Reborn To Walk Away This Time

On the night of the birthday party, the Pack manor was ablaze with lights.

All the Pack's high-ranking members and our nearby allies came. They looked at the lavish decorations and praised my generosity.

The guests poured in, their eyes wide with wonder.

They couldn't understand why I would go to such lengths for a she-wolf from a fallen pack, let alone call her my Pack sister.

I smiled, pretending not to hear the whispers, and then gave Declan a gentle nudge.

"Let Cassia have the first dance. Tonight is her night."

When it was time for gifts, Declan made an announcement that sent a shockwave through the room.

Declan walked onto the stage and publicly announced that he was granting Cassia the right to use the Rathborne family's ancestral Moonlight Hot Springs.

It wasn't just a hot spring. It was the most spiritually potent sacred site in the Sterling Ridge Pack. The very source that had made the Rathborne family renowned.

The entire hall erupted in murmurs. Everyone turned to look at me, their eyes filled with pity and curiosity.

Cassia covered her mouth, her eyes welling with tears. "Declan, this is too precious… Anya will be angry."

"You deserve it," Declan said firmly, not even looking at me. "You need to heal."

Then it was my turn.

I walked forward, holding an exquisite velvet gift box.

"Happy birthday, Cassia."

Inside was a calming bracelet I had commissioned. The materials were rare and the craftsmanship was delicate. Nothing too special, but it was an appropriate, if simple, gift.

At least, that's what I thought.

Cassia took the box, a vicious glint in her eyes. In front of everyone, she eagerly lifted the lid.

"Ah—!"

A blood-curdling scream tore through the ballroom.

A Silver Moon Snake, its fangs coated in wolfsbane, shot out from the box, hissing as it lunged.

She shrieked, stumbling backward, and fell right into Declan's arms.

With lightning speed, Declan struck, sending the snake flying.

Cassia clutched her stomach, her face contorted in fear.

"Anya, why would you do this to me…"

"Anya!" Declan roared, scooping her into his arms, his eyes as cold as frost.

"And I actually thought you had changed."

"I never imagined you could be so vicious! To plot against a pregnant she-wolf in front of everyone."

His voice dropped, laced with killing intent.

No, he had it all wrong. The box was supposed to contain a bracelet. Not a snake.

I opened my mouth to explain, but a sharp, searing pain shot through my hand.

The snake, though knocked away, wasn't dead. It had crawled back and sunk its wolfsbane-laced fangs deep into my palm.

"No… it wasn't me…" I argued weakly, feeling the poison coursing through my blood toward my heart.

"Shut up!" Declan cut me off, his gaze like ice. "If anything happens to Cassia or the pup, I will never forgive you."