Chapter 1

"Sierra, here. I bought you an energy drink. Drink some before your assessment tomorrow. It'll sharpen your reflexes."

As the familiar voice drifted into my ears, my whole body jolted.

I snapped my head up and took in the sight around me—the familiar simulation assessment grounds, my familiar teammates, and the tactical gear bag I knew all too well.

I was reborn and back to the day before the practical admission assessment.

Before I could even snap out of the shock, Maya Bardolph beamed as she shoved the can into my hands. Beside her, Dale Ashshade looked at her with eyes full of pure affection.

"You're too sweet, Maya. Sierra is incredibly lucky to have a sister like you."

I almost laughed when I heard that.

Any random wolf in the streets knew that cheating was strictly forbidden during the practical admission assessment, let alone consuming any substance that altered my physical performance.

In my past life, I had received the same energy drink, but I had politely turned it down and made a point to remind Maya to stay away from my tactical gear bag.

But halfway through the assessment, I had just opened my bottle when a wolf with a sharp sense of smell reported me on the spot.

After both my bottle and body tested positive for banned performance boosters, the entire team I led had our scores canceled.

My dream school blacklisted me, and the pack issued me a formal warning. My future was destroyed.

It wasn't until much later that I learned Maya had secretly spiked my drink with the performance booster. When I broke down and confronted her, she hid behind my boyfriend, Dale, and sobbed.

"I swear I just wanted you to take first place, Sierra… I never thought it would ruin your life…"

Dale wrapped his arms around her and soothed her before turning on me with a cold glare.

"She was just trying to help! Are you going to drive an innocent she-wolf to the brink just because of one mistake?"

Even my parents looked annoyed. "It's just a practical assessment. Maya's an omega who doesn't understand the rules. Why didn't you explain clearly to her beforehand?"

I swallowed the bitterness in my throat and remained completely silent.

Later, the side effects of the performance booster left me bedridden as I recovered. Maya and Dale came to visit with a pot of herbal tea, claiming they wanted to make amends.

"Sierra, I handled every step of making this tea myself, from harvesting the blossoms to drying them and brewing it… I spent ages learning how to do it.

"Please drink it and stop being mad at me."

Dale had personally helped me up and fed me the tea, but it was brewed with unrefined silver oleander.

I died of poisoning right then and there.

At the doors of the emergency room, Maya cried so hard she could barely stand on her feet.

"I'm sorry… I'm just too stupid…

"I didn't know oleander was poisonous. I just thought it smelled sweet…"

As I remembered how my organs had burned, and how I died from pure agony in my past life, I raised my hand and tossed the energy drink into the trash can.

It landed with a thud.

Maya's eyes immediately turned red-rimmed.

"Sierra… You like this drink, don't you?

"I saved my allowance for weeks just to buy it for you. That's the best thing I could afford…

"Even if you don't like it, you didn't have to throw it away…"

Her voice grew softer. It was as if she had just suffered massive injustice.