Chapter 1

My soul drifted out of my body five minutes before I died. I floated into the pack's healing center.

My mom, Lucia Sweeney's, face was twisted with worry as she prayed. "Linda, don't scare me… Please open your eyes. You're breaking my heart…"

Meanwhile, my dad, Marvin Harper, was seething. His fury burned through the tent. "If Connie had protected her, Linda wouldn't be lying here! I swear I'll tear her apart later!"

I stood quietly nearby, a dull ache swelling in my chest.

Was blaming me the only thing Dad ever knew how to do? There was barely any skin left on me. What more punishment could he possibly want?

A few healers discussed quietly at Linda Harper's bedside.

Once they confirmed she only had a few scrapes and no broken bones, one of the elder healers spoke up carefully. "Chief Healer Lucia, Connie is suffering from silver poisoning, and her condition seems critical. Should we…"

Mom's gentle expression instantly twisted into disgust.

"Is she putting on that pathetic act again to win sympathy? How dare she play the victim after what she did to Linda?" she snapped, cutting him off.

A tide of grievance surged through me, tightening my chest even in my soul form. I was her daughter, too. Was I really that unworthy of her concern?

Just then, Mom reached out to me through the mind-link. She rushed to speak before the mind-link could even fully establish. What came through wasn't comfort or concern, just her familiar, cold reprimand.

"Connie, you've been missing ever since Linda got admitted to the healing center. As her sister, you didn't even come to take care of her. Do you feel no guilt at all?"

At that moment, my heart completely went cold. She didn't even notice how weak our link was. I was dying, and all she cared about was her beloved youngest daughter.

I knew she had always wished I had never existed.

When they carried me back to the pack, I had been whispering my pleas in the snow, "Mom, I'm not gonna make it… Please save me…"

However, all she did was toss out a cruel, heartless remark. "Are you seriously still fighting with Linda now? Do you have any idea how close she came to getting clawed in the face by a silver claw?"

Then, she turned her back on me and led all the healers straight to Linda.

How could she ever have time to love me?

Eyes red-rimmed, the trainee healer tending to me finally broke down and called for Mom. "Chief Healer Lucia, Connie is really not going to make it. Her wolf is fading…"

Mom scoffed. "What kind of spell did she put on you to play along with her act? I didn't even know she was capable of manipulating others like this."

Linda had never actually passed out. Just then, she opened her eyes slowly and spoke in a weak voice. "Dad, how's Connie?"

Mom's gaze softened with pity the moment she saw Linda lying there, fragile and considerate.

However, her voice was as sharp and cold as a blade when she talked to me through the mind-link.

"Connie, can't you be more like Linda? Even now, she's still worried about you! If you don't come and apologize in the next three minutes, don't bother calling me 'Mom' again!"

With that, she cut the link without warning. Her chest was heaving with anger.

Dad's face twisted with resentment. "Why even bother calling her here? Hasn't she done enough to hurt Linda already?"

On the bed, Linda lowered her head with a falsely guilty look. She secretly hid the faint, triumphant curve of her lips.

"Dad, Mom, please don't be mad… Connie only resents me because I took her spot to study in Centrill City. She has every right to blame me…"

I sneered. Even with me on the brink of death, Linda still couldn't resist stabbing me one last time to sow discord. However, I knew that my parents would never see past her fake smile.

To them, Linda would always be the perfect, obedient daughter. She was the one worthy of everything.

They would never know the truth. That ambush, the route we took, and how we ended up near the silver mine were all part of Linda's plan.