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.

Grace's face flushed with embarrassment as she swatted Carson's arm. "You little punk, what are you blabbering about? This is the miracle cure I busted my butt to find for you!"

I turned to Grace, keeping my voice steady. "You see it, right? Carson doesn't need fixing. Mention Willow, and his so-called muteness vanishes. Just let him bond to her, and he'll probably live to a hundred."

"As for that longevity saint crap? It's just rumors gone wild. Grace, you're too smart to buy into that superstition."

Grace sighed, caught between a rock and a hard place. I wasn't budging, and Carson sure as hell wasn't on board. She couldn't exactly tie me up and force me.

Still, she latched onto my other suggestion. "What about bonding with Yuri, Xandra?"

I didn't even look up, shooting it down flat. "No thanks. You know my condition. I'm not out to screw anyone over."

Grace had no comeback for that. She just nodded, looking defeated.

Carson and Yuri, though? They clearly didn't see that coming. Both of them whipped their heads toward me, eyes wide.

Yuri reacted the hardest, stepping forward like he had something to say. But I spun on my heel and walked out. Just being near those two made my skin crawl. This time around, I wasn't standing in their way-I'd even handed them their happily-ever-after on a silver platter. They should be thrilled to have their little trio forever.

But I barely made it to the door before Carson charged after me, blocking my path. "Xandra!"

I kept walking.

"Xandra, stop right there, damn it!" His voice was hoarse, racked with coughs.

I turned, wondering what the hell he wanted. With his frail body, I half-expected him to keel over and pin the blame on me.

Carson's face was smug, his eyes glinting with triumph. "Mom's already agreed to let me bond to Willow. So you can quit dreaming about me, Xandra. Longevity saint? Please. It's just a cheap trick you cooked up to climb the social ladder. Bet you even paid off that quack who said I was dying, huh?"

Oh, really? Funny, because in my last life, he sure didn't mind crawling into my bed every night, relentless like it was his job. Back then, I thought it was love. Later, I realized he was just testing if I could really keep him alive-for Willow's sake. What a wolf.

I stared at him, calm as a summer breeze. "Congrats, then."

Carson blinked, thrown off by how chill I was. "Go ahead and play it cool. I know you're scheming to sabotage me and Willow. Newsflash: it ain't happening!"

Then he started hacking, his coughs rattling his chest.

I smirked. "Worry about yourself, Carson. Keep your cool and maybe you won't drop dead on your bond night."

His face twisted with rage. He lunged to slap me, but I dodged, and he ate dirt, sprawling on the floor, too weak to get up.

Yuri, who'd been watching like it was a damn soap opera, finally stepped in, motioning for someone to haul Carson away.

Then he turned to me, his dark eyes locking onto mine like a predator.

His first words made my fists clench. "Xandra, why won't you bond to me? You're reborn too, aren't you?"

I stared at him, shocked, my hands trembling with hate for this wolf. In this new life, I wanted nothing to do with Carson-let fate deal with him. But Yuri? I wanted to grind him into dust. In my last life, he played me for three years, earning my trust so I'd willingly let them drain my blood. He had me so fooled that I fell for him, only to end up strapped to an operating table, watching my life bleed out as I aged from eighteen to eighty in hours.

I heard their cheers as Willow woke up, while I lay there, waiting for death.

My blood only bought her a temporary reprieve, though. To keep her conscious, Yuri raided our pack, rounded up every last person, and locked them in a secret lab, turning them into living blood banks. All so he could harvest a bowl of fresh blood daily to keep Willow awake.

To hide the hate burning in my eyes, I looked down. "I don't know what you're talking about. We've never even met. Why would I bond to you?"

Yuri let out a relieved sigh. To him, no memories of my past life meant I was an easy mark.

He grabbed my hand, just like he did a million times before, all smooth and charming. "Xandra, I fell for you the moment I saw you. Love at first sight. Don't push me away. Bond to me, please?"

I yanked my hand back, covering my mouth to keep from gagging. I looked into his fake, lovesick eyes, wondering why he still wouldn't leave me alone.

"No thanks. I'm done with bond for good."