The Last Day I Was Their Daughter

My sister's Wolf-Spirit Decay had gotten worse, and the whole family was waiting for me to test the new medicine and save her. But they didn't know. I'd lost my wolf spirit five years ago. My body couldn't survive a drug trial anymore. My Alpha husband slid the Mate Dissolution Agreement across the table to me. "If you're still this selfish, you don't deserve to be my Luna." He thought I'd refuse, the way I always did. That I'd fight with him. But I signed it quietly. I gave up the mate I'd loved for ten years and handed him to her. Before the trial, the school forum exposed my sister for plagiarizing my research. I posted a clarification myself. I said I'd read her draft first. I said the research direction was something I'd willingly shared with her. My parents finally relaxed. "You've finally learned to behave. From now on, whatever Chloe has, you'll have too." My mate promised that once everything was over, he'd give me the grandest marking ceremony to make up for it. They started discussing where to take me after the trial. I glanced at the medical report on my phone. A month ago, I'd been infected with wolfbane. My body couldn't heal itself. Soon, I was going to die. Chapter 1 My sister's Wolf-Spirit Decay had worsened. The whole family was waiting for me to test the new medicine and save her. But they didn't know. I'd lost my wolf spirit five years ago. My body couldn't survive a drug trial anymore. My Alpha husband pushed the Mate Dissolution Agreement in front of me. "If you're still this selfish, you don't deserve to be my Luna." Damian set the pen beside the signature line. "Chloe can't wait any longer. If you refuse, I'll dissolve the bond and give her a marking ceremony." I looked at the name on the agreement. In the past, hearing those words, I would have demanded to know: I'm your wife. How could you mark my sister? Today, I picked up the pen. Damian pressed his hand on the corner of the paper. "Think carefully. Once you sign, there's no taking it back." I signed my name and handed the pen back to him. "Bring me the consent form for the drug trial too." His hand stopped. "You agree?" "Yes." Damian looked at me for a moment, then finally seemed satisfied. "You should have done this from the start. Why did you have to make everyone unhappy?" I didn't argue. A month ago, I'd been infected with wolfbane. The witch who diagnosed me said that without my wolf spirit, I couldn't heal. I had three days at most. And today was the last one. "Let's go. Don't keep Chloe waiting." Damian had already pushed open the door. Three days ago, he'd stood in this same spot and watched my mother throw my luggage down the steps. My mother said if I wouldn't save my sister, there was no place for me in this house. Now I could finally go back. In the treatment room, Chloe leaned against our mother, crying until the tip of her nose was red. "Sis, you really want to save me?" I nodded. My mother hurried to wipe her tears. My father was already at the door, urging the witch. "Where's the consent form? Hurry up. Don't delay the child's treatment." There was only one pen on the table. My father tried it twice and complained it wasn't writing, so he took out his favorite fountain pen from his jacket pocket. When I turned eighteen, I'd asked him for it once. He said I was clumsy and would break it. This time, he uncapped it for me and pointed out exactly where to sign. "Sign here." The moment I finished the last stroke, he pulled the paper away. My mother finally looked at me. "You've finally come to your senses. You're sisters. How could you just stand by and watch her die?" My father nodded. "From now on, whatever Chloe has in this house, you'll have a share too." "No need." I handed the pen back. "Leave it all to her. I won't need it." My mother reached out and ruffled my hair the way she used to when I was little. "I just praised you, and you're already talking nonsense." My nose stung. I felt a little dazed. She hadn't touched me like that in a long time. Five years ago, my father was cursed and needed a blood relative to sacrifice their wolf spirit to keep him alive. I disappeared. My sister went up to the altar instead. After that, no matter how Chloe framed or slandered me, everyone chose her side and called me an ungrateful wolf. They piled everything good in front of Chloe and gave her all their love. I'd almost forgotten that I was their daughter too. I instinctively leaned half a step toward my mother. But she turned and tucked the blanket around Chloe. The witch came in with another form. "The test subject needs to fast tonight. She'll need to stay for observation before the trial." "She's healthy. She can go home and sleep." My father answered for me. "We don't have enough beds here. Don't disturb Chloe's rest." Damian pulled a chair to the bedside. Chloe reached out, and he took her hand. My mother leaned down and asked if she wanted water or soup. My father bent over to adjust her pillow. I stood in the corner for a while, then tried to put the chair I'd borrowed back where it belonged. The chair leg bumped the edge of the bed. All four of them looked at me at once. Chapter 2 "Wait." Damian stopped me at the door. I thought he was going to send me home. He pulled a stack of papers from his file. It was my Belladonna potion research paper. "Chloe's been in the hospital. Her graduation research has fallen behind. Let her borrow your paper for a few days." There were still notes I'd added last night in the corner. He hadn't even asked me before taking it. My mother followed, her voice low. "Your sister's about to test the medicine, and she's still worried about graduation. As her older sister, you should help a little more." I'd heard these words for five years. The first time was borrowing homework. Then it was completing experiments for her. Later, she even needed me to organize answers for her before exams. On the day the academy honored outstanding students, I ironed her dress. She wore that dress on stage and thanked our parents, thanked her advisor. She didn't mention me once. "Okay." Damian seemed surprised I agreed so quickly. His tone softened. "That's more like it. You're going to be Luna. Don't keep making a fuss over little things." He put the paper on Chloe's lap. My sister flipped a few pages and stuck her tongue out at him. "It's so hard. What if I don't understand?" "Then ask me." Damian ruffled her hair and bent down to listen to her. Her hand clutched his sleeve. They were very close. I reached up and touched the back of my neck. There was no mark there. On our wedding day, Damian said the formal marking would wait until the next full moon, so I could become the most blessed Luna in the pack. After that, every full moon, he had something else to do. "Sis, you're not mad, are you?" Chloe looked up at me. I took the last page out of the paper folder and placed it by her hand. "And this one. Don't miss it." When I got home, my luggage was still by the door. The maid asked if I wanted to move back into the bedroom. "No need. Just give me some garbage bags." In the closet was a dress with the tags still on. I'd prepared it for the marking ceremony. I folded it and put it at the bottom of the bag. The cup, toothbrush, and comb on the vanity went in too. The photo by the bed was the hardest to take down. It was stuck tightly to the back. I pulled a few times, and my nail lifted a small piece of skin. I sat down to rest for a while. In the photo, Damian had his arm around my shoulder. I remembered that before the picture was taken, he'd plucked a fallen leaf from my hair. That day, he didn't answer anyone's calls. He said he wanted to remember that moment forever. In the living room, the scarf I'd given my father was draped over the arm of the sofa. The brooch my mother received for her birthday was pressed under the fruit bowl. Damian's cup sat on the windowsill, holding the flowers Chloe had given him. I moved the flowers into a glass vase and took the cup. The maid followed me to the door. "Ma'am, you don't want any of this?" "No." After the last bag went into the trash, I stood holding the edge of the bin for a long time. On my phone, Damian sent a message. [The trial is tomorrow morning. Don't eat tonight.] I replied "Okay." Just as I lay down, my mother's voice came from downstairs. "She still has the nerve to sleep?" The door was pushed open. Damian walked in first. Chloe leaned against my father, her eyes red and swollen from crying. Damian threw his phone onto my blanket. "You gave her the paper, and now you stab her in the back?" On the screen was the academy forum. The top post had Chloe's name in the title, and two glaring words. Plagiarism. "I didn't contact anyone." "Then did the advisor go looking for her on his own?" Damian grabbed my wrist and pulled me out of bed. My knee hit the edge of the bed. I couldn't even hold myself up. My mother helped Chloe sit down and didn't even look at me. "Don't cry. Mom will make your sister apologize." Damian pushed me in front of her. "Talk." Chapter 3 The phone screen had a thin crack. I had to swipe twice before the post opened. Chloe had posted my paper on the academy forum with the caption: Didn't give up research even in the hospital. Finally finished. The advisor asked below why she'd abandoned the original formula in the third set of experiments. She answered: It didn't work well. The advisor asked again: if it didn't work well, why was the final data still from that set? She didn't answer. Further down, the advisor uploaded the revision history. Every version had a date. Every version had my name on it. The comments had already exploded into hundreds. Some demanded the academy strip Chloe of her outstanding student title. Others asked how much of the work she'd submitted over the years was actually her own. "She's fainted twice." Damian took the phone from my hand. "Why did your advisor have to post this now? She's testing medicine tomorrow!" "So what?" "Go explain it clearly." My father frowned. "Your sister is sick. Where would she get the energy to deal with this? You're healthy. What's wrong with taking a little hardship?" I looked at Damian's hand holding Chloe's. Five years ago, I was thrown out of the house and waited all night in the rain. When Damian found me, the first thing he did was take off his coat and wrap it around me. He said that as long as he was there, no one would ever throw me out again. But later, he gradually leaned toward Chloe too. Our dinners had an extra set of cutlery. Our anniversary trips had an extra plane ticket. I asked him why. He said, "She's just your sister. Can't you even tolerate her?" Now he stood in front of my sister, waiting for me to admit I was wrong. "Fine. I'll explain." My mother immediately took the tissue away from the corner of her eye. "Say you read your sister's draft first. Don't let people misunderstand." Chloe added quietly. "But the advisor already posted the revision history..." The room went quiet. I took the phone. "Then I'll say I used your ideas." Damian's brow relaxed. "Calm this down first. We'll deal with the rest later." Chloe turned on the recording. The camera pointed at me. I looked down at my pajamas. The collar had been pulled crooked earlier. I buttoned it properly. "Ready." In the video, I admitted I'd read Chloe's draft. I admitted the research direction came from her. I admitted the version the advisor saw couldn't prove she plagiarized. Halfway through, Chloe said my voice was too quiet and made me start over. I said it again. Before uploading, my mother checked the wording and changed "we discussed it together" to "she shared it with me." "That makes it clearer." After the video went up, my advisor called. I declined it. He sent a message. [Think carefully. This statement will destroy your graduation qualifications.] I stared at it for a long time and replied. [Professor, I'm sorry.] Damian reached over and straightened my collar. "Don't be afraid. After the trial, I'll handle it." His fingers brushed the back of my neck. "Next full moon, I'll make up the marking ceremony for you. That lake you like, I've already had people look at the venue." In the past, I would have chased him for a date. This time I just said, "Okay." My mother showed her phone to my father. "See? Someone's already speaking up for Chloe." My sister moved closer to me. Under the pretense of wiping her tears, she leaned in and whispered. "The paper is mine. Mom and Dad are mine." She glanced at Damian. "Even he chose me." I pulled the corner of my clothes out of her hand. "Yeah. You win." She looked up, as if still searching for something in my face. My mother had already pulled her back into her arms. Damian lowered his head to delete the insulting comments for her. My phone rang again. This time, Damian silenced it for me. Chapter 4 Two hours until the trial. I sat alone on the bench outside the treatment room. Damian came out. "Why are you sitting here? Go in and keep Chloe company." The hospital bed was already covered in gifts. My father had brought her favorite flowers. My mother was holding a thermal container. Chloe pointed at the box. "Can't I eat now?" "After the trial." My mother touched her face. "I'll make whatever you want. Even that one you loved when you were little." Damian took a jewelry box from his pocket. A moonstone necklace. I'd looked at it once in a shop window and asked him if it was pretty. He'd said the stone was too cold and uncomfortable to wear. Now he put the necklace in Chloe's hand. "When you're better, I'll put it on you myself." My sister smiled. "Then you're not allowed to forget." "I won't." I looked down at my wrist. The hospital bracelet was too loose and had slipped to the base of my palm. The nurse tightened it and asked where my family was. "All here." She followed my gaze. Her lips moved, but she didn't ask again. My father was discussing with Damian whether the family should stay by the sea for a while after Chloe recovered. My mother said I should get out more too, instead of staying cooped up in the house all day. They even started arguing about which hotel's food suited Chloe's taste better. I waited until they finished before I spoke. "If I die during the trial, would you be sad?" The smile vanished from my mother's face. "You know your sister's scared, and you still say things like that!" My father moved the thermal container a little farther away. "Your wolf has always been strong. What nonsense are you talking about?" Damian walked over and squeezed my shoulder. "We've hired the best healing witches. Nothing will happen." His hand let go quickly. "When you come out, buy whatever you like." I looked at the jewelry box that had already been opened. "Okay." When the nurse called my name, Chloe grabbed my father's hand and cried that she was scared. My father bent down and pressed his forehead to hers. "Don't be afraid. We'll be right outside the door. We won't go anywhere." My mother followed the gurney. Damian passed me and handed the signing board to the nurse. "Her trial paperwork is all done. Take her in first." I lay down on another gurney. No one asked if I was cold. Before the door closed, I looked at them one last time. My mother was taking off Chloe's earrings. My father was supporting her head. Damian was holding the moonstone necklace, carefully winding the chain around his fingers so it wouldn't tangle. "Family, wait outside." The healing witch urged. I was wheeled into the inner trial room. Chloe stayed in the preparation room next door. As I was pushed in, I heard my mother's voice. "When you're better, we'll go to the beach." I clutched the bedsheet and waited for the witch to push the medicine into the back of my hand. She asked if I was nervous. "A little." "Think about when you wake up." But I would never wake up again. The moment the specially made injection entered my vein, I felt the last bit of warmth in my chest disappear. I opened my mouth, wanting to call for my mother. Outside the door, Chloe was calling too. My mother answered her immediately. My fingers released the bedsheet. In the last moment before I died, Damian was still outside asking how to open the necklace clasp. My mother said, "Don't break it. Chloe will wear it when she wakes up." In the last moment before my heart stopped, only one blurry thought remained in my mind. If they knew that five years ago, the one who sacrificed her wolf spirit for my father was actually me. If they knew I would die from the trial. Would they regret it? Too bad I wouldn't be around to see it. As the wolfbane completely invaded my body, my heart stopped beating.