Chapter 1

On Seraphina the wandering wolf‑girl’s birthday, she suggested everyone try out the clan’s simulated ability‑training chamber. Yet the indoor facility had already been tampered with and filled with deadly silver mist. I was locked inside, begging for my life.

My fated mate only spoke to me in a cold, unyielding tone: “Quit playing the victim. If you cannot get through that door in five minutes, there is no point in you coming back at all.”

My own brother called me a pathetic disgrace. My childhood friend sneered at my desperate cries for help.

Flames and silver poison gnawed away at my frail body. Meanwhile, in front of live‑stream cameras, they celebrated her birthday cheerfully, completely indifferent to my agonizing ordeal.

This lethal silver poison did not take my life. Instead, it fully awoke the legendary white‑wolf bloodline slumbering deep within me. I crawled out from the ashes. This time, every wrong they have done to me — I will make them pay in blood.

Chapter 1

Ella’s Point of View

The full moon hung halfway up the mountain ridge. The five of us trekked down from the mountain camp to the foothills.

It was Seraphina’s birthday. According to wolf‑clan customs, Kael was supposed to host the celebration on this day.

But she tugged at my sleeve, eyes sparkling. “Sister, I heard Julian has just remodeled the old underground quarantine room downstairs into a simulation‑training chamber with brand‑new full‑range systems. Shall we give it a try? It can be the warm‑up for my birthday.”

I flinched backward. Traumatized by a near‑death experience in a silver mine when I was eight, I instinctively recoiled from all enclosed underground spaces and metallic surroundings.

Kael had already started walking forward. “Julian, open the door,” he said without looking back. “Since our guest wants to play, show her what it is like.”

Thorn ruffled Seraphina’s hair with indulgent amusement. “Our Seraphina is so brave. Unlike some people, who shake in fear just hearing the word ‘basement’.”

Julian had already swiped his access card to unlock the entrance. He tapped the alloy door frame and glanced pointedly at me. “Rest assured, everything is simulated. Not a speck of real silver dust will leak out. I calibrated the system myself; it is perfectly safe. Think of it as a test to see how obedient our Omegas remain under pressure.”

I caught the meaning behind his half‑joking provocation. Over these past three months, Seraphina had constantly complained to them that I targeted her. They probably wanted to use this chance to see whether I would act like a “proper, obedient Omega” and give up my chance to survive for others.

I said nothing and stepped inside.

I thought I would only be locked up for ten minutes, subjected to fake alarms, just to amuse her. I thought the door could be opened from the inside at any moment, as Julian had promised. I thought —

The reinforced alloy door of the clan’s underground quarantine chamber slammed shut behind us.

A shrill hissing sound echoed through the damp, dim room. Thick white mist billowed from high‑tech ventilation grilles on the ceiling. It reeked of sour metal and scorched embers.

Silver.

This was the deadly substance that could easily kill a wolf‑kin. As the lowest‑ranking Omega of the clan, my physical constitution was far weaker than everyone else’s.

Scorching agony tore through my lungs, as if I had swallowed burning coals. Red emergency warning lights flashed wildly, painting the steel observation platform in the center of the room blood‑red. A mechanical automated voice began counting down to self‑destruction. In only a few minutes, the entire chamber would burn to ashes.

On the wall stood a biometric emergency‑supply locker. Julian, our clan’s Gamma and third‑in‑command, smashed its glass casing with one punch.

Inside lay only four silver‑proof cloaks. There were five of us.

Seraphina broke into exaggerated sobs. She was a wandering wolf whom our clan had taken in out of kindness. She possessed no pure‑blood lineage, yet as a Beta, she was far stronger than I.

She snatched up the very first silver‑proof cloak and clutched it tight against her chest.

“I am so scared,” Seraphina trembled, voice tearful. “But Ella is only an Omega. She needs this more than I do. I will stay behind.”

Though her words sounded self‑sacrificing, her knuckles whitened from how hard she gripped the fabric. She made no move whatsoever to hand the cloak to me.

Thorn, my biological elder brother and a clan Beta, picked up the second cloak. He did not spare me a single glance as he slung it over his broad shoulders.

“Do not be foolish, Seraphina,” Thorn said coldly. “Ella has a terrible phobia of silver dust. She nearly died in that silver mine at eight. If she runs out into the mist, panic will only slow us all down. Waiting here for rescuers is the safest choice for her.”

I stared at my own brother in disbelief. A hollow, icy void opened inside my chest. He was using my deepest childhood trauma as an excuse, content to leave me here to die.

Julian did not hesitate for a second. He grabbed the third cloak and quickly fastened its heavy metal neck clasp.

“I am sorry, Ella,” Julian avoided my gaze. “You know I swore to protect you when I was little. Still, you have to stay. Ladies first, right? Seraphina must get out.”

His hollow words only masked his inner guilt.

I turned toward Kael. He was the Alpha, supreme ruler of our clan and a billionaire with immense influence in the human world. He was also my fated mate, chosen for me by the Moon Goddess.

The scent that once reminded me of reassuring pine forests after thunderstorms now felt distant and ice‑cold. Long ago, when he marked my neck, he had sworn a sacred oath. He swore he would never make me face silver poison alone again.

Now only one cloak remained.

Kael glanced at Seraphina’s tear‑streaked face, then stared down at the ground. He closed his eyes and stood perfectly still. He expected me to give the last cloak to him voluntarily.

My hands shook violently as I picked up the heavy final cloak. I stepped forward and draped it over Kael’s broad shoulders. He kept his eyes shut and offered no word of thanks.

The toxic mist thickened. Skin touched by silver mist began to itch and burn.

“Go,” I whispered, my voice hoarse and trembling. I pushed the four of them toward the heavy metal escape door. I pulled down the massive iron lever, sealing them safely inside the escape passage. I was trapped alone in the main chamber.

Terror of silver mist threatened to overwhelm my mind. I thought of that pitch‑black mine, suffocating dust, and the cold despair that made my blood feel frozen.

Rather than suffocate under silver poison, I preferred to burn to ashes in the self‑destruction fire. I grabbed a heavy rock from the floor and smashed it against the backup ventilation duct. I wanted the flames to come faster.

Suddenly, bright‑blue light flickered before my eyes. My smart contact lens projected a live‑video feed.

Seraphina held up a digital tablet, scrolling across neon text: Happy Birthday, Seraphina! Her face was bright with joy; no trace of tears remained.

“Surprise!” Seraphina laughed, her voice echoing into my mind through the device. “Did you truly think we were in danger? This is only a prank to test how obedient an Omega you are.”

Thorn and Julian appeared on screen, standing inside a luxurious, safe mountain‑side camp outside. They roared with mocking laughter.

“You did not even dare fight for a cloak,” Thorn shook his head in scorn. “Pathetic. You bring shame on our pure‑blood lineage.”

Julian lifted his digital control terminal. “The chamber is not broken at all, Ella,” Julian bragged triumphantly. “The whole system is under my control. You fell completely for our trick.”

Then Kael stepped into frame. His expression was icy and irritable.

“Have you finished crying yet, Ella?” Kael snapped, unleashing his Alpha compulsion. This power forced lower‑ranked wolves into total submission. Beneath its suffocating weight, my frail Omega body stiffened, unable to move.

“Get out of that chamber right now,” he ordered. “We are celebrating Seraphina’s birthday. Do not ruin everyone’s mood.”

I looked down at the ground. Sparks crackled from the smashed ventilation duct. Real flames were already licking the reinforced‑metal walls. Their fake prank had turned into a genuine death trap.

“Bring the pink gift box on your way out,” Kael added carelessly.

I glanced toward the corner and spotted that pink box. It was the present Kael had pressured me into buying for Seraphina. To afford it, I had sold the precious moonstone necklace left behind by my late mother.

“Kael …” I whispered, shaking with genuine terror. “The fire … it is real.”