Chapter 1

"Ah—" Sloane let out a soft, breathy gasp.

Silas pinned her against the sofa, his sharp canines sinking into the back of her neck without hesitation.

He was marking her.

As the mark was completed, Silas's frantic panting slowly settled. He snapped his eyes open, his dark gold irises finally sharp and clear again.

He gazed down at the woman in his arms. The moment he realized it was Sloane, the defensive glare on his face melted into pure shock, followed by undeniable ecstasy.

"Sloane? It's you?" He crushed her to his chest, like a lost treasure he had finally found again.

In my previous life, in this exact same scenario, a newly-conscious Silas had shoved me away without a second thought. He didn't even hand me a piece of clothing, just left me lying there in a humiliating heap.

"Silas, you just... you really scared me," Sloane buried her face in his chest, her cheeks burning a deep crimson.

Silas seemed to remember something. He glanced around the room and spotted me in the corner.

But he just ignored me.

He gently scooped Sloane up in his arms and strode out the door.

I lowered my eyes and told myself, I changed what happened tonight. I will not suffer the same fate.

Late that night, maybe because I was so overwhelmed with anxiety, I spiked a brutal fever.

A knock came at my door. My head was spinning, but the moment I opened the door and saw Silas, I was instantly sober.

"What are you doing here?"

Silas leaned against the doorframe, shooting me an icy glare. "What kind of game are you playing this time, Thalia?"

I looked at him in confusion. "I don't know what you're talking about."

He let out a cold, mocking scoff. "You've always wanted to be my Luna. Why would you give up such a perfect opportunity? You deliberately called Sloane over. What's your angle? Playing hard to get?"

My chest tightened, as if a heavy boulder were crushing my lungs. I wanted so badly to snap back at him.

Then what exactly do you want from me? Saving you was a mistake. Calling the woman you love was a mistake. Maybe I shouldn't have saved you just because you're the Alpha of the Silver Pine Pack. I should have just let your wolf go feral and die.

That was what I wanted to say. But I was just too tired. In the end, all I could weakly muster was, "Think whatever you want. If there's nothing else, I want to rest. I'm not feeling well."

My voice was steady but low, and I sniffled slightly.

Silas probably thought I was just playing the victim for pity. A mocking smirk tugged at the corner of his lips.

"Playing the victim now? You never quit, do you, Thalia? Always full of tricks. If you're sick, take some medicine. I'm not a doctor."

Watching his back as he walked down the hallway, I let out a long sigh, bone-tired.

Silas and I were childhood friends. I had loved him since we were kids, but he only ever had eyes for my cousin, Sloane.

In my past life, to cater to his tastes, I threw out all my bright dresses for plain clothes and stifled my bold personality. But none of it made him like me any more than before.

In the end, I finally understood. He didn't love me—not because I wasn't good enough, but simply because I wasn't Sloane.

The news that Silas had marked Sloane spread like wildfire. At the same time, the pack guards were investigating how Silas got drugged.

But I never expected them to barge into my room.

"Miss Grace, we need you to come with us for questioning."

I was told that because I was the first one to find Silas drugged, I was now the prime suspect.

I found it utterly ridiculous. "But I saved him."

One of the guards glanced at me apologetically. "The Alpha said we can't rule out the possibility that you staged the whole thing just to make him owe you."

Hearing those words, I suddenly felt that the past version of myself—the one so blindly obsessed with him—was pathetic beyond belief.

No matter what I did, he was convinced I was the one who drugged him.

I was taken to the pack's damp dungeon cells. Silas had ordered that I wasn't allowed to leave until the truth was uncovered.

Not only that, he took my phone and forbade anyone from bringing me food or water.

The cell had no windows, and the air was thick with the smell of damp mold. The freezing cold from the stone floor seeped right into my bones.

The high fever blurred my senses. After a whole day passed, I completely blacked out.