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They All Looked Down on the Crow Heir. I Chose Him as My Mate After Rebirth.
Novelix
new
Completed
Last life, my fox sister Lara was the Dragon Prince’s mate, while I was only his concubine. I gave him more pups, and mine had stronger bloodlines. The Dragon Lord praised me, and the whole Dragon Clan respected me. Lara was ignored. Jealous, she stabbed me again and again while I was giving birth, killing me and the pups inside me. Then I was reborn. Lara still chose the Dragon Prince, dreaming of becoming the most honored female in the realm. But this time, I chose the Crow heir everyone looked down on.
Chapters (3)
第1章
In the Fox Clan, every female chooses her breeding trait when she comes of age.
When it was our turn, Father gave Lara and me two choices.
The Bloodline Trait means stronger bloodlines and higher-ranked pups.
The Litter Trait means more pups with every birth.
Lara chose the Bloodline Trait without hesitation, leaving the Litter Trait to me.
Then she became Drake's mate, the Dragon Prince, while I became his concubine. Whenever she couldn't satisfy him, he turned to me instead.
A year passed.
The Bloodline Trait had done nothing for Lara. Her pups were all black, the lowest rank among dragons.
Mine were different. With my Litter Trait, I gave Drake more pups than any dragon family had seen in years.
My standing in the Dragon Clan rose far above Lara's.
Lara couldn't stand it.
The next time I gave birth, she came to me with a blade, drove it into my stomach, and kept twisting until she killed me and every pup inside me.
Then I opened my eyes and found myself back on the day Father gave us those two choices.
--
Two orbs of violet light float in front of Lara and me.
Father has chosen the two traits himself, the strongest and the weakest, so no one can accuse him of playing favorites between his daughters.
"The Bloodline Trait and the Litter Trait," Father says. "Your choice."
Before the words are fully out, Lara's hand shoots toward the Litter Trait.
Father's face tightens. He coughs once.
"The Bloodline Trait activates the ancient blood. Pups born from it will always rank higher than their parents."
He lets that land, then adds, "The Litter Trait produces more pups, yes. But the bloodline can be weaker. Those pups may even rank lower than both parents."
In the Fox Clan, your blood rank shows in the color of your fur. The brighter the fur, the higher the rank.
Fox females are the most wanted mates in the realm because of their birth traits.
Father is trying to get Lara to choose the Bloodline Trait without making it look like he's favoring me.
Lara catches me watching Father, and he looks away.
"Lara's older," he says. "Let her choose first."
He always does this. Favoring her because she looks more like him, because she's louder and easier to love.
In my last life, that would have hurt. This time, I just wait, calm and unbothered.
The moment Lara reaches for the Litter Trait, I know.
She came back too.
In my last life, she'd held the Bloodline Trait over me like a crown.
"Only rabbits brag about having that many pups," she'd said, nose in the air. "You should be ashamed, Seren."
Now here she is, reaching for exactly that.
Sure enough, even after everything Father said, Lara wraps her fingers around the Litter Trait without hesitation.
"I think having lots of pups sounds wonderful," she says. "More is more."
The violet light sinks into her and settles.
She rolls her shoulders, satisfied, then looks at me with the smile she uses when she thinks she's already won.
"See how good I am to you?" she says. "I left you the better one."
"Thank you," I say, and mean none of it.
I smile back, then add, "Just make sure you take care of yourself. Carrying that many pups at once is hard on the body."
Lara's smile doesn't waver. She loops her arm through mine and pulls me toward the doors.
"You should worry about yourself," she says. "If no one wants you as a mate, you might never have any pups at all."
The males from every clan are waiting on the other side.
The moment we step through, the room shifts. Every head turns.
"Which birth traits did you choose?" someone calls out.
Lara doesn't spare a glance at any of them.
Chin up, chest out, she walks straight past every male in the hall and stops at Drake's side.
Drake, the Dragon Prince, was a white dragon with one of the highest-ranked bloodlines in the Dragon Clan.
Lara has wanted to become the most respected female in the realm since she was a child.
These days, the ancient bloodlines are slowly fading, and the Dragon Clan has become the most respected clan.
At every clan gathering, Lara sticks to Drake's side, always trying to please him.
Drake promised weeks ago that he'd come for her the day she came of age and take her home as his mate.
She slips under his arm, soft eyes, softer voice.
"I chose the Litter Trait, Drake. I want to give you all the pups you could ever want."
Drake laughs and pulls her closer, then gives Father a lazy glance.
"Lara and I have always belonged together. From today, she's my mate."
Then his eyes slide to me.
"The Litter Trait is the lowest-ranked," he says, looking at me. "So the Bloodline Trait went to you?"
第2章
In my last life, he came for Lara, but he also had his eye on the Bloodline Trait, hoping to sire a golden pup and win the Dragon Lord's favor, securing his place as heir.
Now that Lara has chosen the trait he wants, he takes her with him and turns to leave.
"Wait," Lara says, catching his arm. She looks up at him, soft-eyed. "I can't just leave Seren here. Bring her with us. She can keep me company."
Keep me company. That's one way to put it.
Drake looks me over like I'm not worth the trouble.
No one dares go up against the Dragon Clan.
Even as the Fox Chief's daughter, the best I could have hoped for was to be his concubine. Always below Lara.
"The Bloodline Trait is worthless anyway," Lara adds, pouting. "Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. It doesn't actually work."
I almost laugh.
She had no idea what the Bloodline Trait actually did.
As long as the male carried even a trace of ancient blood, the pups born from the Bloodline Trait would always rank higher than their parents.
And the Litter Trait didn't just produce more pups. It also diluted both parents' bloodlines, and carrying so many pups drained the mother's body of nutrients, causing irreversible damage.
Lara thought she'd outsmarted me. She had no idea.
Drake glances at Father.
"Is that true?"
Father looks at me. Then at Lara. Then somewhere to the left of both of us.
"The Bloodline Trait is little more than a legend," he says. "No female in our clan has ever proven it works. I wouldn't put too much stock in it."
He didn't want me near Drake. Didn't want two daughters competing for the same male in front of every clan in the realm. Easier to bury the trait than to deal with what came after.
Fine by me. I didn't want Drake anyway.
I turn toward the Wolf Clan's heir. Last time, I almost became his mate.
"Actually," Lara says, her voice carrying across the hall, "Seren has already been with the Crow Clan's heir."
"She's just too embarrassed to admit it."
"She even keeps one of his feathers by her pillow."
I spin around, stunned. Lara's eyes are already on me, sharp and satisfied.
She mouths the words slowly: You and that filthy Crow deserve each other.
The hall goes quiet. Then it doesn't.
"She was with him before she even came of age?"
"The Crow Clan? She has a thing for crows?"
The Crow Clan had always been seen as a bad omen. An unlucky clan. One that other clans looked down on and pushed around without a second thought.
Father doesn't even bother to ask if it's true. A golden whip forms in his grip, and he brings it down across my body before I can say a word.
"You shameless girl!"
The Wolf heir takes one step back. The look on his face says everything.
The rest of the hall erupts in whispers.
"She was already seeing someone before her coming-of-age ceremony?"
"I thought she seemed decent. Turns out she's into crows."
I press my hand over my arm where the whip caught me. Blood seeps through my fingers.
Before I can say a word, a male steps forward. Tall, dark-feathered, with a stillness that didn't match the noise around him.
Cael, the Crow Clan's young lord.
"I have never met Seren before today," he says, his voice steady enough to cut through the murmuring. "These claims have no basis. You don't get to slander a female without proof."
Lara laughs softly. "And yet here he is, defending her. Still going to tell me there's nothing going on?"
She nods once. Two maids disappear through a side door and return with a fistful of black feathers.
"The Crow Clan's feathers are unmistakable. These were found right beside her bed. Care to explain?"
I look at Cael. He looks at me. We have never spoken a word to each other in this life or the last. The shock on his face mirrors mine.
I know exactly where those feathers came from.
The Dragon Lord's birthday feast, last year. Drake had arranged for Crow Clan members to be ambushed on the road, their feathers singed in open flame while he laughed.
Lara had made me watch.
Cael's situation had felt too familiar. I couldn't look away then. I knew what it was like to be the one everyone pushed around.
She'd kept those feathers all this time. She'd been planning this since then.
I take a breath and pull my hands into fists, ready to speak.
My own maid drops to her knees in front of Father.
"Chief, forgive me," she says, voice shaking. "I helped them meet. Every month, I covered for her. I didn't know how to refuse."
I look up. Lara's mouth curls at the corner.
In an instant I understand.
Even if the Bloodline Trait had failed her, she wasn't about to let me become the mate of a powerful clan's heir.
And this way, she'd also killed any chance of Drake taking me as a concubine.
Father's face goes dark.
"Seren." His voice is flat and final. "Two choices. Take your own life here and preserve what's left of this clan's name. Or take ninety-nine lashes and leave. You will no longer be my daughter."
Lara watches from Drake's side with the look of someone enjoying a show they've already seen the ending of.
I look down at the feathers in the maid's hands.
At the right angle, there's a thread of gold running through the black.
I think of the story my mother told me before she died.
The Fox Clan has no place for me. Fine. I'll find my own.
My eyes find Cael's.
"I'll take the lashes," I say. "Cael. Will you take me as your mate?"
第3章
Cael's eyes meet mine. He looks a little embarrassed, but his voice doesn't waver.
"I am not worthy of you," he says. "But if you're willing to have me, I will protect you with everything I have. I won't let you suffer."
Lara laughs right in my face.
"A crow," she says. "He can barely protect himself. The Dragon Clan could wipe out his entire clan without breaking a sweat."
"And even if you do have the Bloodline Trait, the best you'd get is a golden crow. Not even worth the dirt under my dragon pups' claws."
I don't look at her.
I walk onto the platform.
My mother was Father's concubine, but she was also the Fox Clan's Oracle.
She once told me about an ancient divine bird called the Golden Roc.
"Golden Rocs were fierce," she told me. "They could travel thousands of miles in a day, and they fed on dragons."
"Only birds descended from the Golden Roc bloodline could have gold in their feathers."
And now, looking at Cael's feathers, black with streaks of gold, the answer is obvious.
I have the Bloodline Trait. Our pups might not be any weaker than Lara and Drake's after all.
Cael steps forward and catches my arm.
"Let me take the lashes," he says, looking at Father. "I'll take them in her place."
Father's expression doesn't change.
"Fox Clan law doesn't bend," he says. "Step aside."
Cael's jaw tightens. He lets go.
The first lash hits before I'm ready. Father doesn't hold back. Not once. All ninety-nine lashes land hard.
By the time I reach thirty, I stop counting and just breathe.
Lara stands behind me, laughing as I take each lash.
"Come on," she says. "Just die already."
She's thinking about my last life.
The standing I'd built in the Dragon Clan, the favor I'd earned, how far above her I'd climbed.
She wants to make sure none of that happens again.
When Father speaks, his voice sounds very far away.
"Seren of the Fox Clan. From this day, you are no longer my daughter. You are no longer Fox Clan. Leave and don't come back."
Then the ground comes up to meet me.
...
I wake up to the smell of herbs.
Cool. Something pressed against my back that feels like bandages soaked in something cold.
The ceiling above me is dark wood and carved beams. Not Fox Clan.
Crow Clan.
Cael comes through the door a moment later. His face goes red the second he sees me awake.
"The medicine," he starts. "It was the maids who changed your bandages. I didn't— I wouldn't—"
Compared to Drake, who never thought twice about taking what he wanted, Cael was almost painfully decent.
It makes me want to tease him.
I let the corner of my mouth pull up. "We're mates. Why wouldn't you want to?"
"I do want to," he says immediately, then catches himself. "I mean, I'm not— that's not—"
"Are you having second thoughts?"
"No." No hesitation at all. "Never."
The door opens before I can say anything else. A warrior steps in and holds out a gold envelope.
I've been out for over a month. Long enough for Drake and Lara to become mates. Long enough for her to be carrying his pup.
This invitation is Drake's way of making sure every clan in the realm knows it.
Cael takes the envelope and sets it aside without opening it.
"We don't have to go," he says. "You need to rest. I'll find a way to send our regrets."
I reach over and pick it up.
"We're going," I say. "There's still a show to watch."
