Chapter 1

"Victor, do you take Chloe to be your mate, to protect her for the rest of your life?"

"I do."

Thunderous applause erupted in the banquet hall.

I stood in the darkest corner, watching my childhood sweetheart, the pack's strongest warrior, Victor, gently cup Chloe's face.

Under everyone's witness, they sealed their sacred mate bond and kissed passionately.

My heart felt like it was being ripped apart. It hurt so much I could barely breathe.

Not just because Victor had broken his promise to me, but because the System's cold, robotic voice echoed in my head.

[Ding. The five-year deadline has been reached. Target affection and familial bonds have not reached one hundred percent. Mission failed. Your inner wolf will completely decay, and you will die in seven days.]

Seven days. The final countdown of my life had begun.

Ten years ago, this System bound to me. It told me I had a rare condition called Inner Wolf Decay. The only way to survive was to get complete love or familial affection from one of four targets within a decade.

Those four targets were my brother Caleb, my healer Julian, my childhood friend Victor, and my personal guard Rowan.

I thought it would be easy.

But over the past ten years, every single one of them had grown to despise me.

Victor was my last hope, and now I had utterly failed.

Thinking of my impending death, I turned around, wanting to slip away in a daze.

"Disgusting." The words Victor had spat at me yesterday still rang in my ears. "Freya, why didn't you just die under those rogues' claws?"

I had barely taken a step when the agonizing pain of my decaying inner wolf hit me like a tidal wave.

My vision went black. My legs gave out, and I lost my balance.

I was standing at the top of the spiral stone staircase on the second floor.

Before I could even make a sound, my body pitched forward, plunging toward the hard, jagged steps below.

Just when I thought I was going to be smashed to pieces, a large hand clamped down on my wrist.

The grip was brutal, almost crushing my bones.

I was yanked backward, crashing hard into a cold, muscular chest.

"Are you done throwing a tantrum, Freya?!"

A furious, low growl rumbled from above me.

It was Caleb. My brother, and the Alpha of the Silver Moon Pack.

But his eyes held nothing but thick, undiluted disgust and rage.

"If you want to fake a suicide attempt, go do it somewhere else! Do you know what today is? Do you really have to ruin Chloe's bonding ceremony?!"

His words felt like a bucket of ice water, chilling me to the bone.

I looked up at him, my eyes burning.

"I'm not faking it..." My voice trembled. I was so weak that even breathing felt like a chore. "I just... got dizzy. I lost my footing."

"Enough! Drop the sickening act!" Caleb cut me off brutally, his grip unyielding. "Do you think I'm still going to fall for your pity plays?"

He wouldn't even listen. To him, every word out of my mouth was a lie.

Ignoring my struggles, Caleb dragged me by the wrist toward the back parking lot.

I lost one of my shoes in the scuffle. My bare foot scraped against the freezing gravel, sending sharp jolts of pain up my leg.

"Let me go, Caleb... it hurts..." I begged.

He turned a deaf ear, violently shoving me into the passenger seat of his SUV, slamming the door shut, and speeding off.

"Where are you taking me?" I clutched my agonizingly tight chest, cold sweat sticking my hair to my forehead.

Caleb didn't say a word. His jaw was clenched tight, sharp as a knife.

The car tore down the road until it slammed to a halt in a desolate, silent patch of woods on the outskirts of the territory.

There were no streetlights here. Only pale moonlight filtered through the dead leaves, reeking of decay.

Caleb marched around to the passenger side, ripped the door open, and hauled me out.

I crashed hard onto the dirt. Sharp rocks sliced my knees, and blood instantly stained my dress.

"Since you want to die so badly, just die out here. Don't come back and be an eyesore," Caleb glared down at me, his voice icy. "Stop playing these pathetic suicide games, and don't even think about interrupting Chloe and Victor's ceremony."

The night wind howled, the chill biting into my bones.

I sat slumped on the freezing ground, staring at the brother who shared my blood.

"Caleb..." I rasped, my voice sounding incredibly desolate in the empty woods. "If you really hate me that much, if you think I'm such a disgrace... why did you catch me earlier?"

Why didn't he just let me fall?

Did he, deep down, still care about me as his sister, even just a little bit?

I gazed up at him, clinging to the very last sliver of hope.