~Former Life ~
MASIHAH POV
The first week of classes at Alpha Academy College dragged by like a slow moving physical sentence. While Clara was embraced by the social hierarchy of the campus, surrounded by wealthy pack heirs who competed to offer her notes, carry her lighter bags, and escort her to the cafeteria. I existed entirely in the margins. I was the silent, clumsy shadow relegated to the very back corner of every lecture hall, weighed down by my thick frame, clumsy movements, and an exhaustion that seemed to seep deeper into my bones with each passing day.
By Friday afternoon, the cumulative stress of walking five miles across campus, carrying Clara’s heavy materials, and enduring the endless, whispering mockery of our peers had left me completely hollowed out. My skin had taken on a sickly, translucent pallor beneath its natural warmth, and my hands trembled whenever I tried to hold a pen.
When the final lecture ended, I didn't get to rest. I shuffled down to the campus courtyard where Ethan was leaning against the sleek hood of our family’s pack car, chatting animatedly with a group of high ranking athlete wolves. Clara stood beside him, sipping a chilled, imported fruit smoothie, looking as pristine and ethereal as a porcelain figurine.
"Oh, there she is," Ethan muttered, his easy smile vanishing the moment he saw me trudging toward them. His eyes swept over my heavy frame with an expression of profound disgust. "Look at how she walks. It's genuinely embarrassing to share a last name with someone who moves like a lumbering ox. Hurry up, Masihah. We aren't going to wait around all afternoon while you drag your feet."
I kept my head down, blinking against the bright afternoon sun, and climbed quietly into the back seat of the car. I didn't say a word. Experience had taught me that speaking only drew harsher punishments, sharper insults, and a swift reminder of my place in the household.
The ride home was conducted in suffocating silence, broken only by Ethan and Clara chatting happily about an upcoming pack social mixer where Clara had already been invited as an honored guest. When we arrived at the estate, I was immediately dispatched to the kitchen to unload our bags, unpack the groceries Mother had ordered, and prepare the evening meal. a task I performed while standing on swollen, aching feet.
It was during dinner that the true architecture of my slow destruction began to take shape.
The dining room was warm and brightly lit, filled with the rich, savory scent of roasted game and freshly baked bread. Mother had outdone herself, placing a massive platter of tender spiced meats in front of Father and Ethan, while setting a delicate bowl of nourishing herbal broth and honeyed pastries next to Clara.
I sat quietly at the very end of the long mahogany table, my plate containing only a meager portion of plain, unseasoned greens and a dry crust of bread.
"Eat up, my precious girl," Helen cooed, leaning over to stroke Clara’s hair with infinite tenderness. "The physician’s report from your campus check-in arrived today. He said your anemia is still causing your iron levels to fluctuate. You need to keep your strength up, especially with the mid-term examinations coming at the academy."
Clara lowered her long eyelashes, pressing a slender hand against her chest with a delicate, trembling sigh. "I know, Mother... I try so hard, but my chest feels so heavy sometimes. It feels like my body just wants to give up. I hate knowing that my health is such a burden on everyone... especially when Masihah is right here, so strong and sturdy."
At those words, Father looked up from his plate, his gaze shifting slowly down the length of the table to land on me. His eyes were cold, calculating, and entirely devoid of paternal warmth.
"Your sister is right, Masihah," Father said, his voice deep and measured. "Look at you. You carry around all that heavy bulk, yet you sit there complaining of fatigue while Clara suffers from a genuine medical failing. It’s ungrateful. You have strength to spare, while your sister wastes away."
"I... I don't complain, Father," I murmured softly, keeping my eyes fixed rigidly on my plate.
"Don't talk back!" Ethan snapped, slamming his fork down onto the table with a sharp clatter that made me flinch. "You always have an excuse for your lazy attitude. If you spent less time stuffing yourself with extra portions, though God knows where it all goes, considering how bloated you always look, you might actually have some useful energy to spare for your sister."
Helen nodded in sharp agreement, her lips pressing into a thin, bitter line. "In fact, the family physician stopped by earlier this week while you were at classes. He prescribed a specialized supplemental tonic for Clara’s blood condition, something to boost her iron and vital life force directly. And conveniently enough, he noted that your blood type is an exact, rare match for hers."
My heart skipped a beat. A cold, prickling sensation of dread washed over me, though I pushed it down, telling myself I was just being paranoid.
"What... what does that mean?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
"It means nothing that should concern your selfish mind," Helen dismissed with a flick of her hand, turning her attention back to doting on Clara. "The physician is going to set up a series of minor restorative treatments at the pack clinic next week. Just a few simple wellness draws to help stabilize Clara’s constitution. Since you are unrefined, heavy, and completely useless to the pack’s future, the least you can do is contribute a fraction of your excess vitality to keep your sister alive."
"A wellness draw," Ethan repeated, chuckling darkly as he cut into his meat. "Basically, you get to lie down on a comfortable medical bed for an hour while Clara gets the strength she actually deserves. Don't look so horrified, Masihah. It's the only useful thing your body will ever contribute to this family."
Clara looked across the table at me, her expression a mask of fragile, sorrowful guilt, though deep within her dark eyes, I caught the unmistakable glint of triumph.
"Thank you, sister," Clara whispered softly, her voice dripping with sickly sweetness. "I promise I'll make it up to you... once I'm better."
I didn't answer. I sat frozen in my chair, staring down at my meager plate of greens as the cold reality of their words settled into my bones. It wasn't just casual cruelty anymore. They were planning to use my body, to drain my life force bit by bit under the guise of medical necessity, all to prop up the golden child of the family.
My chest tightened with a suffocating panic, but beneath the fear, that cold, unyielding fire began to burn brighter in the back of my mind. They thought I was a reservoir. They thought my curvy, heavy frame was just an endless resource for them to exploit until nothing was left.