At our pack's full moon ceremony, my adopted sister, Jocelyn, captured everyone's attention with a potion formula she'd stolen from me.

However, this ceremony was held to find a mate for the rumored cursed and ruthless Dragonkin descendant, Corbin Thorne.

That very night, the Dragonkin sent their envoys, demanding a union with the pack's most gifted potion maker.

My fated mate, Colton, panicked at the news. To "protect" Jocelyn, he immediately completed the mate bond with her.

Once the bond was sealed, Jocelyn smugly flaunted the mating mark on her neck.

"Your fated mate is mine now, Wren. The Alpha will discard you, the pack will exile you, and you'll be nothing but a rogue."

She was wrong. I had another choice.

I found my parents and the elders, who were scrambling to deal with the fallout.

"She is unwilling to accept the union. I am!"

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1

My words landed like a thunderclap in the silent room, freezing my father's hand in mid-air as he held the letter from the Dragonkin.

My mother's eyes widened, her powerful aura wavering. "Wren, are you insane? Corbin Thorne is cursed and ruthless! I heard he nearly tore a servant's throat out when he lost control in his beast form. Bonding with him would be a death sentence!"

My father coughed lightly before I could speak. "If she doesn't go, then what about Jocelyn? She's already completed the bond with Colton..."

Conflict flickered in my mother's eyes, and she slowly released her grip on my hand.

An icy dread seeped into my heart. I was their biological daughter, yet they always favored Jocelyn, the adopted girl who played the part of the pitiful, obedient child.

I sneered. "But I have one condition. On the day of my bonding ceremony, Jocelyn must publicly admit that she stole my potion formula."

"That's a vicious thing to say, Wren! Are you trying to ruin Jocelyn's reputation?"

My father slammed his hand on the table, and my mother looked at me with raw disappointment.

A scornful smile twisted my lips. "The Dragonkin want a true healer. She can't have it all. It's either her reputation or her 'happily ever after'."

In the end, they relented for the safety of the pack.

I turned and left without hesitation, but in the hallway, I ran into Colton, fresh from a tender moment with Jocelyn.

Colton was loosely draped in a robe, his chest a canvas of suggestive red marks. The cloying scent of rose perfume, Jocelyn's signature fragrance, clung to him.

It was easy to imagine how intimate they had been these past few days.

When he saw me frown in disgust and step aside, Colton scrambled to block my path.

"Wren, I know you're angry, but this was the only way I could protect Jocelyn. The Dragonkin are extremely possessive. Having her bond with another wolf was the only way to ensure he wouldn't pursue her."

I forced a bitter smile.

"And what about me?"

We should have completed our bonding ceremony long ago, but he kept leaving me at the altar every time Jocelyn threw a tantrum.

The ceremony was postponed again and again, and now, at this critical moment, he had completed the bond with Jocelyn.

The only path left for me was a dead end: either bond with the Dragonkin descendant or be exiled, because someone had to face the Dragonkin's wrath.

A flicker of guilt crossed Colton's eyes, and he eagerly grasped my hand. "Wren! I won't let you marry that Dragonkin bastard! I know, I can make you my slave mate. You can live in my residence under that title, and then you won't have to bond with anyone else."

"Don't worry, it's just a formality. Once you're at my place, I'll treat you the same as Jocelyn."

A bitter laugh escaped my lips. How could he be so shameless?

Only wolves who had committed grave crimes and had nowhere else to go would choose the humiliating status of a slave mate.

A wolf who became a slave mate was deemed inferior for life, and even the pups they bore would be nothing more than slaves.

I wrenched my hand from his grasp. "Colton, I would rather bond with the Dragonkin than become your slave mate!"

Having been publicly rejected, Colton's face instantly darkened.

"Wren Sterling! You love me, don't you? Is your pride really more important than being with me?"

I retorted, "Is that so? Then why don't you make Jocelyn a slave mate? That would save her too."

Colton blurted out, "She could never suffer that indignity! She's too fragile, Wren. She needs to be cherished and protected, not subjected to hardship."

Frustrated tears, born from years of injustice, pricked at the corners of my eyes.

Just because she was a wolf of common blood, while I was a rare Moon Healer with powerful gifts.

That's why my parents favored her, and even my fated mate pitied her.

It was as if I was born to shoulder every injustice.

Stung by the mockery in my eyes, Colton snapped, "You should reconsider. It's not like you have any other choice."

After Colton left, I drifted downstairs in a daze, only to find an engagement gift from the Dragonkin waiting for me.

It was a Lunar Soulstone, something I had long coveted on the black market but could never afford. It could greatly enhance a healer's abilities.

A warmth bloomed in my chest.

Perhaps a union with Corbin Thorne wasn't a dead end after all.

The next day, I went to a boutique to pick out a gift for my future mate, Corbin Thorne.

Corbin's dragon form was a black dragon, so I chose a pair of cufflinks shaped like dragons, carved from their scales and inlaid with gold.

A grim thought occurred to me. At least the Thornes were a top-tier noble house. Money, power... What more was there to complain about?

Just as I paid and was about to leave, I heard a dramatic gasp.

"Wren is so two-faced. She claims she doesn't want to be Colton's slave mate, but here she is, secretly spending a fortune on a gift for him. I could never be that scheming."

Jocelyn snuggled into Colton's arms, a triumphant smirk on her face.

It was only then that I remembered it was Colton's birthday.

The realization hit me: they thought this was for him. A pathetic attempt to win back his favor.

Colton stared at the cufflinks in my hand with disgust. "I thought you were so tough, but here you are, crawling back to me to avoid exile. These are hideous. I don't want them. Go exchange them for a pair of silver wolf ones."

I frowned and cut him off. "This is a gift for my future mate. It has nothing to do with you."

Colton scoffed as if I'd said the funniest thing in the world. "Stop being stubborn. Who else would want you? Keep putting on this act, and I won't even offer you the slave mate position."

Jocelyn's eyes darted around, landing on a shop next door that performed rune branding.

"Colton, we can get Wren the slave brand right here. I can't bear to see her so scared and worried. Why don't we just get it done today?"

Colton indulgently tapped her nose. "Jocelyn, you're too kind."

He then looked at me as if he were bestowing some great charity upon me. "Well? Go on!"

As if I should be grateful for this immense blessing.