Love Only in My Ashes

I was dying.

People have premonitions when death is near.

When Lina pushed my wheelchair to the seaside, I knew this was the end.

A month ago, I was poisoned by wolfsbane. The witch doctor told me my time was short.

I didn't want to die in that cold house. Lina packed our bags without a word and left the Vaelgorr Pack with me. We traveled aimlessly until we reached this coastline.

In recent days, the pain gnawed at my nerves. The painkillers from the witch doctor had long since lost their effect. My skin had taken on an unhealthy grey pallor; even the thickest foundation couldn't hide the dark circles under my eyes.

My legs had completely lost sensation; I could only curl up in the wheelchair, letting Lina push me along.

I knew I would die.

"Don't say that!" Lina suddenly crouched down, grabbing my withered hand, her eyes red-rimmed. "You're still so young! We can find other witch doctors—"

I shook my head weakly. "It's no use, Lina. I can't hold on anymore... Tell Chris to be gentle when he dissects me. You know how afraid of pain I am."

Chris was Lina's mate, a sorcerer skilled in memory extraction magic.

The Alpha had assigned him to study the brains of fallen werewolves, attempting to mine battlefield intelligence from the memories of the dead.

But this technique required a large number of experimental subjects, and werewolves willing to donate their bodies were scarce—after all, who didn't have secrets they wanted to take to the grave?

The day I was diagnosed with wolfsbane poisoning, I signed a donation agreement with Chris. This was the only way I could repay him and his wife.

Lina's tears fell onto the back of my hand. I wanted to wipe them away, to tell her that death was a release for me.

But my arms felt heavy as lead.

My eyelids grew heavier and heavier, and finally, darkness swallowed my vision.

I had thought death would either be eternal nothingness or the legendary cycle of reincarnation.

But I never imagined my soul would neither dissipate nor ascend to heaven. Instead, it drifted eerily to my father's side.

He was in the pack's tailor shop, accompanying Jasmine and Colin as they tried on wedding attire.

Through the shop window's reflection, I saw Jasmine twirling in a pearl-studded wedding dress, Father and Colin standing beside her like two loyal knights.

Jasmine was my stepsister, the daughter of the pack's former Beta—that Beta had died saving my father, a Gamma. So, Father poured all his guilt into compensating her.

Since childhood, right or wrong, she was always justified.

After she developed depression due to her Omega status, Father became even more excessive.

Just because Jasmine couldn't bear Colin choosing me, Father ordered me to give up my fated mate.

Colin had resisted at first, until Jasmine slit her wrists in the bathroom.

Now, the three people I least wanted to see were right before me.