Chapter 1

Marwen's POV

I had the gift of beast-speech, and beasts never lied to me.

When my sister, Valora, brought me a wild berry tart, a forest finch shrieked, "Poison!" In my past life, I believed it. I flipped the tray, cursed her, and was thrown into the dungeon like a madwoman. In this life, I did the opposite. I ate it. I vomited blood, and my spirit wolf died instantly.

When it was time to marry, a raven warned me that my Alpha fiancé was a "disfigured madman." In my past life, I broke the engagement and married a Beta, only to be tortured to death by him and his mistress. In this life, I insisted on marrying the Alpha. But on my wedding night, a blood-soaked, disfigured monster was waiting for me.

When my mother-in-law, Liora, coughed up blood in front of everyone, a nightingale cried, "Give her White Dittany for the poison!" In my past life, I force-fed her the herb, and she bled from her eyes and died. In this life, I stopped anyone from giving her the herb. But that night, she died anyway.

Listen to them, and I die. Ignore them, and I still die.

Then, I opened my eyes. I had been reborn, back to the exact moment everything went wrong...

——

"Marwen, please just take a bite... If you accept me, Father and Mother will let me stay in the Calenor pack," Valora pleaded.

The chaotic banquet hall fell dead silent.

Valora held a silver tray offering two freshly baked wild berry tarts. Red jam stained her dress, and tears welled in her grayish-black eyes.

Just then, a tiny finch fluttered through the towering arched windows in a panic. It landed near a candelabra and began chirping at me. To anyone else, it was just a bird. But to my ears, its voice was screaming—

"Don't touch it! The berries are poisoned! If you eat it, your wolf will die!"

I froze. Memories of my past life crashed into me like a tidal wave.

Last time, I heard the same warning. I believed it implicitly—beasts never lied to me. Terrified, I slapped the tray away, spat out the tart I hadn't even bitten into, and screamed that she was trying to murder me.

In response, Valora picked up the ruined, dirty crumbs from the floor and ate them through her tears to prove her innocence. In that instant, she became the pack's tragic victim, and I deeply offended our parents. My Alpha father personally dragged me to the dungeon. From then on, she used her meek, bullied persona to steal my place as the pack's beloved daughter.

Now, the same trap was set before me.

"Marwen," my mother, Bryn, whispered sharply. "Your sister is trying to make peace. Don't make a scene."

I stared at Valora’s pitiful face, a cold smirk twitching at the corner of my mouth.

No. I won't make the same mistake twice.

"Don't cry, Valora," I said, stepping forward with sickly sweet gentleness. "Why would I drive you away? We are sisters by blood."

A flicker of purple light flashed deep within Valora's pupils. She clearly hadn't expected this reaction.

To quell any doubts, she bit her lip, picked up the tart on the right, and took a large bite in front of everyone. "See? I made them myself. They're very sweet."

She was perfectly fine.

Without hesitation, I picked up the tart on the left and took a bite.

The tart sweetness of the fruit exploded in my mouth. But a second later, a pain like molten lava ripped through my stomach and shattered my spine.

I violently threw up a mouthful of blood. The boiling scarlet liquid splattered across the pristine white tablecloth. As darkness swallowed my vision, panicked screams erupted in the hall. Then, I lost consciousness entirely.