I was born a vengeful spirit, waiting only for this life to end in tragedy so I could become a true demon. On the advice of other spirits, I reincarnated as a girl in this world, hoping to be drowned at birth if luck was on my side.

But I survived.

My mother, Evelyn, cherished me, and my father, Waylon, adored me like a precious gem. For thirteen years, their love softened the bitterness in my soul. Until my uncle’s crimes caught up with him, and my father, the second-ranked Delta, was forced to take the blame. My mother, too, was sentenced to death.

When my aunt threw me into the river, I didn’t resist. Only a single tear escaped my eye.

I had broken my promise.

I had promised my father I’d be good.

But now, no one would be spared.

==============================

The Lycan King’s decree arrived.

My father was sentenced to a brutal execution, and my mother would face the pack’s justice at dawn. The crime of selling forbidden weapons to rogue werewolves was pinned solely on my father.

To maintain control, the Alpha’s mate had forbidden my father from leaving the pack, yet she had swiftly cast him out when trouble arose. Now, there were two factions within the Red Pack, and everyone knew it was Waylon Cook, the second-ranked Delta, who had betrayed them.

The Lycan King had passed judgment on the exiled family, not on the Alpha’s inner circle.

I learned of this while locked in the pack’s storage room, hearing the news from the whispers of the Omegas.

When had this decree even been issued?

Though I was not yet a full-fledged demon, as a vengeful spirit, I had seen countless horrors.

What hadn’t I endured?

Yet my heart ached in a way I couldn’t explain.

Before, the suffering had always been mine to bear.

Why was this different?

When my uncle came that day, he didn’t even need to threaten me. He simply looked at me, and my parents gave in.

I heard my father say,

“I’ll take the blame.”

“But you must claim Harper as your own. She’s no longer my daughter, and she has no connection to me…”

My mother, her voice trembling but firm, added,

“If anything happens to Harper, I’ll haunt you, even as a ghost!”

Perhaps it was the body I inhabited, too young and fragile, but I cried.

Before I knew it, tears were streaming down my face.

Stupid mother.

Becoming a vengeful spirit isn’t easy. It takes enduring the torment of the spirit realm a thousand times over, clinging to your anger, to earn that chance.

I must have been mad.

Though I wasn’t truly a thirteen-year-old girl, I clung to my mother, refusing to let go until I felt her wince in pain.

My father coaxed me,

“Harper, your mother and I are just going away for a few days. We’ll come back for you soon.”

I knew it was a lie, but before I could react, I was fed a sip of drugged tea.

My father’s tears fell on my cheek as he whispered,

“Harper, if you get the chance, find Azalea Perry in the west district!”

Those were the last words I heard before everything went black. When I woke, I was locked in the storage room.

Another moldy piece of bread was tossed in, but I didn’t hesitate to devour it.

I refused to believe it.

I couldn’t have been unconscious for three days. If I escaped now, there might still be a chance.

My father had once told me the Lycan King was just and often listened to the pleas of his people. Maybe he’d hear me out.

What did it matter if the entire Red Pack suffered?

I’d rather see them all fall, every last one of them.

At least my father wouldn’t face that torturous death, and my mother wouldn’t be alone.

Taking advantage of the shift change of the guards at the gate, I immediately bolted out. I knew which path led out of the pack territory the fastest and with the least people, and where the pack’s sacred meeting ground was.

The guard behind me shouted and gave chase, but I didn’t look back, sprinting straight for the tree that would let me scale the wall. I was almost there! My hand was already on the rough bark, but just as I was about to climb, I froze.

Not far away, two pack members were walking toward me, their faces pale with fear. In their hands, they carried old wooden planks, and on those planks were objects covered with white cloths. The blood staining the cloths was unmistakable, and the size of the objects underneath was all wrong.

Before I could move closer, the guard who had been chasing me grabbed me by the hair and yanked me back, slapping me hard across the face. “You little brat! How dare you try to run away in front of me?”

When she turned and saw what the two pack members were carrying, she frowned. “What is that?”

As if answering her question, a gust of wind swept through, lifting the corner of one of the white cloths. My vision went dark when I saw what was underneath.

“Ah! What is that thing?!” the guard screamed, but I lunged at her, sinking my teeth into her arm. How dare she scream like that. Those were my parents.

By the time the Alpha and his entourage arrived, I had already torn a chunk of flesh from the guard’s arm. “Alpha,” one of the pack members stammered, “this was delivered by someone we didn’t recognize. They also left a message.”

The Alpha’s brow furrowed, and his voice was cold. “What did they say?”

The pack member trembled. “They said… for you to watch your step.”

The Alpha let out a cold laugh. “Good. Very good. Now they’re trying to distance themselves? If this gets out, none of them will escape.”

He stormed off, clearly too distracted to pay attention to me, but his Luna gave me a long, calculating look before she left. Her Beta, Azalea Perry, immediately seized me and dragged me away.

Covered in blood, I still couldn’t believe what I had seen. It couldn’t be. It couldn’t have happened this fast. Even if someone was pulling strings behind the scenes, it wouldn’t have been this quick. It just wasn’t possible…

“Do you hate me?” The Luna’s voice cut through my thoughts.

She sat there, composed, clearly waiting for my answer. She knew that at thirteen, I was old enough to remember. Old enough to hold a grudge. And if this grudge festered, it could spell disaster for her in the future.

But the way she looked at me, so indifferent, made it clear she didn’t expect me to say much. Or perhaps, no matter what I said, she had already decided to eliminate me.

So I smiled. “Of course not. I’m grateful for everything you and the Alpha have done for me. I’ll never forget it.”

I kept my head bowed, my tone submissive. The Luna probably thought I was cunning, but the truth was, I wasn’t. I was just desperate.

When no one was paying attention, I yanked the necklace from my neck and drove the sharp pendant into her eye. “For everything you’ve done to my parents, I’ll make sure you pay double!”

Her scream echoed in the room as she clutched her eye, blood pouring between her fingers. I was tackled to the ground, someone’s boot pressing my face into the floor. But I didn’t feel the pain. All I felt was rage.

“If you don’t kill me now, I’ll make sure you regret it!” I shouted, my voice raw with fury.