The day my parents severed their mate bond, my sister and I had to choose.

One of us would go with our father—the Alpha who'd gambled away every inch of pack territory in underground wolf fights.

The other would go with our mother, who was marrying Alaric, the most powerful Alpha in the werewolf world.

In my past life, my sister fought to go with our mother. I stayed behind with our father in silence.

Later, our father rebuilt himself. His territory grew tenfold. He became one of the strongest Alphas, and I was his most beloved daughter.

But my sister provoked the tyrant Alpha Alaric, was banished from his territory, and was torn apart by rogues.

After rebirth, my sister didn't hesitate. She dropped her packed bags and clung to our father, sobbing: "Daddy, I can't leave you. Let my sister go live the good life with Mom. I'll stay with you."

Our father's eyes softened with emotion. He looked at me quietly packing my things, and his voice turned cold: "Get out. You're just like your mother—a gold-digging bitch."

I didn't argue. I left in silence.

In my past life, I fought thousands of battles in underground wolf pits for him. My wolf nearly died countless times. My body was covered in scars. I won back his territory piece by piece.

Only then did he wake up, pull himself together, and become a powerful Alpha again.

But my wolf had been shattered beyond repair.

On the verge of death, my wolf burned the last spark of her life to reverse time.

But she couldn't reverse her own decay.

This time around, all I wanted was to find a place with no fighting and sit in the sun for a while.

I was reborn. Back to the year I was fifteen, the exact moment my parents severed their mate bond.

The Council Elder was reading the final terms. My father, Gareth, stood on the left, his face ashen, his eyes hollow.

He had been the Alpha of the Colton Pack. But he'd gotten hooked on underground wolf fights and gambled away everything his ancestors had built—territory by territory, until even the Pack House was on the betting table.

My mother, Diane, stood on the right, makeup flawless, chin tilted upward. She couldn't stomach the fall—from Alpha's wife to a gambler's woman, overnight.

She was remarrying. Alpha Alaric of the Ashford Pack—one of the most powerful Alphas the werewolf world had ever known.

"The ceremony is complete." The Elder closed the documents and looked at me and Ivy. "The two children will each choose a parent."

In my past life, Ivy chose our mother first.

I stayed with our father.

For the next ten years, I fought thousands of battles in underground wolf pits for him. Every single one was a blood-soaked brawl inside a silver cage, facing the most vicious fighters that desperate gamblers from other territories could throw at me.

There wasn't an inch of undamaged skin left on my body. Seven broken ribs. Three cracked vertebrae. But I kept winning, fight after fight, and won back his territory piece by piece.

Our father finally came to his senses. He rebuilt himself and became a powerful Alpha once more.

But my wolf had been beaten to ruins. Total collapse.

On the brink of death, my wolf burned the last of her life force to reverse time.

And Ivy had been reborn too.

In her past life, she'd followed our mother to the Ashford Pack, expecting a life of luxury. But Alaric was no gentle stepfather—he was an iron-fisted Alpha. Ivy crossed him, was banished from the territory, and was tortured to death by rogues.

So this time, Ivy played it smart.

"Daddy!" She rushed forward before anyone else could move, throwing her arms around Gareth, tears flowing on cue. "I won't leave you! Ember, Dad needs us—he's been through so much. You go with Mom and enjoy the good life. I'll stay with him."

What a performance. The terror of dying at the hands of rogues in her past life made her tears especially convincing.

But she only knew that our father eventually reclaimed vast territories and became a formidable Alpha again. She didn't know that I'd paid for every inch with my life.

Without me bleeding in the wolf pits, those territories would never have been won back.

I didn't expose her.

The Council Elder pushed the documents in front of me. I picked up the pen and signed my name calmly.

I chose to go with our mother.

I went back to the half-empty house to pack. Packing was generous—it was an old satchel with two changes of clothes stuffed inside.

Gareth sat in the only chair left in the living room, not even lifting his head.

"Get out." His voice was hoarse and cold. "You're just like your mother. A gold-digging bitch."

My hand paused for a second.

In my past life, I'd stayed. I'd fought for him for ten years. After he came to his senses, he held me and wept, saying I was the one person he owed the most.

But this version of him hadn't been through any of that. This version was just an angry, broken man consumed by his addiction.

Ivy hid behind Gareth, flashing me a triumphant smile.

"Sis," she whispered, her voice dripping with sweetness. "Don't come begging me to take you in later."

I said nothing. I slung the satchel over my shoulder and walked out.

The moment I stepped through the door, the claw marks on the inside of my arm flared with a sharp sting. I rolled up my sleeve—the pattern had spread a little further, almost reaching my elbow.

When it reached my heart, that would be the end.

Rebirth came with no miracles. My wolf had burned everything she had to reverse time. I was just a body on a countdown now.

All I wanted was a quiet place where I could try to be comfortable for whatever time I had left.

Diane's car was parked at the territory border.

A black SUV, polished to a shine, completely out of place against the run-down territory.

I walked over. Diane sat in the driver's seat, sizing me up through the window. She frowned.

"Throw that ratty bag in the back. Don't get the seats dirty."

I opened the rear door, set the satchel inside, and climbed into the passenger seat.

Diane started the car and floored it out of Southern Ridge territory. She didn't even glance at the rearview mirror, like she couldn't wait to cut ties with this place for good.

"Alaric's pack doesn't carry dead weight." Her tone was ice-cold, more briefing than conversation. "When you get there, don't be a burden."

I didn't respond.

"The only thing you've got going for you is that you can fight." Diane shot me a look. "Alpha bloodline awakened at fourteen, stronger than grown warriors after your first shift. That's your only value. Understand?"

She didn't know about the wolf pits in my past life. But she knew I could fight—and that was the only reason she'd brought me along.

"Once you get to Ashford Pack, sign up for warrior training and border patrol. Show Alaric you're useful." Diane tapped the steering wheel. "Don't be deadweight like your worthless father."

I leaned against the window in silence.

Diane wanted me to shift and fight. What she didn't know was that my wolf had deteriorated to the point where I only had three shifts left. After that, I was dead.

The claw marks on my arm suddenly seized, like something was tearing open beneath my skin.

My vision went black and my forehead cracked against the window.

A dull thud.

Diane glanced at me, impatient. "If you get carsick, deal with it. Don't make a scene."

A metallic taste surged up my throat. I clenched my jaw and swallowed the blood back down.

The car wound through layers of forest and entered the heart of Ashford Pack territory. Diane parked near the Pack House and took me to meet Alaric.

"He's at the north training ground." The Beta told Diane respectfully.

On the training ground, over twenty pack warriors were sparring. The dull thuds of fists hitting pads came one after another, punctuated by sharp grunts.

Alaric stood at the edge of the field, arms crossed.

His gaze swept over every pair of fighters with cold precision. When he wasn't speaking, his entire presence radiated the kind of Alpha dominance that made everyone tense on instinct.

This was Alaric. The hero of the entire werewolf world. The legendary Alpha who'd risen to godlike status in the Vampire War.

Every pack revered him. Every enemy retreated at the sound of his name.

But my second look landed on his arm.

Alaric wore a long-sleeved training shirt. When he raised his right hand to adjust a warrior's stance, his sleeve shifted slightly, revealing a small patch of skin on the inside of his forearm.

There was a pattern there.

Faint—almost invisible. But I knew that pattern too well, because I had the exact same thing on my own arm.

The mark of wolf decay.

My heart clenched.

How was that possible? Alaric was the most powerful Alpha alive, the war god who'd crushed the vampire armies. If his wolf was in decay, the vampires would overrun every werewolf territory within hours.

Impossible. I must have seen it wrong.

I shook my head and pushed the absurd thought away.

Diane hurried forward, putting on a warm, graceful smile.

"Alaric." Her voice went honeyed.

Alaric turned his head.

His gaze passed over Diane's face without lingering, then settled on me behind her.

It was casual—like looking at someone who didn't matter. But when his eyes crossed my sleeve, his gaze paused for one second.

He gave a single nod and turned back to the field.

Diane couldn't wait to showcase my value to Alaric.

She sidled up to him, all smiles, her voice eager—like she was pitching a product: "Alaric, Ember has real combat talent. She could shift at fifteen—earlier than most young wolves in any pack."

Alaric said nothing.

The silence didn't faze Diane. She pressed on, growing more animated: "Why not let her spar with your warriors? It'd help her settle into the pack."

The warriors on the training ground stopped mid-drill and turned to look at me. Over twenty pairs of eyes swept across me—curious, and openly appraising.

A scrawny fifteen-year-old girl, ribs nearly poking through, standing among full-grown warriors. She didn't exactly look like a fighter.

Diane's voice climbed a notch, taking on the edge of a command: "Ember, shift for the Alpha. Show him you're not useless."

The training ground went quiet for a beat.

Everyone was waiting for my response.

A gust of wind caught my sleeve, lifting the edge. The claw marks on the inside of my arm burned faintly underneath.

The last Healer's words from my past life were still etched into my brain: "Your wolf can't take any more. Three shifts, at most. Any one of them could be your last."

Three.

I had three shifts left. Every one I used would accelerate the spread of those marks. The next shift might send them straight to my heart.

Diane was boring into me with that look I knew so well—"Do as you're told, or you're worthless to me."

"I don't want to."

My voice was quiet, but clear.

Diane's face changed instantly.

Her mouth twitched. She was about to say something—

"My training ground isn't a stage."

Alaric's voice cut in. Flat, almost indifferent.

"Anyone who wants to join training can sign up on their own."

One sentence. It shut Diane down completely.

The smile froze on her face—too awkward to hold, too embarrassing to drop. But she didn't dare push back in front of Alaric. She managed a stiff: "Fine."

Alaric turned back to watch the training, as if nothing had happened.

But I noticed—just before he looked away, his gaze landed on my arm one more time.

The corner of my sleeve that the wind had lifted was already pressed flat again.

Diane walked me back to the Pack House without a single word.

The second we turned into an empty corridor, she exploded.

"Did you do that on purpose to embarrass me?"

Her voice was low, but every syllable cut like a blade.

"All I asked was for you to show them what you can do, and you refused? What exactly do you want?"

I didn't answer.

"You're just like your father." Diane's lips pressed into a thin line. "Useless."

She took a step forward, backing me against the wall.

"I brought you to Ashford so you could help me secure my position in this pack—not to be a liability. If you can't prove your worth, why would I keep you around?"

I looked at her.

I couldn't tell her that one shift might kill me. Even if I did, she wouldn't care. In her eyes, my value was fighting. If I couldn't fight, I was nothing.

"I'd like to go to my room," I said.

Diane stared at me for a few seconds, as if confirming I wasn't going to explain myself. Then she jabbed a finger into my forehead.

"Get out of my sight."

I was assigned a storage room at the south end of the first floor.

Diane said she'd originally arranged a guest room for me, but after today's "performance," she'd changed her mind.

The room was small. Old wooden crates were stacked against the wall. A thin mat lay on the floor—someone's idea of a temporary bed.

No lock on the door. One tiny window, palm-sized, set at the highest point of the wall.

I closed the door and sat in the corner where the sunlight could reach.

I set the satchel beside me and reached to the very bottom, my fingers touching a small, cold glass bottle.

Wolfsbane extract.

For any normal werewolf, this was lethal poison. A single drop on the skin would cause a burn. Swallow it, and your insides would dissolve.

For me, it was the only painkiller that still worked.

After thousands of fights in the wolf pits, regular painkillers had long since stopped doing anything.

A black-market Healer had taught me the method—micro-doses of Wolfsbane to numb the wolf's pain receptors.

"Keep the dose at this line." The Healer had scratched a mark into the bottle with his fingernail. "Any more and you're dead. Any less and it won't hold."

I unscrewed the cap.

A sharp, acrid smell hit me. My nostrils burned instantly.

I tilted my head back and took a small sip.

My stomach lurched. I doubled over, biting down hard on my lip, forcing the nausea back.

A few seconds later, the claw marks that had been pulsing on my arm went still.

The deep, bone-level chill that had been seeping through me retreated a fraction.

Pain was muffled under a thin layer of numbness, like gauze draped over an open wound.

I leaned against the wall. Sunlight from the palm-sized window fell directly on my face.

Quiet.

It was finally quiet.

No screaming from the wolf pits. No sound of bones snapping. No Gareth in the stands yelling "one more round" at the top of his lungs.

No one calling me worthless.

I closed my eyes.

How long this body could hold on, I didn't know. But at least right now, it didn't hurt.

I fell asleep.

My days at Ashford Pack were quiet.

Every morning, the pack warriors ran patrol in wolf form, streaming through the territory in formation.

I sat on the stone wall at the edge of the training ground and watched them pass.

I'd sit there for the entire morning.

I was the only young member of the pack who never shifted.

Especially since Diane had announced to everyone on her very first day that I'd "shifted at fifteen with excellent combat talent."

The whispers spread fast.

"The Alpha's new chosen mate brought a daughter—think she never awakened?"

"She might be an Omega."

"Her mother said she had great fighting talent. Why won't she even train?"

The warriors lowered their voices when they passed me, but werewolf hearing made that effort pointless. I caught every word.

I didn't explain anything.

Diane heard the talk too. Every time she walked by the training ground and saw me sitting on the wall, she shot me a look that could kill.

That look was nothing new—disappointment laced with regret for bringing me here.

And Alaric—I noticed him watching me from the far end of the training ground sometimes.

Not a casual glance. A quiet, deliberate study.

An Alpha doesn't watch someone who won't fight without a reason. Unless he'd sensed something wrong.

A she-wolf with Alpha bloodline who wouldn't shift—not because she couldn't, but because she wasn't able to.

He'd probably already figured it out.

That evening after the pack dinner, my phone screen lit up.

A formal notice.

From the underground wolf-fighting alliance near Colton's old territory.

I opened it and read every line. My fingers went cold.

The message was simple: Gareth had signed a Blood Debt guarantee in my name. The document stated—"Elder daughter Ember, currently residing at Ashford Pack, possesses shift capability and can fight to repay the debt."

The amount was what Gareth had lost in his final high-stakes bet at the wolf pits. He'd strapped my name to the gambling table as collateral.

If I didn't report to the pits for a fight within ten days, the alliance had the right to send collectors to Ashford territory.

I stared at the screen, my throat tightening.

I'd thought leaving Southern Ridge would sever all ties with that place. I'd thought this life would never take me back inside a wolf pit.

But Gareth would use anyone to fill the hole he'd dug. In my past life, I'd walked into the silver cage willingly. In this one, he'd simply signed my name without asking.

My phone buzzed again.

A message from Ivy, righteous as ever:

"Sis, just take care of it. Dad says that money is what you owe him."

A second message followed immediately:

"You've got an Alpha backing you over there. This is pocket change for you, right? Unless you'd rather actually get into the pit and let those rogues rip you apart."

I looked at the screen. Didn't reply.

Memories of the wolf pits came flooding back, frame by frame. Silver cage bars. The frenzied howling from the stands. The stench of blood carried on the wind as red-eyed fighters lunged at me.

My wolf convulsed deep inside me.

She remembered too.

Every time her flesh was torn. Every bone that snapped. Every fight where she was beaten to the edge of consciousness and still had to drag herself back up.

I locked the screen and set the phone face-down on the floor.

The pain came without warning.

The inside of my arm erupted in searing heat, like something beneath the skin was forcing a new crack open.

I looked down—a fresh claw mark was surfacing, creeping slowly upward from above the elbow.

Getting closer to the heart.

Blood seeped from the split skin, thin and watery, running down my arm and dripping onto my sleeve. A small dark stain bloomed across the fabric.

I needed to clean this up.

I ran for the nearest place—the equipment shed beside the training ground.

The door was unlocked. I slipped inside and shut it behind me.

Training pads and weapon racks filled the shed. There was a water jug in the corner. I twisted off the cap and poured water over the wound. Diluted blood ran down my forearm and dripped onto the floor.

But I'd forgotten to bring bandages.

The wound was still seeping. I pressed my other hand over it, scanning the room for anything I could use.

The shed door swung open.

I looked up.

Alaric stood in the doorway.

His gaze dropped to my arm. To the claw marks laid bare. To the fresh crack still leaking blood.

He didn't speak.

A few seconds of silence.

Then he said: "I'll have the top Healer come treat you."

I pulled my arm behind my back instinctively. "No need. Just a scratch."

I paused, then added: "Thank you, Alpha Ashford."

He looked at me. Not appraising, not pitying. I couldn't name the expression, but his eyes made me feel like he saw right through me—and was simply choosing not to say so.

He was quiet for a moment. He didn't press.

Then he walked to the equipment rack, pulled a roll of bandages from the second shelf, and held it out to me.

"If it hurts, say so."

I froze.

Before I could respond, he set the bandages on the shelf beside me, turned, and walked out.

The door closed. The shed fell quiet again.

I picked up the bandage roll and wound it around my arm, layer by layer. As the cloth met my skin, I caught a scent.

Faint, but unmistakable.

Wolfsbane.