Chapter 1

The biggest mistake I had ever made was falling in love with my Alpha stepbrother, Cayden Gates.

I was 12 when my mom remarried, and he was the only one in the new pack who treated me kindly. I fell for him at first sight.

When I was 16, I was attacked by rogue wolves, and he fought off ten of them alone to protect me.

At 18, he was poisoned by silver. He nearly died. That was when my wolf told me he was my fated mate.

Without hesitation, I donated my bone marrow to save him.

That night, watching him asleep with a pale face, I couldn't help but kiss the corner of his lips.

He opened his eyes at that exact moment, his face flushing red. "Tessa, we're siblings. You shouldn't cross that line."

From then on, he started avoiding me, like I was a mistake he couldn't afford to make.

His fiancée, Rosie Lloyd, had been diagnosed with a rare blood disease, and I was the only compatible donor.

For the first time, he pleaded with me. "If you're willing to save her, I'll agree to anything."

But I was already weak from the marrow transplant. Giving blood again might kill me.

I said no, and Lily died in the end.

He didn't shed a single tear, like nothing had happened.

But at her funeral, he smashed the portrait I'd painted of him in front of everyone and said coldly, "How filthy of you to dream of being with your own brother."

Later, I became a disgrace, a walking joke.

Humiliation and despair swallowed me whole, and in a haze, I fell into the lake and drowned.

When I open my eyes again, I'm back at the moment he begs me for blood.

I say yes calmly.

I consider it the final debt I owe the Gates family.

Cayden, from now on, we're done. There are no more ties between us.

...

Cayden Gates said, "Please, Tessa. A little blood means nothing to you, but without it, Rosie will die.

"If you're willing to save her, I'll agree to anything you ask." His low voice echoed in my ears, pulling me back from the cold grip of death.

I came back to life on the very day he begged me to donate blood to Rosie Lloyd. I turned him down in my past life. And in the end, I drowned in a freezing lake, consumed by humiliation.

I had already given up half my bone marrow to save him. My wolf was barely hanging on, struggling to recover. There was no way my body could handle another transfusion.

But in this life, I saw things clearly. Donating would kill me, but refusing to do it would, too.

So, I considered this blood my final payment. I would owe the Gates family nothing after this, and I'd have nothing to do with him anymore.

I lifted my head, met his conflicted gaze, and answered firmly. "I'll do it."

Every word he had prepared got caught in his throat.

The doctor next to us looked alarmed. "Ms Tessa Smith, please think carefully! Your condition is already critical. A full transfusion could cost you your life!"

Of course, I knew that. But if death meant I could finally escape Cayden and this suffocating place, then so be it.

As Cayden saw that I signed the consent form without hesitation, the tension in his expression finally eased. He looked at me and said in a soft voice, "Since you agreed, I'll keep my word. Whatever you want, just say it."

I took a deep breath and said calmly, "I only have one request, and that's cutting all ties with the Gates family. From now on, I'm no longer one of you."

His brows furrowed. "Are you serious?"

He probably thought I'd take this chance to force him to mark me and to make me his mate. He didn't expect me to want to walk away completely.

I looked at him without flinching and nodded.

He stared at me for a few seconds, as if something had just clicked. His expression turned gloomy, and his voice carried a warning edge. "Tessa, cut the games. Walking away from the Gates family doesn't mean there's a chance between us.

"My fated mate is Rosie. She's the only one I'll ever bond with."

Deep inside, my wolf howled in anguish. I knew she wanted to say that his fated mate was actually me.

But I didn't care anymore. I just said softly, "Got it."

The humiliation of the past was still vivid in my mind. I knew Rosie had used some trick to cloud his sense of our bond. I brought him proof and told him everything, but he never believed me.

So in this life, I only wanted distance. As much of it as possible.

He looked at me a moment longer. It was like he sensed something different about me, but couldn't quite put his finger on it. He opened his mouth like he wanted to speak, but Rosie's faint cry from the ward interrupted him.

He rushed to her without a second thought. I hesitated, then followed.

She was leaning against the headboard with teary eyes as she said in a trembling voice, "Cayden, stop pressuring Tessa. She hates me. I know she'd never agree to help me…"

Before she could finish, Cayden grabbed her hand and said in a voice full of relief, "Rosie, she agreed. You're going to be okay!"

She stared at me in shock, then her eyes turned venomous. "Did she ask you to mark her in return?"

Before he could reply, she slapped me across the face. "Tessa, are you shameless? Cayden is your brother. How dare you have those disgusting thoughts about him?"

She cried, clutching her chest. "Cayden, if you mark her, I'll kill myself!"

I saw Cayden instinctively take a step toward me like he wanted to protect me. But then he caught himself and forced it down.

He turned on his heel and wrapped Rosie tightly in his arms. "Rosie, you're my only mate and the only one I'll ever mark. As for anyone else? Not a chance."

I pressed a hand to my burning cheek and let out a bitter laugh before turning to leave. But I stopped when I heard their voices behind me.

"You're saying… The doctor told you Tessa's body is too weak and that giving me blood might kill her, but you still made her do it?" Rosie asked.

I paused for a second, ashamed at the ridiculous bit of hope I still had for his response.

He hesitated for a moment, but the cold indifference in his voice that followed shattered whatever hope I had left. "You gave me your bone marrow and saved me once. I can't just watch you die.

"But Tessa's always been healthy. How could she suddenly be too weak to donate blood when you needed it? For all we know, she might've paid off the doctor and staged the whole thing just to make herself look good in front of me.

"The most important thing for a werewolf is their fated mate. I just want you to get better soon."

I shook my head and smiled bitterly.

Yeah, a werewolf's mate meant everything. But I guessed even the Moon Goddess couldn't have predicted that a werewolf would mistake the wrong person for their fated mate.

If Cayden ever found out I was his real mate… would he regret it?

Not likely. He was too deeply tangled in her lies.

That truth would be buried with me.

I walked out of the ward, took a few moments to steady myself, and then called my mentor, Zoe Brown.

"Ms. Brown, I've decided to join that warzone healer program you mentioned earlier."

Since I didn't have much time left, I might as well make it count.