Prologue

This tragedy wouldn’t have happened if I had been wiser, right?

At that moment, I found myself in a pathetic state, collapsing in the thick snow, feeling the bone-chilling cold of the snowflakes on every inch of my skin.

I mustered all my willpower to encourage myself to keep breathing and breathing, but it only made my throat and lungs ache from the cold winter air.

No way, I couldn't let myself die in this strange place. I looked up at the bleak sky, where icy snowflakes kept hitting my face, and I didn't even have the strength to brush them away.

Damn it, Catriona! You used to love winter, didn’t you? You used to love the feeling of waking up every morning and seeing the white of snow covering every street, roof, and window.

I still remembered the happiness when my family members sat by the fireplace. I would always hug my little sister tightly and listen to fairy tales together through my mother’s sweet voice, never worrying about the warmth because my father took the responsibility of maintaining the fire and sometimes patted his daughters’ heads.

And now I saw another side of the snowflakes, a negative and fearful one.

I smirked as a mockery directed at myself.

As the first daughter of an Alpha and the only heir to the Blue Camellia pack, I had almost everything: beauty, love, and wealth. All my childhood, I lived like a little princess in my pack.

But now I had nothing.

No, there was still Evelyn, my adorable younger sister. She fought the werewolves in the pack so I could escape. Evelyn was very strong, she would definitely come to the place we had promised to meet before me and wait.

I propped myself up on the snow and nearly fell because of its loose texture. I stood up with difficulty, the strong winds knocking my golden blonde hair back.

I walked with difficulty because of the obstruction of the thick snow. My whole body shivered because of the cold from the wind and melted snow. And I started running, even if the horizon was a gray one, I didn’t allow myself to give up.

No, at least I still had Evelyn in this life.

“Argh,” I yelled as someone grabbed my hair and pulled it back. My body went limp, and I fell into the snow. My hands immediately gripped the hand that was grabbing my hair. I tried to separate it from my poor hair, but it was no use.

“Your senses are so poor,” said a familiar smug girl’s voice that gave me goosebumps.

“Lola…,” I hesitantly blurted out the name of a person I didn’t want to see the most right then. Fear rose in my mind. The snow and cold air prevented me from smelling her scent.

“It’s my honor to have Lady Catriona remember her name,” she said, laughing smugly.

Lola pulled my hair to bring me closer to her. My hair seemed to separate from my scalp while my feet ached and turned red because of the friction against the snow.

One of Lola’s hands had squeezed my cheek from behind, raising my face until my gaze met hers.

“Oh my, what happened to this pretty face,” Lola mocked.

I had bitten my lip and tried to endure it. But then I had understood that, once caught, I had had no chance. So, I spat at her smug face, enjoying the process as it contorted with anger and humiliation, “Don’t forget who gave you a home, ungrateful b*tch.”

“Damn it,” Lola had screamed and pulled my hair so hard that I had fallen into the snow, she had kicked me repeatedly in the stomach.

The pain had made me instantly dizzy; I had covered my stomach with my hands to defend myself in a desperate attempt. I had felt the taste of iron in my mouth while Lola had not seemed to stop.

Perhaps my end had been to die on a cold winter day.

At that moment, I wanted to apologize to Evelyn. I hadn’t been able to get to the appointed place in tim-

“You’ll kill her if you keep going,” a male voice had said. My eyes widened and blood spurted out of my mouth.

Even if my memories had been erased, I would never have ceased to be haunted by that voice, the voice of the one who had caused me to end so tragically.

"Seriously? You still feel sorry for her, David?" Lola had huffed and puffed after spitting on my bruised body, then hurried over to David.

But wait, why had he been here? Could it mean-

I immediately turned my body over, looked up at him, and had been stunned to see the bloody knife he had been holding.

David also noticed the destination of my gaze. I had just seen him raise the knife to his mouth, looking at me with amusement and licking the red blood of the knife.

“It’s still hot and very sweet, I shouldn’t have rushed here,” he had said regretfully.

In the depths of despair, I shouted, “Bastard, where had Evelyn been? Give her back to me.”

I screamed uncontrollably, even as I felt the scream, along with the cold air, destroying my throat.

Why? Why Evelyn? She’s innocent, she’s only 18 years old. She didn’t harm him.

Why would he take Evelyn from me? Why they took away the only thing left in my life?

Desperate anger gives me incredible strength. I jumped to my feet and ran towards David as fast as I could.

But Lola stopped me, she quickly controlled my limbs.

I yelled, “B*tch, if you want to suffer for him, argh...”

I rotated my body with as much force as that I could hear creaking from my joints. The pain went to my brain, but I was not here to endure it but to kill them.

I bit Lola’s cheek, satisfied to hear her pitiful scream. David immediately shoved me away, but I grabbed a piece of meat from her cheek.

I fell on the snow, blood in my mouth, completely exhausted but satisfied.

I popped the damn meat in my mouth and laughed, “Lola, you taste like vomit.”

Once again, hearing her pitiful scream, but I couldn’t laugh anymore. Even if I kill them all, they still won’t come back to me, no miracle will come to me.

David came over and kicked my stomach so hard that my mouth vomited blood.

“It surprised me! So, you’ve got your own answers, haven’t you?” His voice had been soft and melodious, like a deadly piano piece. He had approached me and knelt down. I had felt his hand under my chin. I had been so used to his actions, and I had used to love it. But now, it had only given me fear.

“You look ugly now, Trina,” he had said in a heavy voice and had sighed. Then, he frowned, regarding me, “But you’ve satisfied me, don’t worry, I’ll bring Evelyn to you.”

I had felt his fingers brushing my lips, his gray eyes dark with lust.

“Dav‌id,” Lola called his name nervously. I smirked at her, even as I was worn out like a rag, David was still attracted to me instead of her.

“Da-,” Just as she tried to call his name again, she was met with a menacing look from David.

Lola’s face froze with fear, anxiety, and humiliation.

“Catriona, I had an offer worth considering for you,” David said softly.

“I’ll kill you,” my affirmation made David’s face contort. “Even if you tied my hands and feet, I’ll kill you with my jaws, from now I live to kill you.”

A slap of sound resounded in the silent and cold space. A slap from David landed on my cheek. I could feel the metallic taste between my teeth.

“So sorry, Catriona, I didn’t want to do this in the first place, you come to it yourself,” David sighed, raising his knife.

I closed my eyes, knowing my life would end in the next few seconds.

Staggering pain spread from my left chest to all over my body as I felt his knife go through my chest. And then, to satisfy his sick pleasure, the knife was slowly drawn. I was dumbfounded, my eyes lifeless because the pain was too much for me to bear. My senses were completely numb, unable to feel or hear anything around me. I was going to die in a few minutes; it was horrible when you have to wait for my death in excruciating pain.

Images from the past to the present flashed through my mind like a film reel. And it excited my mind in some strange way.

I wanted to scream and cry, but every sound stuck in my throat even when I tried desperately.

I still didn’t want to die, I had lived my life as if for the first time; I hadn’t appreciated what I had. I’d forgotten my parents because of blind love.

Sorry, my poor Evelyn. You should’ve survived and escaped, you were kicked out of the pack in the first place and could have a new life.

I felt the warmth on my face; it was nothing but my tears. Tears ran down for a life of bitterness and guilt.