My sister and I were both enslaved after the Great War and the defeat of humankind.

But before long, my sister's striptease performance earned the Alpha lycan's favor, and they soon left, holding hands.

On the other hand, I was taken away by a masked man unceremoniously after he left some money on the counter.

However, no one expected the Alpha lycan to chew through my sister's throat during the full moon, while the masked man treasured me, pampering me with endless wealth and prestige.

My sister turned into a vengeful spirit then and cursed me to death.

When I opened my eyes again, we had both reincarnated to that fateful day.

This time, my sister threw herself straight into the masked man's arms, sniffling as she begged, "Please love me?"

Standing nearby, I laughed.

After all, it was wonderful that I didn't have to be a vampire's walking blood pack in this life.

When my sister threw herself into the arms of the masked man, I knew that she had reincarnated too.

In our last life, when she saw the handsome face of Yoran the Alpha lycan, she promptly threw herself at him as if bewitched.

At the same time, she tripped me in front of the masked man.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Erin—I didn't mean to. But someone as ugly as you really doesn't suit an Alpha."

Then, leering at the masked man behind me in disdain, she scoffed, "The way I see it, you suit him way more."

When I looked up at the masked man, I shuddered from his sinister presence.

But before I could reject him, he grabbed my wrist, dropped some money on the counter, and dragged me outside.

This time, however, she had clearly changed her mind—she tripped me again, but this time into Yoran's arms, while she walked straight to the masked man, Sion.

She then spoke sonorously, "Please take me as your slave!"

Our parents were in the crowd, and both of them were stunned.

Years ago, we had fallen to hard times and wandered to these lands where we were enslaved.

Even so, our parents pinned their hopes on my sister's beauty, and hearing that Yoran would attend this auction, they bet everything on her.

As long as Joey hooked up with Yoran, wealth and prestige were within reach.

Hence, the fact that Joey chose the masked man undoubtedly threw a wrench into their plans.

"Joey!" my mother snapped.

Joey pretended not to hear, her fair cheeks covered in tears as she looked into Sion's impassive eyes. "I've heard so much about you, my lord. I'm your willing slave. Please, love me."

I could see our mother's knuckles clenching, as she yelled from the crowd, "Joey, you'd better be sure about this! Your future and our family's future is in your hands!"

Joey turned toward her, purring, "Don't worry, Mom. I know what I'm doing."

Our parents had always treasured her while neglecting me—just like now, as our mother thought about Joey's choice for just a brief moment before nodding in agreement.

"Fine. I'll trust you on this, since you're always so smart, unlike your foolish sister."

Sion's reaction remained hidden behind his mask.

However, although he acted like he wasn't listening, he put the money on the counter and dragged my sister out of the building—just like he did with me in our last life.

On the other hand, I was taken in the opposite direction by Yoran.

Even as we left, the smug smile on Joey's face was stuck in my mind.

I knew that she was convinced she would live in endless wealth and prestige like I did in my last life, and she would be right.

The vampire's castle had more diamonds in there than salt, sparkling with such blinding radiance that I was losing sleep.

However, all of that came at a price—my life.

In my last life, I had been taken away from the auction hall without being given a choice, while Joey happily held hands with Yoran as they left.

Our fate would have been polar opposites as expected—Joey would become the Alpha's treasure, reveling in endless prestige.

As for me, my fate was unknown, reduced to an unknown figure's plaything.

What Joey didn't expect was for Yoran to treat her so coolly and never take her to bed.

Even as Joey fumed, she found out that Sion was a vampire whose wealth could match nations, and so became jealous.

Later on, Yoran mauled her to death in his madness under the full moon, allegedly tearing through her throat while the rest of her was left in pieces.

As her resentment burgeoned, she became a vengeful spirit that haunted me endlessly after death, unhappy that the same sister she had treated so insignificantly was doing well.

She was in denial.

It only got worse as Sion clearly treated me well, where Yoran had treated her so coldly.

He would bring me food and feed me every day, the handsome face under his mask breathing my name tenderly.

"Erin… You're so beautiful tonight."

She must have lost her sanity as she kept remembering that day when we were chosen by different species.

She was our parents' favorite, and she had every right and disposition to claim the better prospect—so why did I, the dumber and uglier sister, get it instead?

Hence, she learned to curse until she killed me in her spirit form, after which she was reduced to oblivion as well.

She was also reincarnated when I opened my eyes again, and she immediately made the other choice in this life.

However, I was grateful for that.

-

I still hadn't seen Yoran's face even after three days since he took me home.

He appeared to be busy, and had plenty of other female slaves—I was just one of them and wasn't eye-catching at that.

But I didn't mope, instead happily munching on the dry bread they always placed on the servants' table.

It was wonderful not having my blood sucked every day, after all.

Even as the thought crossed my mind, I choked on the bread and almost passed out.

As I scrambled to chug a glass of water to wash it down, the door opened.

Yoran's burly form made the servant's room look especially small.

Seeing him scowl at the bread, I quickly lowered my eyes while my heart pounded.

Was he upset that I was a glutton?

Still, seeing him not hiding his stare as he studied me from head to toe, I remembered the rumors about him in our past life.

Yoran became the new Alpha by slaying his own father and his brothers, and he was a savage who loved to feast on human flesh.

Just the thought left me quietly taking a few steps back away from him, but before I steadied myself, he caught my bare shoulders.

Afraid to move, my heart thumped even louder.

I did my best to tell myself that this was my place as a slave, but I couldn't get used to it.

After all, I came from a rich family too.

"Why are you trembling? Are you scared?"

Hearing the deep voice, I looked up and suddenly found his face not all that scary.

And then there were those eyes that gleamed as brightly as the stars.

"I'm not scared, but just a little hungry."

How would a few slices of bread ever fill a stomach?

After a while, he laughed cheerfully. "My Uncle Ben told me to pick a slave… I guess I picked someone amusing."

Uncle Ben? As in his third uncle? The same pack elder who would instigate infighting and later assassinate Yoran himself?

Still, I kept my head down while Yoran summoned a servant, who brought so many dishes that they covered the entire table.

Just the scent of food was enough to make me drool.

"Sit. Eat."

He spoke to me with a surprisingly gentle voice.

I hesitated for a moment but eventually sat down and wolfed down everything.

How long had it been since I had a full stomach?

As I kept eating, my tears threatened to fall, while Yoran sat on the opposite end of the table and watched me eat with a twinkle in his eye.

Those eyes had to be the most beautiful eyes I had ever seen, and I really couldn't see him chewing through a person's neck.

When I had finished eating, Yoran stood up and headed outside.

Wait, he wasn't going to do anything?

"Get some rest. Uncle Ben and I have business to discuss," he said and started to leave.

"Wait," I called out as I remembered the rumors about Ben in my past life. "You should be careful around your uncle."

Those words were as rude as they could be, and to no surprise, Yoran was glaring coldly at me when I finished. "What do you mean?"

I mustered my courage and laid down the facts of what had happened in my past life, including Ben taking bribes, sending spies who hid in the ranks of Yoran's lackeys, and conspiring against Yoran…

Yoran appeared bemused by that last part. "Who is he conspiring with?"

I racked my brains and decided to take a bet. "I'm not sure, but you can perform a paternity test on the child of your father's fifth wife."

Yoran held my gaze for a long while and said, "I hope that's the truth, or else…"

He trailed off, but I noticed the threat in his voice.

I certainly knew that I'd be destroyed if I lied to him, but I had to take a chance if I wanted to survive.

-

Days later, the city put together a grand party.

Yoran was invited, and he attended it with me instead of his usual companions.

Everyone was surprised since I had nothing going for me, be it beauty or connections, not to mention that Yoran and I had only met once.

The small servant's room was renovated into a proper bedchamber, with servants bringing in stacks of elegant clothes and jewelry.

At that moment, I understood that Yoran had acquired proof of my claims.

We were the last to arrive at the party, and everyone was eager to greet Yoran.

After all, being the youngest Alpha there was, he had both power and resources.

I quietly retreated to a corner when I spotted a familiar face—Joey.

She was socializing with the other trophy wives but had trouble keeping up with their conversations.

Eventually, as she got bored and looked around, she found me and came straight toward me.

She studied me elegantly with a hint of rage but soon giggled smugly. "How lucky that you get to attend this party, Erin!

"That said, I heard you didn't get to sleep with your owner, and that he only came to you once. That's definitely not the case for Sion—it's like he's glued to me, and he's been cooking for me and feeding me ever since he took me home. I'm sure you don't get that, do you?"

The glee on Joey's face grew even more apparent as she continued, "You know, it wasn't easy for our parents to bring you to this world. But here you are, not repaying their grace and not calling once. You're so heartless, Erin."

I know that she was talking about Sion taking our parents to his castle, as word had spread across the city that Sion really doted on his slave and even brought her parents home.

She just had no idea about the demon Sion really was.

Still, I told her, "I envy you so much. Your owner really loves you."

I lowered my gaze to hide my smile.

I just hoped Joey wouldn't regret this.

"Exactly. You really can't even get jealous of me," Joey gloated, even more gleeful while her tone was filled with contempt. "I don't want to be mean, but you shouldn't leave home with that face, or you'd scare people."

She then giggled, "Oh, I'm always so blunt. You don't blame me, right?"

Everyone around me was clamoring, and the scar she left on my ear seemed to burn.

I took a deep breath, scowling as I demanded, "In that case, why don't you apologize?"

Joey's face dropped and she snapped, "How dare you disrespect me! You're nothing more than a slave!"

"And you're disrespecting all lycans, aren't you?" I retorted, my expression dark.

Stunned again, Joey pointed at me and bellowed, "Who do you think you are, taking up that tone with me?! Our parents should have strangled you in the crib—"

"Watch your words, ma'am."

Yoran was beside me before I knew it, his icy glare fixed on Joey and leaving her flinching.

Then, he turned to me, suddenly mild as he kissed my ear and touched my belly. "Don't get upset, dear. You'll hurt the baby."

Baby? What baby?!