"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.