Chapter 1

The Beast King had made an agreement with the humans—every so often, they'd send a group of beastmen, each with different skills, for the humans to choose from as servants.

In my last life, I had carefully picked a tiger beastman. But when my brother threw me into the Beast Den, that tiger didn't even try to save me. He just stood by and watched me die, all because I was a half-beast born of a beast and a human, a disgrace in his eyes.

He told me I wasn't worthy to be his master. I didn't realize it then, but the one he'd always wanted to protect was my half-sister, Maisie Roffe.

And now here I was, back on the day we were choosing our beast servants.

"Come on, Claudia. Hurry up and pick one!"

Maisie's sugary voice was sharp as a needle in my ear.

I shut my eyes for a second and forced those bloody memories out of my mind.

"What's the rush? Choosing a beast servant is serious business. You can't just do it on a whim," I replied coldly, my eyes scanning the line of beastmen in front of me.

Blair, the tiger that had abandoned me in my past life, stood among them, looking tall and muscular. The moment our eyes met, he quickly looked away.

I knew what that meant. He was scared I'd choose him again. In my past life, I had thought he was just shy.

I gave a bitter smile and looked away, my gaze landing on a scruffy gray fox crouched in the corner.

He was skinny and dirty, with tangled fur, nothing like the fierce, majestic beastmen beside him. Honestly, he looked pathetic.

But for some reason, seeing him like that made me think of myself from the last life.

"This one," I said firmly, pointing at the gray fox.

"What?" Maisie gasped. "Are you serious? That one? What's it even good for?"

"My choice isn't your concern," I snapped before she could say more and walked straight over to the gray fox.

He lifted his head, his cloudy eyes full of fear and unease.

I crouched down and reached out, gently stroking his head.

"Don't be scared. From now on, we're partners."

Maisie picked Blair—huge, powerful, and intimidating.

She excitedly stroked his fur and showed him off to me. "Look! Isn't he amazing?"

"If you like it, that's all that matters," I replied calmly. My voice didn't show the slightest emotion.

Blair finally got what he wanted.

Maisie was my half-sister, born of a different father. Unlike me, she was adored and cherished by everyone.

Even my brother, Justin Roffe—who shared both my parents—treated her like a treasure. Although he was also the son of a beastman, he had inherited everything from our human mother, so he looked and lived as a normal human.

He hated our father and me. He saw both of us as a disgrace. And he spoiled Maisie endlessly.

In my past life, after Maisie accidentally killed the Beast King's son, Justin drugged me and sent me into the Beast Den to take the blame, just to protect her and keep the peace.

The Beast Den was pure hell on Earth.