Thirty Days in a Rogue Wolf's Shell

The foster girl, Wren, used a witch's forbidden curse to steal my body.

The curse didn't just swap our appearances. It took my bloodline scent, my wolf form, my mind link, and even my mate mark along with it.

In my past life, I cried and told everyone that I was the true heir of the Blackwood Pack. But my parents didn't believe me, nor did my fated mate. They claimed my "wolf nature was out of control and mentally deranged," locking me away in the pack's confinement grounds.

Later, Wren sold me to the rogue wolves at the border. My claws were severed, and I was tortured to death.

Only after my death did I learn that the body-swap curse lasted exactly thirty days.

When I opened my eyes again, I had returned to the first day after the swap.

--

In the mirror was a delicate yet timid face, with a dull-colored pack brand resting below the collarbone. It was the girl my parents had fostered for twelve years, Wren Hale.

I tried to awaken the wolf within me. My chest was dead silent. There was no low growl, no surge of beastly instinct. I couldn't even hear the pack's mind link—even the thread that should have tethered me to my fated mate was completely severed in the darkness, without a single trace of connection.

The sound of silver chains crushing bones echoed in my ears again. The metallic stench of blood from the Moon Prison pierced my nose.

In my past life, I had also woken up in this exact room. I had rushed out like a madwoman, grabbing my mother's sleeve and saying, "Mom, I am the real Aurora." But all that earned me were sedatives and silver restraints designed to suppress my wolf form. Then came the Moon Prison, the exile, and that dungeon at the border.

I closed my eyes, waiting for the churning in my chest to slowly subside.

Just then, the door was pushed open. Wren walked in wearing my face, the silver-white wolf crest of a pureblood Alpha faintly visible on her neck. Seeing that I wasn't crying or screaming, she looked somewhat disappointed.

"Why so quiet? Aren't you going to run out and tell the Alpha and the Luna that you are Aurora?"

I looked at her. "You've already passed the loyalty ceremony. Even if you couldn't enter the Council of Elders, Father would have let you lead a guard unit. The pack never mistreated you. Why did you have to steal my body?"

Wren sneered. "A guard unit? Standing at the border every day taking hits for the Alpha, only to die with a body full of scars in some forgotten place? What kind of future is that?"

"But you are different. You don't have to do anything. The bloodline is yours by birthright."

"If you were me right now, wouldn't you want to swap back?"

Seeing me stay silent, she laughed again. "Making a fuss won't help you. I have plenty of ways to make the Alpha kick you out of the pack."

Kick me out.

Hearing those words, I breathed a sigh of relief. She only wanted to drive me away; she hadn't thought about killing me. She didn't know the thirty-day rule yet.

If that was the case, things were about to get fun.

That evening, my mother personally sliced the most tender piece of deer heart and placed it on the silver plate in front of Wren.

"Aurora, it's your favorite. Eat up."

The hand Wren used to hold her knife and fork paused.

I had loved eating bloody beast meat since I was young, but her wolf soul was congenitally defective. She couldn't even complete a full transformation, and she utterly despised this gamey, metallic stench.

My mother was looking at her with a smile. Wren had no choice but to grit her teeth and swallow it. By the end of her chewing, the smile on her face was somewhat stiff.

My father didn't notice, focusing entirely on talking to her about the border territory. "The handover of the mineral veins near Windwhisper Valley is almost complete. Next month, you'll go on a trial with the Council of Elders. After your Blood Moon coming-of-age ceremony, I will pass the pack seal to you."

Wren's eyes lit up. "Yes, Father."

My father smiled and nodded, then turned to me. "Wren, your loyalty ceremony is coming up soon too, isn't it?"

"Seventeen days left."

"You've worked very hard all these years. Even if your wolf soul is incomplete, the pack will never abandon its own. Pass the ceremony, and I'll save a spot for you in the guard unit."

My mother chimed in. "You're willing to endure hardship, and your archery and tracking skills are quite good. You'll be able to secure your footing in the future just the same."

I gripped my spoon, my knuckles turning white.

They were handing over the territory and future that originally belonged to me, word by word, to Wren. But what truly hurt me was their expectations for "Wren" in this very moment. Over the years, they had genuinely hoped for her to succeed.

Less than half an hour after dinner ended, chaos broke out in the main estate.

Wren claimed that her moon-silver choker was missing. That was the token my father had personally forged for me on my coming-of-age ceremony.

A servant spoke up hesitantly. "This afternoon... Miss Wren seemed to have visited Aurora's room."

Everyone looked at me.

I didn't defend myself. "Search it."

My mother was the first to frown, stepping in front of me to shield me instead.

"Impossible. Wren grew up in the pack; she's not that kind of child. Aurora, did you just place it somewhere and forget?"

Wren froze for a second, then quickly lowered her head. "Then... let's look for it again."

Ten minutes later, a servant found the moon-silver choker under my pillow. It lay there quietly, without a single trace of burn marks.

The hall instantly fell dead silent.

My mother stared at the choker for a long time before turning to me. "Why? Aurora has always treated you as a real sister, and the pack has never mistreated you. If there was something you wanted, couldn't you just tell me?"

In that split second, I almost blurted it out: Mom, I am Aurora.

But as the words reached my lips, I saw Wren staring dead at me. It was as if she couldn't wait to watch me break down, to watch me crying and begging for everyone's belief just like I did in my past life.

I swallowed those words back down.

"I'm sorry."

Wren quickly linked her arm through my mother's, though her fingertips dug a little too tightly into my mother's sleeve. "Mom, let it go. The important thing is we found it. Wren might have just had a moment of foolishness. I don't want to back her into a corner."

My father sighed. "This matter ends here. Wren, don't ever do this again."

They still wanted to hush it up for her.

I lifted my head. "Summon the Council of Elders for an inquiry."