I was young and carefree. But I had so many worries. Mom said Selene didn't have a real father, so she needed to be extra good to her. My real father also said he needed to be good to Selene. He said he was a stepfather, had to treat us equally, or people would gossip. Dad and Mom both said to be good to Selene, repeatedly telling me I needed to be good to Selene too. I counted on my fingers. Five is clearly smaller than eight. So why did five-year-old me have to give in to eight-year-old Selene? When he noticed Dad still standing at my door, Mom got angry. "Didn't I say to starve her for a day?" "If you go soft on her, you're sleeping in the study tonight!" Dad said nothing, calling my name again. Still no response from me. I floated to his side, saying over and over that I was here. But he couldn't hear me. Dad finally lost patience, muttering: "Why is this pup so stubborn?" Mom was even more smug. "See, I told you!" "Stella's an ungrateful wolf. It's only been three hours of confinement, and she's deliberately ignoring you." "Who knows how rebellious she'll be when she grows up." "Not like our Selene—obedient and clever." Selene proudly raised her head, quickly swallowing the food in her mouth. Seeing this, Mom praised Selene in endless variations. I enviously watched Mom feed Selene. She'd never fed me. Mom said I already had a dad, so she needed to give more love to Selene. She was busy making food for Selene, busy taking Selene to the Academy, busy taking Selene to see healers. I was left with the neighbor lady. Over time, other pups mocked me for having no one pick me up. I frowned and loudly argued they were wrong— because not only did I have no dad picking me up, Mom never picked me up either! When I got a bit older, I'd learned to eat by myself. But Selene volunteered to feed me. The food was too hot, the spoon hurt my tongue, my stomach was too full... But whenever I mentioned these things, Mom said I was being delicate. She told me to eat more, saying only then would Selene be happy. When Selene was happy, her condition would improve. When her illness got better, Mom said she'd have time to love me. But I waited so long. And never waited for the day Mom would love me.
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