The summer after I graduated high school, my parents promised to take me on vacation to Tide Coast.
Every summer, during the full moon, a stretch of the coast was opened for a night run. It was a rite of passage. The first time a young werewolf joined the run as an adult, their family would add their name to the public roster.
It wasn’t just a trip. It was a declaration to the entire pack of who the family acknowledged as one of their own.
I packed a month in advance.
Swimsuits, sunscreen, my camera, and the detailed itinerary I’d made for everyone.
The night before we were supposed to leave, my sister, Bella, announced she wanted Stefan to come with us.
Bella’s shift had always been unstable. Stefan was a trainee warrior from Cedar Ridge and her safety partner in youth training.
My father looked over the flight tickets and hotel reservations, his brow furrowed.
“We don’t have enough rooms.”
I thought they would just book another one.
A second later, Mom plucked my territory ID from my hand. Without it, I couldn’t get through the airport’s border check.
“Paloma, you’re staying home.”
“Bella just agreed to resume her training,” she continued. “This is her first full moon run at the coast, and Stefan needs to be there with her.”
My brother, Tony, picked up my suitcase and shoved it toward Bella’s feet.
“She’s already packed. You can use her things.”
I looked at Stefan.
He’d once promised to take me to see the ocean after graduation, to run my first adult moonlit race beside me.
But now, all he did was take the suitcase from Bella.
“Bella’s wolf still isn’t stable.”
“She could lose control and shift if she gets anxious,” he said, avoiding my eyes. “You being there will only make her more tense.”
“Just let her relax this time.”
Bella’s eyes were red, her voice trembling as she played her part.
“Paloma, for once I just want a real family trip for the full moon.”
By real, she meant one without me.
My phone kept lighting up with airline reminders.
Three hours until boarding.
I stood in the foyer, watching my suitcase get pushed farther away. The muscles in the back of my neck coiled, but the wolf inside me didn’t stir, didn’t urge me to fight.
They would put Bella and Stefan’s names on the roster.
My place would be erased.
In that moment, I understood with perfect, chilling clarity. In the Lombardi family, in the hierarchy of the Cedar Ridge pack, I was always the one who could be cut.
I hadn’t even left for the airport, and suddenly, I never wanted to see Tide Coast.
My Family Stole My Run I Returned A Leader Chapter 34 “Team.” I placed my Morningwatch membership crest on the verification counter. The staff member quickly found the listing. “Morningwatch Wolf-Form Recovery Support Team, lead: Paloma Lombardi.” “Information confirmed.” She handed me my number tag. My name was not written beneath any family name. It
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My Family Stole My Run I Returned A Leader Chapter 33 “Morningwatch is preparing to establish an independent research group.” “The committee unanimously recommends you as its lead.” I flipped to the last page. Responsibilities, authority, term of service—everything was laid out clearly. No one had chosen me because I was someone’s daughter. And no
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My Family Stole My Run I Returned A Leader Chapter 32 Three months later, Bella posted a formal correction on her public account. She admitted that the project had never refused to treat her. The moment I saw her application, I had completed the recusal. She also admitted that the livestream had been an attempt
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My Family Stole My Run I Returned A Leader Chapter 31 “I’m leaving this here.” “I don’t want to wear it anymore.” My mother panicked. “You’re moving out, too?” “You’re not better yet. How can you live alone?” Bella gripped the handle of her suitcase. “There are therapists there.” “They’ll help me, but they won’t
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My Family Stole My Run I Returned A Leader Chapter 30 Back in Cedar Ridge, the fallout from the livestream did not fade quickly. My mother tried deleting the old vacation post. But the public roster and her comments had long since been preserved and spread elsewhere. Deleting the original only convinced more people that
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My Family Stole My Run I Returned A Leader Chapter 29 “I searched that stretch of beach for three days.” “I never found the bracelet.” “I’m sorry.” His voice was rough. “Some things really can’t be made up for by buying a new one.” I looked at him without reaching for the tin and without
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My Family Stole My Run I Returned A Leader Chapter 28 The hearing was scheduled for a week later. I attended by remote link from the project center’s conference room. Stefan sat on the other side of the screen. He was clean-shaven and wearing his old warrior academy uniform. The cuffs were worn. The hearing
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My Family Stole My Run I Returned A Leader Chapter 27 I looked at her. “Because that wasn’t care.” “They used satisfying you to prove they were a good family, and they used forcing me to give way to maintain that proof.” “Now that I’m gone, they can’t push the cost onto someone else anymore.”
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My Family Stole My Run I Returned A Leader Chapter 26 Bella stayed in observation for two days. Her application was not canceled because of the livestream. The project rules were the same for everyone. As long as she cooperated with the evaluation, she would receive the treatment she was entitled to. On the afternoon
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My Family Stole My Run I Returned A Leader Chapter 25 “Bella said she liked it, so I gave her the necklace.” “Not one of us remembered Paloma’s birthday.” Bella whipped around to look at him. “You gave it to me yourself!” “She never even wears jewelry! She never fights for anything—so what was wrong
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