Claimed but Never Marked

The next morning, I told Sam, "Let's hit White Rose Pack together."

His face tightened, but he smoothed it out fast. "Fine. We drop the gift and bounce."

Yeah, he was freaking out I'd mess up Lily's big moment.

I didn't care about her. I just needed to see my family one last time. After tomorrow, I was gone for good.

At White Rose Pack, the place buzzed. Lily, draped in a ceremonial gown, soaked up the praise—pregnant with pup, flaunting it, and somehow up for Chief Healer.

The pack elders beamed at her like she hung the freaking moon.

"Lily made the wolfsbane antidote. No question—she's the next Chief Healer."

"Amazing! Usually takes the council labs forever to crack stuff like that."

"They even slapped a certificate on her. Total prodigy!"

I froze at the banquet hall entrance, feet glued to the floor.

Not that long ago, I'd been busting my ass with my mentor, Master Healer David, building an antidote for wolfsbane.

No way this was some random fluke.

My gaze locked on the certificate dead center in the hall.

The formula, the research notes—every line of it stabbed like a knife.

It was mine. Two years of blood, sweat, and sleepless nights.

And somehow, it had her name on it.

Lily spotted me. Her smile cracked for a second, then morphed into something sugar-sweet and fake. She drifted over, voice dripping with smugness.

"Any, cute of you to show up. Like the formula? Too bad for you. It's mine now."

I shot her a glare, ready to fire back—

But Lily gasped, staggering like I'd punched her, clutching her belly like it might shatter.

The whole hall exploded into chaos.

"What happened?!"

"She's carrying a pup! How could you push her?!"

Through the noise, one voice cut through—tight, desperate.

"Lily!"

I knew that voice. I could pick it out anywhere.

Sam.

The heartbreak dripping from it crushed the last tiny shred of hope I was stupid enough to hold onto.

He caught me looking and wiped the panic off his face, fast.

Then he leveled a calm, almost cold stare at me—just a flicker of blame tucked in.

"No matter what happened, Lily's carrying a pup. You shouldn't have pushed her."

I stared back at the wolf I'd lived with for five freaking years.

His worry was raw. Real. Nothing like the fake affection he used to toss at me like scraps.

Then someone shouted new news over the madness—Lily had crushed four other competitors and officially snagged the Chief Healer title, all thanks to that stolen formula.

Sam's face lit up.

Pure, unfiltered joy—something I'd never once seen aimed at me.

I asked him, voice barely a whisper, "Why's Lily's formula the same as mine?"

Sam stiffened, but covered it quick, playing dumb.

"Maybe it's just a coincidence. Her research was kinda like yours..."

I didn't bother answering. Just sneered.

Only three people knew about my wolfsbane antidote research—me, my mentor, and Sam.

And the formula? Locked up in our study at home.

Didn't take a genius to figure out how it got leaked—or who handed it over.

I originally built that formula for Sam, after he OD'd on wolfsbane by mistake and went full berserker.

It neutralized the toxin, sure—but the dosage always needed tweaking depending on how bad the hit was.

Didn't matter anymore.

I wasn't doing it for him ever again.