The Second Chance Wolf Chapter 01

The Second Chance Wolf Chapter 01

The day my twin sister was rejected by Royal Fang Academy, my entire family surrounded her, comforting her.

I stood quietly in the corner, loneliness weighing on my chest. An acceptance email from Royal Fang Academy glowed on my phone screen. I wanted to tell my parents that I had made it.

Instead, I caught sight of myself in the mirror.

Only, it wasn’t the present me. It was me, ten years in the future.

“So, you got into Royal Fang Academy before your sister. Did Mom and Dad finally love you more?” I asked.

The woman in the mirror let out a bitter laugh, “No.”

I froze.

“The day you excitedly told everyone you had been accepted to Royal Fang Academy and were about to become a warrior…”

“Anna couldn’t handle it. She jumped from the building.”

My blood ran cold.

“You spent eight years trying to atone for her death. In the ninth year, Mom and Dad broke both your legs. You could never run through the forest again or become the warrior you had dreamed of being.”

“Only then did you finally believe they had NEVER loved you.”

I stared at her in disbelief.

My eyes slowly drifted downward, and below her waist there was nothing, both of her legs were gone.

“So,” my future self said calmly, “you can tell Mom and Dad and lose your legs… or walk away and live your own life.”

“The choice is YOURS.”

The mirror returned to normal.

At that moment, my parents finished their phone call and finally remembered that I had applied to Royal Fang Academy too.

As always, Mom compared me to my sister.

“Anna, just look at your sister. She’s so weak, and who knows if she’ll even awaken her wolf. Yet she still spent seven years training with the pack, hoping to become a warrior. No matter how badly you think you did, she’ll always finish below you.”

Dad’s gaze landed on me. His Alpha aura naturally filled the room.

“Hope,” he asked, “you didn’t get in either, did you?”

Remembering the warning from my future self, my heart slowly sank.

I shook my head, “No.”

Dad smiled exactly as I expected.

“Anna, you’re just too hard on yourself. Look at your sister. She wasn’t accepted either, and she’s acting like nothing happened.”

As I watched my family show complete indifference toward my results, the joy of being accepted into Royal Fang Academy slowly faded away.

“She’s so pathetic. How could she ever compare to me?”

Anna’s sharp voice cut through the room.

I wanted to tell her I wasn’t inferior. But the warning from ten years in the future echoed in my mind.

The words never left my mouth.

Mom gently patted Anna’s back.

“That’s right, Anna. You were chosen to train with the Pack Guardian Squad when you were only ten. Once you come of age in a few days, I’m sure you’ll awaken the legendary Golden Wolf.”

“I know you’ll get into Royal Fang Academy next year and become one of the Alpha King’s most valued warriors.”

As she spoke, Mom took a ruby bracelet from her pocket and personally fastened it around Anna’s wrist.

Then her eyes fell on my bare wrist.

She sighed, “Hope, you need to work harder too. This bracelet is a reward for your sister’s efforts. You can’t keep falling behind her forever.”

I lowered my head.

Growing up, Anna had always been better than me.

No matter how hard I tried, I was always just a little lacking.

Not as pretty. Not as smart. Not as gifted.

Today was the first time I had ever surpassed her.

I had been accepted into Royal Fang Academy. Yet I still fell just short of earning my parents’ love.

“Hope,” Mom asked, “you don’t think I’m playing favorites, do you?”

I shook my head, “No.”

But it felt as though an invisible hand had wrapped around my heart, squeezing tighter and tighter.

“That’s good. If it doesn’t work out, you can repeat the year with your sister and apply again next year.”

“You girls can stay together, and your father and I won’t have to worry.”

“No.”

Before I could answer, Dad interrupted.

“Hope’s situation is different from Anna’s. This path isn’t right for her. Even if she repeats another year, it’ll just be a waste of time.”

I knew what he meant.

I was too small. Too thin. Unlike Anna, who had been born to be a warrior.

Dad was the Alpha of the Whiteleaf Pack. He had always hoped for a son to inherit the pack.

When I was born, he had been deeply disappointed.

But when the stronger Anna came into the world moments later, he placed all his hopes on her.

Over the years, I had grown used to the disappointment in his eyes.

Even Jake, the head of the pack’s warriors, could only sigh whenever he looked at me.

“Too short. Too skinny. Too weak. Too slow.”

“You two are twins. If only you had half your sister’s natural ability.”

He always stopped there. But I knew what he wanted to say.

I could never compare to Anna.

Mom and Dad believed I only wanted to become a warrior because I envied her. Whatever she had, I wanted too.

But that wasn’t true. I just didn’t want to fall so far behind.

She always had elite warriors or Betas assigned by Dad to train with her. She always got the newest running shoes.

Whenever she stood on the training grounds, our parents applauded and encouraged her.

As for me…

Even asking for a new pair of shoes earned me a lecture about wasting money on pointless dreams.

To reach this day, I had worked harder than anyone.

I had worn out hundreds of pairs of running shoes. I had trained alone. Run alone.

Hidden the strong muscles I had built beneath oversized clothes.

I was the fastest runner in the entire pack. I had earned my place at Royal Fang Academy.

Yet in their eyes… I was still the inferior daughter.

Dad handed me brochures from several other schools.

“Stop trying to follow your sister’s path. Just pick any werewolf academy near our pack. It’ll be easier for us to look after you.”

I nodded and bit down on my lip, “Okay.”

Royal Fang Academy was nearly four thousand kilometers from home, deep within the territory ruled by the Alpha King.

Lowering my head, I slid my finger across the screen…

…and tapped ACCEPT.