After Falling Off a Cliff, the Stand-in Becomes Chief Researcher
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I sold myself to save my mother’s life.
All it took was a signature—one desperate scribble on a stand-in contract to Alpha Lucas in exchange for a single Moonlight Flower, the rare cure she needed.
What I didn’t expect was the pain.
The cold glint of a silver bottle opener slicing across my forehead. The bitter sting of wine laced with wolfsbane burning down my throat. The darkness that swallowed me whole as I collapsed, barely clinging to life.
Alpha Lucas didn’t flinch. His voice was ice, his eyes colder.
“Don’t take it personally. You’re just a stand-in.”
And when it came down to a choice—me or her—he didn’t hesitate.
He pulled Freya into his arms… And watched me fall off the cliff.
Three years later.
I stood before him, alive. Stronger. Smarter. No longer the naive girl desperate to survive.
Now, I’m the Chief Researcher at Thorn Academy. A place for those who’ve tasted pain and clawed their way back with brilliance.
His eyes locked on mine, wide with disbelief, rimmed in red.
All it took was a signature—one desperate scribble on a stand-in contract to Alpha Lucas in exchange for a single Moonlight Flower, the rare cure she needed.
What I didn’t expect was the pain.
The cold glint of a silver bottle opener slicing across my forehead. The bitter sting of wine laced with wolfsbane burning down my throat. The darkness that swallowed me whole as I collapsed, barely clinging to life.
Alpha Lucas didn’t flinch. His voice was ice, his eyes colder.
“Don’t take it personally. You’re just a stand-in.”
And when it came down to a choice—me or her—he didn’t hesitate.
He pulled Freya into his arms… And watched me fall off the cliff.
Three years later.
I stood before him, alive. Stronger. Smarter. No longer the naive girl desperate to survive.
Now, I’m the Chief Researcher at Thorn Academy. A place for those who’ve tasted pain and clawed their way back with brilliance.
His eyes locked on mine, wide with disbelief, rimmed in red.

















































