My twin sister, Sarah, was dying from silver poisoning. My blood was the only thing that could save her.

The healer was overwhelmed and made a mistake on the paperwork. She mailed the diagnosis report to the pack house with my name on it instead of Sarah's.

She told me the truth in private.I wanted to rush home immediately and correct the misunderstanding.

But before I could, the news reached the pack. My parents and Alpha Damien reacted in a way I never expected. They firmly forbade Sarah from donating blood to save me.

They raged that I was being selfish for even asking for help. They said Sarah couldn't handle the weakness that came from a blood transfusion.

I fought back the coldness spreading through my chest.

"I'm pregnant. If I don't get treatment soon, the poison in me will kill the pup too."

My mate Alpha Damien, the one who had sworn to protect me forever, responded without warmth.

"We can always have more pups. Sarah only has one life to live."

My wolf howled in agony inside my head. So I chose to leave, to walk away from the place that had brought me nothing but pain.

By the time they realized the truth, it was already too late for regret.

My twin sister, Sarah, was dying from silver poisoning. My blood was the only thing that could save her.

The healer was overwhelmed and made a mistake on the paperwork. She mailed the diagnosis report to the pack house with my name on it instead of Sarah's.

She told me the truth in private.I wanted to rush home immediately and correct the misunderstanding.

But before I could, the news reached the pack. My parents and Alpha Damien reacted in a way I never expected. They firmly forbade Sarah from donating blood to save me.

They raged that I was being selfish for even asking for help. They said Sarah couldn't handle the weakness that came from a blood transfusion.

I fought back the coldness spreading through my chest.

"I'm pregnant. If I don't get treatment soon, the poison in me will kill the pup too."

My mate Alpha Damien, the one who had sworn to protect me forever, responded without warmth.

"We can always have more pups. Sarah only has one life to live."

My wolf howled in agony inside my head. So I chose to leave, to walk away from the place that had brought me nothing but pain.

By the time they realized the truth, it was already too late for regret.

...

I pushed open the heavy oak doors of the pack house. The warmth of the fireplace and the scent of pizza rushed out to greet me.

In the main hall, my parents and Sarah were laughing around Damien.

A Hawaiian pizza, Sarah's favorite, sat on the table. They were clearly celebrating her being chosen for the sacred Moon Goddess Festival.

My arrival froze the happy scene solid.

My mother's smile faltered for a second before she plastered on a fake warm expression. She came over to pull me in.

"Ella, you're back. We were all waiting for you. Come and sit."

Her hand barely touched my arm. The polite distance felt like she was handling a stranger.

I grabbed her wrist.

Her body went rigid.

"Mother, did you see the report the healer mailed home?"

Her smile vanished completely. She tried to pull her hand back, but I held on tighter.

"Yes, we saw it. Why bring that up now?"

She lowered her voice, sounding annoyed.

"Look at your sister. She is so happy today. Don't spoil her mood with your bad news."

I froze.

They knew.

They thought I was the one with silver poisoning, and they were still throwing a party for Sarah.

My father finally set down his glass. His gaze was filled with annoyance.

"Ella, this is a great day for Sarah. Must you come back now and cause trouble for everyone? You didn't even bring a gift."

Damien walked to my side. He gently placed a hand on my shoulder, but his grip was cold.

"Alpha Warren, don't blame Ella. She never had Sarah's grace or understanding of the big picture."

I shook his hand off.

I walked to the center of the hall. My eyes calmly swept over each of them.

"I have silver poisoning. It has sunk deep into my blood."

In an instant, the entire hall fell silent.

My mother's eyes didn't even water.

My father's face darkened. He grunted heavily.

"Stop making a scene. Has the sky fallen?"

He turned to me, his voice full of blame.

"Is it such a big deal? Did you have to run back here screaming and scaring everyone?"

He waved his hand dismissively.

"If you need some precious herbs to cleanse your blood, let Damien's pack pay for it. They have more than enough wealth."

I stared at him. I felt a wave of absurdity crash over me.

In his eyes, my life could be measured in dollars.

Sarah came over too. She took my hand, her face wearing its usual gentle expression.

"Ella, don't scare yourself. You're a pack healer. You just absorb too much negative energy. That's what let the silver poison in."

She patted my hand.

"It's okay. Just get some rest and eat well. You'll recover quickly."

She said it so lightly.

Sarah loved heavy perfumes. The strong scent always masked her natural smell.

That was why no one could tell that I was actually healthy.

I ignored her and looked straight at my parents.

"I didn't come back to ask for resources."

I took a deep breath.

"The healer said my blood is too toxic. I need a transfusion from a direct blood relative to flush it out. Only Sarah can save me."

The hall plunged back into a dead silence.

A few seconds later, my father slammed his hand on the table.

"Absurd!"

He pointed at me. His face turned purple with rage.

"Do you have any idea how painful a blood draw of that magnitude is? Do you know the damage it does to one's vitality?"

He stepped in front of Sarah protectively.

"Your sister has been frail since she was a child. How could you even suggest such a thing?"

My heart felt like a block of ice.

"A small risk to save my life. Isn't it worth it?"

My father turned his face away. He refused to look at me.

"I disagree!"

"Sarah's body is precious. We can't let her take any risks! Not even a one in a million chance!"

I had expected this answer.

I should have known better. They sent me to the remote southern pack at age four just to give Sarah more space in the main house.

I was the extra one.

I turned my last hope to Damien.

This was the man who had sworn to love me forever. He promised to guard me with his life.

He frowned deeply.

"Ella, your father is right."

He looked at Sarah with concern, then back at me with cold eyes.

"Sarah needs to prepare for the Moon Goddess Festival physical exam. We can't let her take that risk."

He crossed his arms.

"Besides, you got the silver poison because of your own carelessness. It has nothing to do with Sarah."

The words felt like a physical blow.

The mate bond between us sent a sharp pain through my chest.

My wolf whimpered inside me.

Damien continued. His voice was cold and cruel.

"We can find other ways. We can always have more pups in the future. But Sarah... she only has one life."

It felt as if he was talking about me and our unborn pup like we were disposable trash.

My mother snapped out of her shock and rushed over. She grabbed my arm hard.

"Ella! Why are you so thoughtless?"

She shook me.

"We are all sad that you're sick. But you can't drag your sister into this suffering with you!"

"Have some pity on your parents! We can't bear to see Sarah suffer!"

She cried so dramatically. It was as if she were the one about to die.

I watched this ridiculous scene. My heart filled with a desolate sorrow.

Sarah came over. She hugged our mother and glared at me with resentment.

"Ella, you are so selfish."

"You know our parents can't live without me. You know Damien has always treated me like his own family. You're making this demand just to make us all miserable."

"Well, I won't let you get what you want."

She straightened her back. She looked like a holy goddess descending from the heavens.

"I will not give you my blood."

"This has nothing to do with our parents or Damien. It's my own decision. If you want to hate someone, hate me."

"I can't put myself in danger for you. I have an important physical exam coming up. I won't let everyone who loves me worry."

Her words earned approving looks from my parents and Damien.

They looked at her with a mixture of pity and pride.

They acted like she was being heroic.

And I was the wicked, annoying thing in their way.

I slowly pulled my gaze away from them.

I stared at Sarah. Her face was seventy percent identical to mine, but she always received so much more love.

"Are you sure? No matter what?"

Sarah gave our mother a comforting look. Then she answered me decisively.

"Absolutely not!"

"My health check for the Moon Goddess Festival is in three days. I have to be in perfect condition. I can't ruin my future because of you."

"Well said," I whispered. "Someone else's life certainly isn't as important as your exam."

My father finally lost all his patience.

"Leave our pack. And don't ever come back. Our pack has no place for a selfish, cold-blooded member like you."

He pointed to the door.

"If you upset your mother today, I swear I won't let you get away with it!"

Damien also walked over. He slipped the moonstone bracelet, our symbol of betrothal, from his wrist. He placed it on the table with a click.

"Ella, we're over."

"The way you are now... you're too extreme. You are too terrifying. We're not right for each other."

Then, his voice dropped. It became formal and sharp.

"I, Alpha Damien of the CrimsonMoon Pack, reject you, Ella of the Blackwood Pack, as my mate."

The words ripped through me.

An unimaginable pain tore at my soul. It felt as if my wolf was being physically ripped in half.

I staggered back. A gasp escaped my lips.

In that moment, I finally saw everything clearly.

Family. Love.

In their hearts, none of it was worth a single strand of Sarah's hair.

I had once begged so humbly. I tried so hard to please them.

I thought if I just worked hard enough, one day I could truly be part of this family.

Now I understood. I was wrong.

An extra person is always extra.

I looked at them calmly.

I watched them clear a path for me to the door.

They were waiting for me to leave. Like trash being taken out.

My heart was a barren wasteland.

I looked my father straight in the eye.

"If you wanted me gone so badly, why did you have me in the first place?"

"Did Mother not fight back? Or could you just not control yourself?"

My father's face turned beet red.

He swung his hand.

A sharp slap cracked across my cheek. The burning pain was instant.

I touched my face. My heart was numb.

I turned to my mother.

"And you. Stop crying."

"Your act of the pitiful victim is disgusting."

"When you were pregnant with me, did Father force you? With your personality, getting rid of me shouldn't have been too difficult."

My mother's crying stopped abruptly. She pointed at me. Her whole body was shaking.

"You monster!"

Damien rushed over and grabbed my wrist. His eyes blazed with fury.

"Ella! How can you speak to your elders like that?"

The hall erupted into chaos.

My father's second slap landed squarely on my face.

Warm liquid gushed from my nose.

"Get out!"

He pointed to the door. He roared like a beast.

"From this day on, I, Alpha Warren, will act as if I never had you as a daughter! We sever all ties!"

I instinctively covered my stomach.

For this little life I hadn't even met yet, I couldn't be weak anymore.

I wiped the blood from my nose. I stared him down.

"Fine."

"You said it."

"From this day forward, we have nothing to do with each other. No one is to contact the other."

Sarah shrieked through her tears.

"That's right! Whoever contacts the other first is cursed by the Moon Goddess to know no peace for eternity!"

A bleak smile touched my lips.

I took the real diagnosis report from my bag.

It was the corrected one the healer had just messaged me.

I threw it on the table, along with the bracelet.

"Very good, Sarah."

"Remember the oath you made today."

"You can keep these things."

"You might need to sell that bracelet to pay for your funeral."

I pointed at the paper.

"As for this, you can read it when you finally regret what you did to me."

After walking out of the pack house, I thought I would break down and cry.

But I didn't.

I just felt empty.

There was a huge hole in my chest. The cold night wind howled right through it.

The lingering agony from Damien's rejection was a constant, dull throb.

My phone vibrated.

It was a text from Damien.

"I have withdrawn the announcement of our mating ceremony. I informed everyone that we will not be mates due to incompatible personalities. From this day on, we are no longer connected in any way."

Immediately after, my father posted an announcement on the pack's internal app.

"My disowned daughter, Ella, is vicious and unfilial. From this day on, she is severed from the Blackwood Pack. All her actions hereafter are her own."

Then he kicked me out of the group chat.

So decisive.

I leaned against an old tree by the road. I stared at the cold words on my phone screen.

My heart felt like it was being shredded.

The tears finally fell.

If I had truly been the one with silver poisoning today, I would have died of despair seeing this.

Warren. Damien.

You are so cruel.

I dried my tears. I called a cab and went back to my small apartment.

That tiny place was completely mine.

For the next three days, I turned off my phone. I cut off all contact with the outside world.

I locked myself in my room like a wounded animal.

I replayed the last twenty years of my life over and over.

I thought about how my parents left me in the southern pack. They only visited once a year.

I thought about how Sarah basked in all their love while playing the innocent sister.

I thought about how Damien had promised me eternity. Yet he cared for my sister more than he cared for me, his actual mate.

I asked myself again and again. Why?

I was a pack healer. I had healed so many wolves. But I could never heal my own heart.

On the fourth day, I finally turned on my phone.

Countless missed calls and messages flooded in.

I ignored them.

On a strange impulse, I opened Sarah's social media account.

She loved to share her life. She posted updates almost daily.

Beautiful scenery from her trips. New limited-edition bags. Warm family photos. Exquisite desserts Damien made for her.

Her world was always so glamorous. So full of love.

But today, her feed was silent.

All her posts stopped exactly three days ago.

That was the day she went for her physical exam.