They had never given me anything. I only had a wolf charm bracelet, which was a free gift that came with the training gear my brother Robert bought for me.
“Give me your location, and we’ll come get you right away.”
“Don’t bother. I’m on my way.”
My parents’ voices got sharp. “Why are you going on a trip?”
“I changed my mind. I hope you all have a happy life without me.”
“What’s wrong? You made your daughter plan the trip, book everything, and then tried to make me sleep outside in the snow. You even brought a bunch of strangers to enjoy the fruits of my labour and celebrate. What’s wrong with YOU?”
“We know you’re still mad about that. You’re so petty! It was just making you sleep outside; we didn’t leave you behind. You should be thankful we even let you come.”
I laughed. “Oh, so I should be grateful?”
“Please go wherever you want, but you need to send us money. And what about our hotel and flight reservations?”
“Oh, right, those reservations. All of them are gone.”
“What? Gone?” My parents were angry and scared. “What kind of daughter are you? You ruined all of Diane’s plans and cancelled our whole trip! Now what are we supposed to do? We’re stuck at the airport!”
“Not my problem. You put me in a situation that was impossible for me to handle on my own. I’m not a three-headed wolf; I couldn’t handle everything.”
Diane’s voice came through. “Really? The trip is really cancelled? My plans to take pictures of the northern lights! And the spa treatments I was promised that were worth thousands of dollars! All my dreams!”
My parents quickly made her feel better. “Don’t worry. She’ll pay you back since she ruined your trip.”
“Send the money right away! You have to pay for everything she cancelled. We all need new tickets and reservations. If we need more, we’ll let you know.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Are you crazy? I’m not to blame for your disappointment; you left after putting your hopes on me. Remember what I said: you won’t get another dollar from me. Did you think I was kidding?”
I cut the mind link, which blocked everyone—parents, Robert, and everyone else.
Then I couldn’t stop George’s voice from coming through.
“Scarlett, please. I know I messed up badly. I should have been there for you from the start.”
“Too late, George. A true friend doesn’t cheat on their partner just because someone prettier comes along.”
“It wasn’t like that! I was just trying to keep things calm…”
“Peace that costs me money isn’t peace at all.”
I also blocked his pack bond, and I felt a sharp pain when I broke the mate connection.
Let them all find a way to live without my money.
Other pack members started calling my phone.
“Why did the airport hotel turn down your parents’ card?”
“Robert is crying in the pack house. Is it because you called off the family trip?”
“Is it true that Diane has a $50,000 necklace on while the whole family can’t even afford a taxi from the airport?”
My phone buzzed with a message while I was on the balcony sipping a tropical drink and looking out at the ocean. The headline of the pack news bulletin made me choke on my drink:
“JACKSONS FAMILY CRISIS: GAMMA’S PARENTS SAY THEY WERE LEFT ALONE”
When I opened the article, I saw that my parents were telling a sad story about how their adopted daughter had suddenly left them, leaving them stuck and broke.
Diane said, “My sister has always been jealous of me. Now she’s punishing our parents for loving both of us the same.”
But the quote from George that really made me mad was, “As her mate, I’m very worried about Scarlett’s recent behaviour. This isn’t like her at all. I’m afraid something may be wrong with our mate bond.”
That was his plan: to say I was the bad one.
I make a lot of money, so I’m one of the pack’s highest earners. My family depends on my money to live.
Now everyone knows what my family really is: a bunch of weak people who can’t take care of themselves and need their daughter’s help.
