In my previous life, Victoria had used this exact excuse to postpone our mating ceremony year after year.

As long as she didn't give her approval, Grayson would never mark me—he was tied down hand and foot by Victoria's tears.

Thinking of this, I smiled mockingly at myself, unconsciously rubbing the old scar in my palm, a mark from when I was clawed by a rogue wolf while protecting my paintings.

"Sure, whatever works."

What wouldn't be fine? After all, Grayson and I were never going to actually complete a mating ceremony anyway.

I put down my chopsticks and said, "I'm done eating." As I turned to go upstairs, I caught Victoria sneaking a glance at Grayson out of the corner of my eye, a triumphant smile tugging at her lips—she'd won again, using "frailty" to steal away what should have been my ceremony.

Watching my somewhat resolute figure, Grayson paused with his knife and fork in hand.

For the first time he felt something was different about me: the old me would have asked with tears in my eyes "Why do we have to postpone again?" but now I was so calm it was like I was talking about someone else's business.

He wanted to call out to me, but Victoria suddenly clutched her chest and started coughing: "Uncle, I feel a little dizzy..."

His attention was immediately pulled away as he reached out to touch Victoria's forehead, completely missing my footsteps stopping at the stair landing.

In the following days, with the mating ceremony postponed indefinitely, Grayson indeed had plenty of time to accompany Victoria on scenic trips to various places.

The night before departure, Victoria knocked on my door holding a thick coat: "Sister, Uncle, Mom, Dad and I are going to the snowy mountains. You just donated wolf essence and you're weak, so don't come and suffer in the cold."

As she spoke, her nails deliberately scraped across my wrist—where needle marks from the last essence donation still remained. I looked at the barely concealed smugness in her eyes and suddenly remembered she'd said the same thing in my previous life, then turned around and complained to the family that "sister said the snowy mountains were boring and wouldn't come with me."

Sure enough, when they left the next day, Mother looked at me with feigned concern: "Ember, you're not feeling well, so rest properly at home. When you're better, we'll all go together."

And once again, I was left behind at home.

To "share" the joy of their travels with me, Victoria sent me photos from every place they visited. In the pictures she stood atop snowy peaks wearing custom down jackets Grayson had bought her, surrounded by family taking photos; at the beach, she held a giant stuffed animal Finn had given her, with fireworks Mom and Dad had prepared for her in the background.

"Ember, it's such a shame you didn't come! Uncle Grayson built me a huge snowman, even taller than you!"

"Mom and Dad said the hot springs here are good for my wolf soul, they're going to buy me a villa with hot springs so we can come often!"

"Oh, and sister, Uncle bought me a glowing necklace. Didn't you once say you wanted one? But Uncle said this style suits me better~"

Every sentence was like a needle piercing my heart. I deleted each photo one by one, then turned off my phone and started packing my luggage—just a few more days until the forest paperwork was complete, and I'd be completely free.

Just then, I suddenly heard the sound of breaking glass from downstairs. My movements froze as scenes from my previous life flashed through my mind: around this same time, a rogue wolf had broken into the house, stolen Mother's jewelry, and torn all my paintings to shreds. Back then I'd called for help, but no one answered—they were watching fireworks on the snowy mountain with Victoria.

Immediately, alarm bells went off in my head.

I quickly stuffed my paintings into a hidden compartment under the bed, contacted the Alpha Council enforcers, then grabbed a silver dagger and quietly hid behind the door.

The rogue wolf indeed climbed in through the window, heading straight for Mother's jewelry box. I held my breath, waiting for him to turn around before suddenly pouncing, but he shoved me aside—my wolf soul was still hibernating, no match for him at all.

His claws slashed my arm, making me break out in cold sweat, but I bit down hard on his wrist to keep him away from the bed.

Fortunately the enforcers arrived just in time to subdue the rogue wolf. But I also fell down the stairs, my forehead hitting the steps, leaving my face covered in blood.

When the whole family and Grayson rushed back, they only saw the enforcers leaving while I sat disheveled in the wreckage, the wound on my arm still bleeding.

Father and Mother were stunned, their voices stammering, "You... you caught him all by yourself? Why didn't you call us?"

Victoria immediately threw herself into Mother's arms, sobbing: "Mom, it's all my fault! I was just video chatting with Uncle and the others, saying sister would definitely be safe at home. If I'd known, I wouldn't have played with you all for so long..." As she spoke, she secretly signaled Mother with her eyes—see, it was all Ember's fault for being stubborn, it has nothing to do with us.

Mother's brow furrowed as expected, her tone full of reproach: "Exactly! Why didn't you wait for us to come back for something so dangerous?"

Even the usually cold Finn showed complex emotions. "Why are you trying to be a hero? Last time Victoria said you were even afraid of a wolf pup, how come today you dared fight a rogue wolf?"—he remembered Victoria's previous claim that "sister's timid but always likes to act brave."

I was exhausted beyond words, the hand clutching the dagger still trembling. Grayson suddenly crouched down, reaching out to touch my forehead, but I dodged away. His fingertips froze in midair, his eyes full of panic: "How are you, Ember? Are you hurt anywhere? I'll take you to the hospital!"

"You're so foolish! Why didn't you contact us?" His voice carried a trace of barely noticeable self-blame—just now Victoria had kept saying "sister's definitely sleeping, don't disturb her," so he really hadn't called me.

I looked at him weakly and asked, "What good would contacting you do? Would you have actually rushed back for me?"

Everyone's expressions changed. Victoria immediately said: "Sister, how can you say that? We rushed back as soon as we heard! Uncle even sped on the way here!" She deliberately mentioned Grayson's "urgency" while completely omitting that they'd stopped to buy her souvenirs on the way.

I smiled mockingly. In my previous life, because I believed they would come back, I had called each of them one by one, only to be tortured half to death by the rogue wolf.

Seeing my unusually calm demeanor, Grayson's frown deepened.

He suddenly noticed the edge of a picture frame peeking out from under my bed and was about to ask about it when Finn pointed at the suitcase on the floor and shouted: "You've packed so much stuff—where the hell are you planning to go?!"

Grayson spun around abruptly, his gaze equally tense.

"Ember, what's going on? You're leaving home?"

My heart jolted. In my rush to catch the rogue wolf, I'd forgotten to hide my suitcase. I gripped the wound in my sleeve tighter and forced a calm smile. "Seeing you all travel made me want to get away too, so I packed my stuff ahead of time. That way I can pick a destination and leave right away."

Victoria immediately walked over, clinging to Grayson's arm coquettishly: "Uncle, sister probably just wants to clear her head, don't worry. But sister, if you leave and I suddenly need wolf essence, what am I gonna do?" She deliberately brought up "wolf essence," reminding everyone of the purpose of my existence.

Father and Mother's faces immediately darkened. "Get away? What for! Didn't I tell you to stay by Victoria's side forever!"

"Exactly! What if Victoria feels sick in the middle of the night and you're not here? If something happens, who's gonna take responsibility? Have you forgotten why we had you!"

Grayson looked at my pale face, suddenly feeling uneasy. He remembered when he'd bought the engagement gift a few days ago, I'd casually mentioned "wanting to find a place with forests to paint." Was I actually serious? But Victoria tugged on his hand again: "Uncle, sister's probably just throwing a tantrum. When she comes to her senses, she'll come back. If you push her, she'll definitely get angrier."

He hesitated—on one side was the resolve in Ember's eyes, on the other was Victoria's "understanding," and ultimately he chose to believe the latter: "Ember, if you wanna go somewhere, that's fine, but give us a heads up. It's too dangerous alone."

I laughed silently to myself. He still didn't get it—where I was going was a forest they'd never be able to find.

A few days later was mine and Victoria's birthday. Though we were three years apart, our birthdays happened to fall on the same day, but there was always only one cake in the house—Victoria's favorite strawberry cake, with candles matching only her age.

In my previous life I'd naively asked Mother "why aren't there candles for me," but Mother said "two cakes would be wasteful, you can blow them out together with Victoria." Now I realized it wasn't about waste—they simply didn't want my birthday to steal any of Victoria's spotlight.

At the birthday party, pink balloons filled the living room. Victoria stood in the center wearing a princess dress Grayson had bought her, unwrapping gift after gift. "Thanks for the bracelet, Mom!" "Thanks for the stuffed animal, Brother!" "Uncle, this gemstone necklace is gorgeous!"

Everyone crowded around her while nobody noticed me standing in the corner, clutching a birthday card I'd drawn myself—something I never got to give in my previous life, and now there was even less point.

"Hey Uncle, why do you have two boxes for your gift?"

Victoria picked up two similarly wrapped boxes, looking at Grayson with confusion.

Everyone's curious gazes followed, and Grayson somewhat awkwardly handed one box to me.

"This one's for you."

I took the box, my fingertips recognizing the familiar weight—in my previous life he'd given me the same box, containing a freebie that came with Victoria's necklace. Sure enough, opening it revealed a cheap bracelet, while Victoria held a necklace studded with rubies.

Finn couldn't help laughing: "Oh, so it's a freebie. Pretty fitting for Ember."

Mother chimed in: "Yeah, Ember doesn't usually wear jewelry anyway. Giving her something too nice would just be a waste."

Victoria pretended to be shocked, covering her mouth: "Oh! So this was a freebie? Uncle, why didn't you say so earlier? I thought you'd gotten sister something really nice!" As she spoke, she secretly raised her eyebrows at me, her eyes full of smugness.

I said nothing, just quietly threw the bracelet in the trash when no one was looking.

After the party ended, Victoria suddenly said: "I just got my license and want to drive everyone home today. Is that okay?"

Father and Mother immediately agreed: "Sure! Our Victoria's so capable!"

Finn also smiled: "I'll ride shotgun and keep an eye on things for you."

They all forgot I was still standing by the garage door. Before driving, Victoria deliberately glanced at me, then said to Finn: "Brother, sister's standing behind me. I'm worried about hitting her when I back up. Could you ask her to move aside?"

Finn waved his hand: "Ember, move it! Don't block Victoria's driving!"

I was about to step forward when I saw Victoria's lips curve into a sinister smile. The next second, accompanied by the screech of brakes, the car slammed into me hard, knocking me to the ground.

As my consciousness faded, I heard Victoria's fake crying: "Sister! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to! I hit the wrong pedal!" Then came Mother's screaming: "Ember!"

So she'd never intended to let me live from the very beginning.

When I woke up again, I was lying in the hospital's ICU, my whole body aching.

I never would have dreamed that after giving so many essence transfusions to Victoria throughout my life, when I was facing life and death, not a single person would be willing to use Victoria's essence to save me —especially when this car accident was orchestrated by her all along!

The doctor was negotiating with my family outside the door, his voice filtering through the crack: "Ember's wolf soul was severely damaged in the crash. She needs an immediate essence transfusion or she won't make it through the night! Victoria and her wolf soul share the same origin—they have the highest compatibility rate. Why won't you let Victoria donate?"

I heard Mother's urgent voice: "No way! How could Victoria donate wolf essence? She's so frail, something might happen to her if she donates!"

Father chimed in: "Exactly! Think of some other solution, find other compatible people. We'll pay whatever it costs!"

Finn's voice was full of anger: "Ember got hit because she wasn't careful—why should Victoria have to sacrifice herself?"

Finally came Grayson's ice-cold, decisive voice: "I'll definitely find another donor for Ember."

My heart felt like it was being pierced by ten thousand arrows. I remembered how his fingers trembled when he marked me in my previous life; remembered the night light he secretly left for me; remembered when he gave me the engagement gift and asked "is this enough to buy a forest"—turns out those were all just my delusions. When it came to Victoria, I would always be the one who could be sacrificed.

Intense pain washed over me again, and I sank back into darkness.

When I woke up next, three days had passed. Opening my eyes, the first person I saw was Grayson. He was slumped over the bedside asleep, his eyes bloodshot, clutching a piece of paper—it was a forest sketch I'd drawn before, though I had no idea where he'd found it.

Hearing my movement, he immediately woke up, his eyes full of surprise: "Ember, you're awake! Does anything hurt? I'll get the doctor!"

As he turned to call the doctor, I noticed blood stains on his cuffs—my blood from the car accident, which he apparently still hadn't washed.

After the doctor's examination, he said: "Fortunately we found a compatible wolf essence donor just in time, otherwise it really would have been dangerous."

Grayson sat by the bed, carefully tucking in my blanket: "What do you want to eat? I'll have the kitchen make it for you."

"That day... I'm sorry, it wasn't that I didn't want to save you, it's just Victoria she..." He wanted to say something but stopped—he couldn't explain why between me and Victoria, he always chose the latter.

I looked at the guilt in his eyes, but my heart remained completely calm. He might love me, but I didn't need it anymore.

After Grayson left, I asked the nurse, "Who ended up donating essence to me?"

The nurse sighed: "It was a healer from our hospital. He was supposed to be on vacation but rushed back specifically when he heard about your condition. Your family's really weird though—we tried persuading them for ages, but they refused to let your sister donate. They even said 'Ember's tough, she'll definitely pull through.'"

During my hospital stay, Father and Mother never came to see me once. Only Grayson came every day. He'd bring me the blueberry cake I used to like and read me books about forests, but never mentioned Victoria.

I knew Victoria must be calling him every day, using "feeling unwell" to cling to him. Sure enough, I once overheard him on the phone in the hallway, his voice full of helplessness: "Victoria, I know you're not feeling well, but Ember's still hospitalized. I can't leave for too long..."

On discharge day, he came to pick me up as promised. Just as we reached the hospital entrance, his phone rang. Seeing the caller ID, his expression immediately changed—it was Victoria.

He answered the call, his voice immediately softening: "What's wrong? Are you feeling sick again?"

I don't know what was said on the other end, but his brow furrowed and his knuckles went white gripping the phone: "Don't be difficult, I need to take Ember home right now... Okay, okay, I'll come over immediately. Don't get upset."

After hanging up, he looked at me somewhat guiltily: "Ember, Victoria says she suddenly feels dizzy. I need to take her to the hospital first. Can you take a cab home by yourself?"

I nodded calmly. "Sure, go ahead."

Watching his car disappear from sight, I tugged at the corner of my mouth—Victoria had used "dizziness" to trick him away again, just like countless times in my previous life.

I turned off my phone and hailed a cab directly to the Alpha Council—this time, I wouldn't let Victoria get away with it.