Chapter 1

I was poisoned with wolfbane by my step-sister, Molly, and locked away in the deep mountains of the Shadow Creek Pack.

The werewolves of this pack treated me like a worthless Omega, abusing me however they pleased.

When my boyfriend, Adrian, finally found me, I had already been tortured past the point of recognition by the wolves.

He fought with everything he had to take me away. But he was no match for the entire pack. In the end, they captured him and executed him right in front of my eyes.

I lost all hope. I accepted my fate and stayed in this hellhole, giving birth to a child with a quiet, silent werewolf named Dane.

Yet, I couldn't forget Adrian. Three times, I walked into the freezing blizzards in the deep mountains, trying to end my life.

The third time I was dragged back, Dane—the man who saved me—finally tore off his mask.

Looking at that familiar face, my entire body went ice-cold.

It was Adrian.

He burned his disguise, a cruel smirk playing on his lips.

"Throwing you here was a deal between Molly and me. She wanted to be the Alpha heir, and I wanted you."

"The Dane who had a child with you? That was me. The one they beat to death was just a decoy I found."

"I faked my death to make you give up on escaping. I didn't expect you to want to die so badly."

"Now that the truth is out, you choose, Elena. Will you live a good life with me, or do you want to keep trying to kill yourself?"

The man standing before me slowly merged with the boy in my memories.

He had lost his boyish innocence. He looked much colder, much more mature.

I stared at his face, my mind completely blank.

I had been trapped in this pack for seven long years.

Because of the wolfbane, I had lost my wolf. For seven years, I couldn't even recognize Adrian’s scent.

"So, you ruined me just for that mistress's daughter."

He frowned, immediately defending her.

"Don't call her that. Molly suffered so much growing up."

"What her mother did has nothing to do with her!"

"Elena, do you have any idea how much Molly hurts every time you say that?"

I didn't know.

I only knew that Molly had destroyed my family.

On the surface, she was my step-sister.

In reality, she was my father's illegitimate daughter.

She was even born in the same month as me.

She always played the victim so perfectly.

She stole money from our house and framed me.

My father beat me half to death because of it.

She bribed others to frame me for cheating during the pack training tests.

Then she spread the rumors.

She made the entire pack call me "Zero."

She got a group of wolves to corner me in the training grounds, throwing mud and insults at me.

She took humiliating photos of me and circulated them around the pack.

Back then, only Adrian protected me.

But now.

She not only wanted to steal my pack.

She had teamed up with Adrian.

They sent me here, ruining my entire life.

I looked up, forcing my tears back.

"Why?"

He blinked, then let out a soft laugh.

"Do you remember when you dragged me to go confront your father's mistress? That was the first time I saw Molly. My heart skipped a beat."

"After you left, she came to find me. The poor girl held back her tears and called my name. My heart completely melted."

His expression turned incredibly gentle.

"Later, she played a few tricks on you and asked for my help."

"I couldn't bear to disappoint her, so I never said no."

I was too shocked to speak. My pupils contracted in pure horror.

So, everything.

Everything had his hand in it.

Adrian and I grew up together.

He never rejected me. He would do anything for me.

I had never even looked at anyone else.

He was my only choice.

When he was eight, his little self saved me from a pack of rogues, getting severely injured in the process.

When he was fourteen, he went behind my back and broke the bones of everyone who bullied me, too scared of his parents to go home with his own bruises.

When he was sixteen, he confessed to me for the first time, promising he would make me his mate once we came of age.

But at seventeen, he changed his mind just like that.

He became her accomplice.

He pushed me into hell.

I fell to the floor, my strength leaving me as a sharp pain shot through my stomach.

He knelt down, his fingers brushing past the corner of my eyes.

"You don't need to worry about anything back home anymore. Your mother fell sick and passed away last year."

"Your father married Molly's mother. Molly has a very high status now. Her parents adore her, she has me, and she’s living very happily."

I stood up, trembling with disbelief.

"What did you say?! How could my mother die? She was so young! How is that possible?!"

His face didn't change. His voice was just a bit raspy.

"Molly’s mother, the current Luna Vance, has been good to me, Elena. I had no choice."

Seeing me frozen, he stepped forward and gently wrapped his arms around my waist.

"Elena, we grew up together. You’ll always have a place in my heart."

"We have a child together now. Just be good, okay?"

His voice was dripping with false comfort.