Reborn, I refuse the bond to my mate

I'm Xandra Sterling, the so-called "saint" of Celadon-pack, born with a body that's supposedly a living elixir. Rumor has it, anyone who gets close to me-real close-gains years on their life.

In my last life, I was bound to Carson Stone, the sickly, mute heir of the Stone family. A wolf who was knocking on death's door.

He spent every night tangled up with me, and sure enough, his health bounced back. But the second he was in the clear, he tossed me to a pack of ten old creeps to be humiliated.

"If you hadn't spun that 'longevity saint' nonsense to trick me into bonding with you, Willow would've never jumped off that building and ended up a vegetable!" he spat.

"You're supposed to make people live longer, right? Let's see how long you can keep those ten old geezers breathing."

I was drowning in despair when Carson's uncle, Yuri, swooped in to save me. He helped me get revenge, nursed me back to health with all the care in the world. And when I finally caved and agreed to bond to him, he locked me in chains and dragged me to an operating room. That's when I overheard him and Carson scheming:

"Yuri, you're a genius," Carson said. "She claims she's some longevity saint, right? Drain all her blood and give it to Willow. That'll wake her up. It's the perfect way to make her pay."

They jammed a needle as thick as my thumb into my veins and bled me dry. I went from an eighteen-year-old she-wolf to an eighty-year-old hag in hours, dying alone on a hospital bed.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back in time. Carson's mom, Grace, was staring at me, her voice trembling. "Xandra, is it true? Can being with you really save someone who's dying?"

I gave her a soft smile. "It's all made-up nonsense. Besides, I've got a condition-born with it. I can't be with anyone like that."

Grace froze, tears welling up in her eyes. "Xandra, you're sure? But the pack elder swore it was true, and your mom backed him up."

I shook my head firmly and handed her a forged medical report, crushing her last shred of hope.

Then I added, "Don't worry, Grace. I can't fix Carson's illness, but someone else can."

Her eyes lit up with desperate hope. "Who?"

"Your adopted daughter, Willow. If you let her bond to Carson, I bet he'll be right as rain in no time."

In my last life, Carson was a frail, dying wolf who pretended to be mute. The "dying" part was legit, but the mute act? That was just a ploy to guilt Grace into letting him bond to his adopted sister, Willow. Before Grace could even shut it down, we heard the frantic squeak of a wheelchair rolling in.

Carson and Yuri burst into the room together.

Carson's face was twisted with panic. "Mom, kick her out! No way in hell am I bonding with this vain, lying gold-digger!"

Grace stared at her son, jaw on the floor. It was the first time he'd spoken in years.

Terrified she'd force the issue, Carson didn't even care that he was coughing up blood. He dropped to his knees, begging, "Mom, I've only ever wanted Willow. If I can't have her, I'd rather die right now. What's the point of some fake longevity saint?"

Grace snapped, "Enough! What kind of nonsense are you spouting?"

She was furious but heartbroken, and it all clicked. Carson had faked being mute to manipulate her into letting him bond to Willow.

Before she could say more, Yuri, who'd been quiet till now, spoke up. "Grace, if Carson doesn't want to bond to Xandra, how about I do it instead?"

Carson jumped in, "Yeah, Mom! If you're so set on keeping this chick around, let her bond to Yuri. Same difference, right? She's still in the family."

Then Carson shot me a smug, icy glare. "Xandra, you should be thanking your lucky stars a wolf like Yuri would even look at you. Keep trying to cling to me, and I'll make sure you regret it."

With a couple of flippant sentences, they thought they could just decide my future.

This never happened in my last life. Back then, they let the bond go through without a peep, only to pin all the blame on me after Willow's death.

Now, though? One's publicly begging to bond to Willow, and the other's offering to take me off their hands.

Looks like they've been reborn too.

Yuri probably thinks I'll latch onto Carson and break Willow's heart, so he's "sacrificing" himself to bond to me and keep me out of the way.

Too bad for them. This time around, I'm not bonding with either of these scumbags.