Chapter 2

Lucian's voice softened as he spoke to me. "Anna, I went to a witch in the Black Market and begged her for a potion. If you hand over the antidote, we can mix the two and save Sophia."

Marcus lowered his head, making a promise as he held himself back with everything he had. "I swear as the Alpha, as long as you give Sophia's antidote back, you will be forgiven for everything that has happened today."

My mother's eyes were red, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Anna, I'm begging you… Don't ruin your whole life because of this."

The others stared at me in disdain.

"The Alpha and Luna are lowering themselves in front of a Beta just to get their daughter's antidote back?"

"Sophia's a very kind woman... When my brother was trapped in the vampire's territory a few years ago, she was the one who went to rescue him."

"That's right! My dad almost died of silver poisoning, and all the healers said he would not last three months, but Sophia saved him, too!"

The crowd was getting really upset.

Then, a stone suddenly hit my forehead. Branches, metal scraps, and all kinds of debris flew at me after that.

I unleashed my werewolf's aura, shattering everything in the air, and the fragments fell to the ground. I then said, "I've already completed the ceremony to join the pack. If you hurt me now, the Council of Elders will hold you responsible."

Marcus only grew more enraged after he heard that. "Without Sophia, you never would have passed the trial! If this reaches the Council, they won't side with you! They'll even exile you, and all you'll ever be after that is just a pathetic Rogue!"

I looked calmly at the man who had raised me. "If you really think I'm guilty, then let the Council judge me. I'll say the same thing even if I'm before the Council. I'll never admit to something I never did."

My father's face was filled with rage while my mother cried even harder.

Suddenly, Lucian seemed to remember something. "Anna… The reason you won't hand over the antidote... Is it because of me?"

I wasn't sure how to answer his question, because I had indeed loved Lucian in the past.

Margaret was so angry that she slapped me. "Anna! You betrayed your own Pack out of jealousy?! I already know that Sophia gave her weapon to you on the day of the trial. Otherwise, those vampires could never have laid a hand on her!"

Margaret couldn't stop crying at this point.

I simply looked at her with empty eyes and spoke in an even calmer voice. "Maybe Sophia secretly reached a deal with the vampires and lured them over on purpose."

My father's chest heaved as he pulled out a whip with silver barbs from his belt and cracked it hard against the ground. "I always thought that even though you were adopted, you were still a good girl! I thought that you and Sophia could become true sisters! But it seems that I had adopted a snake from the very start! I should have just left you in those ruins back then!"

Every lash from Marcus was pure agony.

When I finally managed to steady myself, Margaret suddenly fixed her gaze on me, a sudden flash of clarity flickering in her eyes before I could say anything. "Anna… Are you jealous that Sophia is the true heir of the Pack's heir and believe she came back and stole your life?"

It was true that I had been jealous.

In the first few years after Sophia had come back, my parents had treated her like the world's most valuable treasure and completely ignored the adopted daughter they had raised.

Me.

I was so jealous of her that I had grown to hate her, the one who had stolen everything that used to be mine.

So, I would secretly slip wolfsbane into Sophia's drinking water or spread rumors about her in front of the other young werewolves. I tried everything I could think of just to make Sophia miserable.

But she seemed blind to all my hostility.

When I fell behind in training, Sophia was the one who taught me and helped me improve.

When I went out on patrol, she always went ahead to scout the way.

When other wolves mocked me for being a Rogue the pack had adopted, Sophia stepped in front of me and protected me. She said her sister was a member of the pack, and they couldn't reject a member of their pack.

After she realized why I kept my distance, Sophia even begged our parents to spend more time with me.

Slowly but surely, we became like real sisters.

The more I thought about it, the tighter my chest felt.

Then, my mother's voice pulled me back to the present. "Sophia gave you everything that belonged to her, yet you're still unsatisfied?! What you actually want is her life?!"

I shook my head with a bitter smile.

No matter how jealous I had been back then, all of that was in the past. How could I possibly have taken Sophia's antidote for those reasons?

I shoved forward, trying to break through the others that were surrounding me. "You're all mad. I have already formed a formal bond with the pack. I have no reason to hurt her! Sophia's antidote? Even if you had begged me, I wouldn't have even been bothered to get it!"

The moment those words left my mouth, everyone exploded.

"Without the Alpha's protection and the heir's help, who do you think you are?!"

"You hurt your sister and betrayed your adoptive parents' kindness!"

"Anna, you're not worthy of being part of our pack!"

Just as the pack started yelling at me, someone from the crowd spoke up in a weak voice. "Don't blame her, she must have her reasons…"