My Family Stole My Run I Returned A Leader Chapter 08
My mother’s face went white.
Her lips parted, but no sound came out.
Mr. Carter paused, then continued.
“And she never applied to any of the schools you’re talking about.”
“She secured a full scholarship to Gray Harbor University on her own.”
“The Morningwatch pack also granted her provisional membership and relocation assistance.”
“She flew to Gray Harbor yesterday morning.”
“The university has already arranged her housing and freshman program.”
Dad’s hand jerked, and the phone nearly slipped from his grip.
“Where did she get the money?”
Mr. Carter’s reply was cold.
“From the territory’s honors student award, plus university research funding.”
“She has more than enough.”
“She doesn’t need a single cent from you.”
“She is an adult, and she completed a voluntary transfer. She is now a provisional member of Morningwatch. You have no authority to revoke her registration.”
With that, he hung up.
The living room fell into a terrifying silence.
Stefan stared at the phone on the carpet, his breathing uneven.
Student speaker.
Perfect score on the joint exam.
Gray Harbor University.
Morningwatch pack.
None of those words matched the Paloma he thought he knew.
He had always believed my grades were average, that my status in the pack was low, that I couldn’t survive without him or this family.
So he could favor Bella.
He could postpone our future indefinitely.
He could let me suffer.
Because he assumed I would always be there in the end.
Only now did he realize I had never needed his scraps of concern.
I had simply decided I didn’t want them anymore.
Over the next few days, a heavy tension settled over the Lombardi house.
My mother couldn’t sleep.
She would stand for long stretches outside the door of the small, empty room.
She tried again and again to find me through the Cedar Ridge pack link.
My name was no longer there.
Tony stopped mentioning the apartment in Gray Harbor.