Chapter 4: Birthday and a burden
Hazel’s POV
Happy birthday to me.
Tomorrow had finally arrived. The day I’d been dreading and secretly hoping for all my life. My eighteenth birthday. The day I might.—feel the stir of a wolf inside me. But that hope was as fragile as a soap bubble. I hadn’t slept a wink last night, tossing and turning beneath thin sheets that did nothing to soothe the storm within me. My thoughts wouldn’t let me rest, each one clawing at my peace like a desperate prisoner.
And then there was the sound of Natasha’s overexcited laughter echoing through the walls, mingling with my other sisters’ shrill voices as they celebrated themselves, again. I knew that sound well. It meant new gowns had arrived. And when Selene and the others got new gowns, I got the old ones their castoffs, tossed at me like I was a walking ragdoll with no pride or feeling. It wasn’t even noon yet, and I already hated this day.
Then, the door creaked open softly. A tiny presence slipped through, and before I could blink, a small, warm body had wrapped itself around me.
"Happy birthday, big sis," Ariel said, her voice soft and sweet like honeyed tea.
She ran up to me and planted a kiss on my forehead, her blonde hair tickling my cheeks. Before I could say a word, she shoved something warm into my palm.
"I couldn’t make a cake," she said, cheeks flushed, "so I did this."
A cookie. Slightly lopsided, a little too crumbly, but perfect in every way that mattered. I felt tears sting the corners of my eyes, hot and unwelcome. No one had ever done anything like this for me. Not even close. I pulled her into a tight hug, burying my face in her soft, clean-smelling hair. Her tiny arms clutched me back with surprising strength.
She looked like her sisters—long blonde hair, pale skin, angelic blue eyes—but she was nothing like them. Ariel had a heart of gold, untouched by the rot that infected the rest of this family.