The shewolves in Shadow Pack all said I was lucky. Alpha Erwin Keller had doted on me alone for eight years.

However, the same werewolf who swore he would only ever want to be with me gave me two 'gifts' the day I brought him home to meet my mom, Katie Spencer, to discuss our marking ceremony.

The first gift was tying Katie to a chair and having his Beta rip her clothes apart right in front of me.

The second gift was deliberately opening the door and letting my dad, Felix Spencer, who had already lost his wolf spirit, run outside.

There was pouring rain outside. Felix ran to the edge of a cliff and fell over.

Katie was still tied to the chair. She watched Felix die right in front of her.

She snapped the ropes like a mad wolf and jumped off the cliff to die with Felix.

In a single night, I lost both my parents.

I kneeled in a pool of blood and asked Erwin why he did all this.

He pinched my chin and sneered. "Lara, did you really think I loved you? I came for revenge!"

It turned out that during the territorial war ten years ago, his dad died saving mine, and his mom took her own life afterward.

Erwin spent eight years carefully weaving a lie of love. It was all so I could experience what it felt like to lose my entire family.

Later, Erwin kept me trapped by his side and tortured me. I tried to kill myself 99 times. He saved me all 99 times.

He said we would torture each other until we grew old.

What he didn't know was that ten years ago, when his wolf spirit was completely destroyed and he was barely alive, I was the one who begged an Alpha from another pack to place a curse on me so that he could live.

In return, I only had eight years left to live.

Now, I was seven days away from my own impending doom!

Erwin Keller sat on a fur couch. Three young shewolves sat around him.

They were my cousin, Madison Browne, my colleague, Cynthia Tyrell, and my best friend, Mikaela Gaston.

They all had on revealing fur dresses, and they were all smiling as if eager to please him.

"Back already?" Erwin glanced up. "Perfect timing. The game just started."

I dug my fingernails into my palms.

Over the past few months, Erwin had slept with every shewolf close to me just to watch me fall apart.

Now every single one of them was hopelessly in love with him.

"In one minute." Erwin set down his wineglass. His voice was cold. "Whoever makes her cry first becomes my permanent bedmate."

The shewolves' eyes lit up. They ran toward me.

Madison was the first. She lunged forward and slashed my face with a silver blade.

The searing pain spread across my skin, and suddenly I recalled her birthday last year. Madison had held up a bottle of Moon Goddess spring water with shimmering eyes. "Lara, may the Moon Goddess bless you with everlasting happiness."

The second slash came down. Blood dripped onto the bracelet I'd given her. I had searched three days in the forbidden lands to find that wolf fang.

"Doesn't the silver's corrosion hurt? Why aren't you crying?" Madison turned around and asked in a huff.

Erwin narrowed his eyes like he was enjoying a show. "Next."

The moment he spoke, Cynthia grabbed me by my hair and dragged me into the kitchen.

My scalp ached from the force, but at that moment, I recalled the days we worked together.

When other shewolves bullied Cynthia, I stayed up all night helping her fight for justice.

Now the friend I once protected was shoving my head into a pot of boiling oil.

"Ahh!"

The scorching liquid burned my scalp. My whole body convulsed in pain. I clutched the edge of the table so hard that my nails split apart. Blood seeped out.

"Boring." Erwin glanced at the clock. "Next."

Mikaela ran over with a wooden box. My heart nearly stopped.

That box had been hidden under my bed. It contained the keepsakes my parents left behind.

"No!" I finally screamed.

But it was too late.

She laughed and smashed the photo frame onto the ground. Glass shards scattered everywhere.

Felix's cane was crushed under her heel, and Katie's comb snapped clean in half.

My tears finally hit the ground.

"I win!" Mikaela ran excitedly to Erwin. "Erwin, from now on you can only have me."

Erwin laughed. He then pinched her chin hard. "How naive. Anyone connected to Lara disgusts me. Why would I want any of you?"

He pressed a button. "Throw them all out."

The guards dragged the screaming shewolves away. I kneeled in the wreckage and trembled as I picked up the shattered remains of my parents' keepsakes.

"Erwin." I clutched the fragments and sobbed so hard I could barely breathe. "Someone like you who can't love should never be with anyone!"

"Who says I can't love?"

Erwin sneered. That was when the door opened.

A she-wolf in a white dress walked in with a suitcase. "Erwin, I brought my luggage. Which room should I stay in?"

Erwin's expression softened instantly. He wrapped an arm around her and kissed the top of her head. "Of course you'll stay in my room."

When he looked at me again, his gaze turned cold.

"Let me introduce you. This is my future mate I truly want to mark, Alyssa Arden.

"Remember that territorial war ten years ago? When I was dying, Alyssa begged another pack's Alpha to trade an eight-year life contract for my life. That saved me and restored my wolf spirit so I could live long enough to take revenge on your family.

"You said I don't know how to love, didn't you?" Erwin pulled Alyssa closer. His gaze was locked on me.

"Now, Alyssa only has seven days left to live. I'll show you exactly how I show love to someone."

My entire body trembled.

Such cruel irony.

I gave my life to save him, yet he mistook someone else for his savior and cherished her like a treasure.

But I wouldn't explain.

What would I explain? That I was the one who saved his life?

That I only had seven days left because of him?

I'd lost my parents. He'd lost his parents too. The vengeance between us had gotten so deep that there was no possibility of us ever being together.

At night, Erwin knocked on my door.

"Alyssa wants stew. Go make some."

I looked down and silently walked to the kitchen.

In the kitchen, I prepared the ingredients mechanically. Cold water ran over my hands. My fingertips felt numb from the chill.

Suddenly, I recalled how Erwin used to love the stew I made.

Back then, he liked to wrap his arms around my waist from behind and say, "My future mate is such a good cook."

The steam blurred my vision.

I raised a hand and wiped the liquid from the corner of my eyes. I didn't know if it was from the steam or my own tears.

Three hours later, I stood outside their door with the finished stew.

"Come in." Erwin's voice came from inside.

When I pushed the door open, I saw Alyssa leaning against the headboard while Erwin sat beside the bed. He was peeling fruit for her.

He had a very particular way of peeling fruit. The peel came off in one long unbroken strip. It was something he had once learned specially for me.

"The stew is ready." I set the bowl on the nightstand.

Alyssa lazily picked up a spoon and took a sip. She immediately frowned.

"It's too salty! What on earth were you thinking?"

I pursed my lips. "I'll make it again."

When the second bowl was brought over, Alyssa only tasted a mouthful before pushing it away.

"It's as bland as water. Make it again!"

When the third bowl arrived, Alyssa had barely touched the rim before she shrieked.

"How am I supposed to drink something this hot?"

She suddenly raised her hand. The entire bowl of boiling stew splashed all over me.

"Ahh!" I cried out. My chest turned red instantly.

"Erwin!" Alyssa held up her slightly reddened fingers. "It hurts!" She cried out tearfully.

Erwin's expression darkened. He kicked me aside. "Do you have a death wish?"

The kick sent me stumbling backward. My back slammed into the wall and my vision went black with pain. "It wasn't me. She knocked it over–"

"Shut up!" Erwin snapped with a cold gaze. "How dare you talk back to me?"

He pressed the call bell. Two guards immediately appeared at the door.

"Lock her in the dungeon for a day," Erwin ordered coldly. "Watch her closely. Don't give her a chance to kill herself."

As I was dragged away, the last thing I saw was Erwin carefully holding Alyssa's hand while gently blowing on it.

The moment the dungeon door slammed shut, the biting wolfsbane seeped into my bones.

I curled up in the corner and trembled uncontrollably.

The wolfsbane slowly spread through my limbs, and I began to lose consciousness.

"Lara! Lara!"

In a haze, I thought I heard Erwin's voice. It was filled with a panic I had never heard before.

It had to be a hallucination.

The werewolf he was now would never be that worried about me.

When I woke up again, the strong smell of herbs told me I was in the healer's den.

I heard the healer's stern voice nearby.

"Alpha, Lara is in an extremely bad condition. She only has a few days left–"

"Healer." I suddenly spoke in a hoarse voice. "I know my own body very well."

The room instantly fell silent. Erwin stood by the window. With the light behind him, I couldn't see his expression clearly.

"As long as she doesn't die, that's enough," he said coldly. "You don't need to tell me anything else. I don't care."

The moment he finished speaking, his phone rang.

I saw his expression soften instantly.

"Alyssa, be good. I'll come and keep you company right away."

After ending the call, Erwin left without looking back.

With difficulty, I picked up my phone and opened the pack's message feed.

Alyssa had just posted an update. The picture showed Erwin sitting beside her bed.

"It's just a tiny burn, but someone got so nervous he stayed by my side all night without sleeping. If it weren't for paying medical fees for that burdensome shewolf, he wouldn't even have left!"

Looking at the gentle expression in Erwin's eyes in the photo, I understood everything.

The reason I was sent to the healer's den was purely incidental.

I pressed a hand to my chest. My wolf spirit let out a mournful cry.

There were only six more days until the life-exchange curse placed inside me eight years ago activated.

On the fifth day of the countdown to the end of my life, I was discharged.

Dragging my weak body out of the healer's den, I ran straight into the wolves I least wanted to see.

Erwin stood beside that familiar off-road vehicle with his arm around Alyssa. His eyes were cold as if he were looking at a stranger.

"Get in," he said coldly. "You're visiting my parents' graves."

I gripped the hem of my clothes so tightly that my knuckles turned white.

I knew all too well what was waiting for me.

The vehicle drove toward the cemetery on the outskirts.

Along the way, Alyssa leaned against Erwin's chest. She occasionally laughed softly as she fed him pieces of fruit.

I sat in the front seat. Watching their intimate acts through the rearview mirror, my chest ached repeatedly.

When we reached the cemetery entrance, Erwin got out first.

I was about to follow when the sight before me froze me in place.

From the entrance all the way into the cemetery, a three-mile path was completely covered in burning charcoal that glowed with a terrifying red under the sunlight.

Erwin held Alyssa in his arms. His voice was cold as ice. "Lara, your entire family are sinners. Your parents are dead, so you'll atone for them."

He pointed at the blazing path.

"Kneel on it. Crawl all the way to my parents' grave and repent."

My legs trembled. I knew the consequences of refusing would be worse.

The moment my knees touched the charcoal, the smell of burning flesh filled the air.

The pain made my vision go black for a moment, but I could only clench my jaw and continue moving forward.

Behind me, I heard the off-road vehicle rolling slowly over the ground.

Erwin's car followed right behind me at the slowest speed with its windows lowered.

I could clearly see his fingers intertwined with Alyssa's. I could see him kissing her fingertips.

My knees had already become a bloody mess, and my palms were burned black.

Sweat mixed with blood dripped onto the charcoal and made hissing sounds.

By the time I finally crawled to the gravestones, I was almost unconscious.

Through my blurred vision, I saw Erwin holding Alyssa as they stood before the grave.

"Dad, Mom, I've found the love of my life," he said with an unbelievably gentle voice. "I brought her here specially to meet you. I've already taken revenge on the enemies who caused your deaths."

Alyssa obediently offered flowers. "Mr. Keller, Mrs. Keller, don't worry. I'll take good care of Erwin."

"Bow," Erwin suddenly said as he turned toward me. His gaze was cold again.

I bent down with difficulty and slammed my forehead heavily onto the ground in front of the gravestone.

After my atonement, Erwin said I was soiled and left me in the cemetery.

He wrapped an arm around Alyssa and walked away.

On the way back, it suddenly started raining heavily. I dragged my broken body forward step by step.

Every step sent rainwater washing over the wounds on my knees. It stung like crazy.

By the time I finally crawled back home, night had already fallen.

Erwin sat in the living room reading documents. When he heard the noise, he looked up.

Seeing my miserable state, a strange flicker of emotion passed through his eyes, but it quickly returned to indifference.

"Tomorrow is Alyssa's birthday," he said calmly as he closed the file. "I'm throwing her a grand party. You'll organize it."

I froze where I stood.

"Do it the way you used to describe your dream marking ceremony," he added with a cruel smile.

My heart clenched in pain.

I had described my dream marking ceremony to him countless times.

There would be a bonfire dance. Moonlight flowers would cover the entire pack territory.

The pack members would play the oldest songs of blessing.

Yet now, the ceremony I once dreamed of was nothing more than an ordinary birthday party for Alyssa.

"Stop wasting time." Erwin frowned and tossed me a tube of ointment. "Nothing can go wrong tomorrow."

After saying that, he turned around and left.

The ointment fell to the floor. I picked it up and threw it into the trash.

Dragging my battered body around the venue, I began preparing for the party. I didn't sleep the entire night.