Chapter 1
I was born the true heiress of the powerful Voss family, but after being swapped at birth and failing to awaken my wolf, I was branded as worthless trash.
For six years, I worked as a "Scavenger" in the underground slums. I hauled mutant corpses, endured silver poisoning, and swallowed cheap suppressants—all to pay off my husband’s massive debts and buy the cure for my brother’s fatal blood disease.
Today, I finally handed my brother the life-saving medicine.
He casually tossed it into the trash. "I'm not sick, Isolde. Oh, and Mom and Dad aren't dead either. I orchestrated that highway explosion six years ago. You were the only one meant to be crippled."
My blood ran cold.
Jaxson, my supposedly bankrupt Alpha husband, adjusted his Rolex. "I never lost my company, either. Whenever I said I was working late at the docks, I was actually sleeping in my Manhattan penthouse. Honestly, the corpse stench on you was making me gag. We just wanted to end this little game."
I stared at the men I had sacrificed my soul for. Why?
My parents stepped out from the shadows, holding Violet—the fake daughter who stole my life—protectively in their arms. "Because you were too arrogant! We had to break your spirit so you'd stop bullying Violet. This 'trial' was for your own good!"
They thought this ultimate betrayal would finally force me to submit and beg for their forgiveness.
But as my heart shattered into dust, the legendary Silver Wolf bloodline—dormant for 24 years—finally tasted the extreme despair it needed to awaken.
My eyes bled from amber to piercing silver.
Fine, my inner wolf whispered. Let's show them what a true monster looks like.
Isolde’s POV
"Six years." I pressed 'Confirm' on my cracked phone screen.
The transfer went through.
My hands were violently trembling. They were covered in fresh chemical burns and permanent scars from handling silver restraints. The skin around my fingernails was permanently stained with the stench of mutant blood and industrial bleach.
But none of that mattered.
I looked up at my brother, forcing a cracked, exhausted smile. "I got it, brother. I finally saved enough for your bone marrow transplant."
He just casually pushed my hand away, leaning back as if my touch was contagious.
"Keep it," he said, dusting off his tailored blazer. "I don't need your dirty money."
I froze. "What... what do you mean?"
"I mean I'm not sick, Isolde," he said, his voice completely flat.
The words didn't compute. "What?"
"And Mom and Dad aren't dead," he continued. "That highway explosion six years ago? I planned it. The only one who was supposed to end up crippled and half-dead was you."
A low, mocking chuckle came from the dark corner of the room.
Jaxson stepped forward. My husband. The man I had hauled thousands of rotting corpses for, just to pay off his massive bankruptcy debts. He was wearing a custom suit, a silver Rolex gleaming on his wrist.
"My company never went bankrupt either," Jaxson said lazily, leaning against the doorframe.
"But... you pull overtime at the docks every single day," I stammered. "You said you were working yourself to death..."
"That was just an excuse so I wouldn't have to squeeze into this basement and smell you," he corrected, curling his lip in disgust. "Actually, I go back to my penthouse in Manhattan. You actually thought I'd sleep in this shithole? You reek of dead mutants and cheap suppressants, Isolde. It makes me want to puke. Your brother and I wanted to keep this little punishment going for another three years, but your corpse stench is just unbearable."
"Do you realize your mistake yet? If you hadn't been so insanely jealous, if you hadn't constantly bullied Violet, our family of three could have been perfectly happy."
I violently slapped his hand away.
"You have no right to talk about our family!" I screamed. "Violet caused that explosion! My baby died because of her!"
Jaxson just looked at me with mild annoyance. "Our son, William, isn't dead, Isolde. I gave him to Violet the day he was born. And stop framing her."
My throat clamped shut. It took several agonizing seconds to force the words out. "What... what did you just say?"
"He’s the heir to Reed Biotech. Did you really think I'd let him live in a slum and haul mutant corpses with you a Scavenger? Violet is gentle and refined. She’s the perfect mother to raise him."
I stood frozen, the blood in my veins turning to ice.
Six years ago, I woke up in a filthy underground clinic with shattered bones. Jaxson had sat by my bed with bloodshot eyes, screaming that my recklessness caused the explosion. He told me I had a stillborn, that my parents were dead, and that the residual radiation was what gave my brother his fatal blood disease.
The rusty basement door creaked open wider.
My mother and father walked in. They were dressed in high-end designer clothes.
My mother pinched her nose, looking at me like I was a diseased rat that had crawled out of the sewer. "God, the smell. Violet was worried sick and begged us to come see you, but look at you—you’re a complete savage. "
"Mom? Dad?" My voice cracked. "You're really alive?"
"Oh, stop looking at us like that," my mother snapped, waving her hand dismissively. "We had to do this. It was the only way to grind away that feral street-rat temper of yours. You’re our biological daughter, yes, but you used that to bully Violet the second we brought you home."
"Bully her?" I gasped hard. I hadn't even raised my voice at Violet once.
"If you swear right now to treat Violet with respect," my father added coldly, "you can come back to the Voss family. Otherwise, consider yourself permanently disowned."
Six years. I lived in hell for six years. I let the underground fighters use me as a punching bag. I let the silver toxins from the mutant corpses eat away at my wolf core, slowly killing my unawakened bloodline.
I never complained once. I told myself that every sacrifice was a price worth paying, as long as I could save my brother and my husband. All for them.
"If you all hate me that much," I whispered, my whole body shaking uncontrollably, "why didn't you just let me die? Why keep the lie going?"
"Because Violet wants a daughter," my brother said. "But she’s terrified of the pain of childbirth."
"You're going to have a baby with Jaxson for her. Once you give birth and hand the child over to Violet, it’ll prove you’ve finally accepted her. It's the ultimate test of your loyalty."
Jaxson walked over and reached out and patted my head. "Yeah. You always complained we never had a real wedding, right? Be a good girl, give Violet a daughter, and I'll give you a real and grand wedding ceremony you wanted."
Something shattered inside me.
