Chapter 1

On the third day of the Fall Hunt, I lagged at the very back of the pack. My calves trembled violently.

Ahead of me, everyone had already shifted into their wolf forms. I was left alone, struggling on the steep, jagged rocks with nothing but two weak human legs.

My wolf had never emerged.

I tapped my walkie-talkie with trembling fingers, desperate to reach James. His response was cold and impatient.

"Are you seriously throwing a tantrum right now? Sarah is injured! We need to carry her back to camp first. Stop playing the victim!"

Sarah was James's wife.

Next, I dialed Michael, my fiancé. His tone was even colder than James's.

"Sarah is hurt, Emily. I don't have time for your petty, jealous drama. If anything happens to her, you and I are done. We'll be enemies for life!"

With my remaining breath, I tried to reach my father, Alpha Robert. The line went dead immediately. He had cut me off.

A week later, the pack search party finally found me.

I had been slaughtered by rogues. Carved into the stone where my torn body lay was a single line of blood:

*In my next life, I will never be an Alpha's daughter.*

"You're telling me she gave her Moonstone to Sarah?"

Beta Wilson kept his head bowed. "Yes, Alpha Robert. The Moonstone was blessed by the Moon Goddess herself. Without it, Emily couldn't channel even the faintest shred of wolf power. When the search team found her Moonstone, it had been shredded by rogue claws."

James said nothing. He stared at Beta Wilson for a long, suffocating moment, then grabbed a ceramic mug off the desk and hurled it at the floor. Sharp shards bounced up, slicing across the back of Beta Wilson's hand. The old Beta didn't even flinch.

"It wasn't just the Moonstone," Beta Wilson continued, his voice heavy. "Emily also traded her Ancestral Fang with Sarah. That talisman carries the protective magic of past pack champions to repel rogues. The search team found Emily's talisman inside Sarah's backpack. The one Emily wore around her neck was Sarah's—a plain, powerless wolf tooth. A fake."

"Even if she only thought about giving it away," James sneered coldly, "it just proves I didn't waste years raising her."

"James," Beta Wilson looked up, his eyes pleading. "Emily didn't just think about it. She actually did it. Sarah claimed her own talisman was cracked, so Emily handed hers over without hesitation. The search team verified it—Sarah's talisman wasn't cracked at all. It was a worthless replica."

My father's voice, full of Alpha authority, boomed across the hall.

"Hell will freeze over before that girl stops making trouble for Sarah! Why would she voluntarily swap anything with her? Isn't Emily always complaining that we give everything good to Sarah and leave her with scraps? We handed her top-tier gear for this hunt. What more could she possibly want?!"

My ghost rushed forward, desperate to shield Beta Wilson from the flying porcelain shards. But the debris sailed straight through my translucent body, cutting his weathered skin.

Tears spilled from my eyes.

"Beta Wilson is telling the truth! Sarah told me hers was cracked, so I offered mine! Please, stop hurting him! He watched James and me grow up!"

My voice couldn't pierce the veil between life and death. I was nothing more than a corpse.

Sarah's eyes turned red with delicate tears.

"Beta Wilson, I knew Margaret blessed Emily's Moonstone with her own hands. How could I ever dare ask for it?"

She let out a soft, helpless sigh.

"I know Emily has always been jealous of me. But stealing my Ancestral Fang out in the wild hunting grounds is simply too much."

"You liar!" I ground my teeth so hard they felt ready to shatter. But I was only a wandering spirit. No one could hear my fury or pain.

"Still, as James's wife, I won't hold it against her," Sarah murmured, dabbing at her eyes. "She shouldn't gamble with her own life just to spite me. Beta Wilson, please don't humor her games anymore. Tell her to come home. I'll apologize to her."

A sharp voice cut her off.

"Why should you apologize to her?"

My soul turned toward Michael, my fiancé. He glared coldly at Beta Wilson.

"She sneaked deep into rogue territory and stole Sarah's talisman, and now she plays the victim? Tell Emily we aren't falling for her childish tricks. If she doesn't come home today, she never has to come back at all!"

I stared at him, numb, cold tears streaking my ghostly face.

*Michael... did you truly see me as such a monster?*

Beta Wilson's face was lined with bitter helplessness.

"Alpha Robert... Luna Margaret... She is your flesh and blood. James's sister. Michael's fated mate..."

My mother, Luna Margaret, raised her crystal glass, flashing an elegant smile at the surrounding pack guests.

"Emily? She hardly qualifies as Robert's daughter."

"Exactly," James added, his expression stone cold. "When Margaret fell gravely ill, her dying wish was to see Emily one last time. Where was she? Out partying! Sarah was the only one who stayed by our mother's side! We raised an ungrateful viper."