Sunlight streamed through the lace curtains of my window, illuminating dust motes dancing in the air. My canopy bed, with its familiar carved oak posts, stood solid and real around me.
I scrambled out of bed, my legs trembling so hard I nearly collapsed. I stumbled to the full-length mirror hanging on my wardrobe.
The face that stared back wasn't the broken, defeated woman from my memories.
It was me. At twenty years old.
My hair, a cascade of dark waves, was untouched by fire. My skin was pale but unmarred. My eyes, wide with a dawning, terrifying realization, were clear. On my left wrist, the small, crescent-moon-shaped birthmark was exactly where it should be.
It was real.
A wave of nausea churned in my stomach. I had died. I remembered the searing agony as our pack hall collapsed, the betrayal in my fated mate's eyes because he thought I was the traitor. I remember the one I chose myself, the so-called lover-Jarrod Rodgers-smiling as he thrust the dagger into my guardian's chest. It was the dagger given to me by my destined partner. Then, Karla finished me with a goblet of poisoned wine.
I was dead.
And now, I was not.
I was reborn.
My gaze drifted to the calendar on my writing desk. The date was circled in red ink. My union ceremony with Alpha Gavin Carlisle of the Stonefang Pack. It was one week away.
I had come back to the week it all began.
The week my life, my pack, my entire world was set on a path to annihilation.
The union was meant to be our salvation, a powerful alliance to protect our lands. Instead, it became our downfall. Weakened by internal strife stirred up by Karla and Jarrod, our pack became easy prey for our enemies. Gavin, my powerful, distant mate, never trusted me. A memory flashed-his cold, silver eyes as I tried to warn him about Jarrod, the disbelief and suspicion that shuttered his face. He thought I was the one playing games. And I, poisoned by Jarrod's whispers, never trusted him back. We died as strangers, bound by a fate we both resented, a chasm of unspoken words and fatal misunderstandings between us until the very end.
A cold, hard fury I had never known in my first life settled deep in my bones. It pushed out the fear, the confusion, the grief. It was a chilling, clarifying force.
My fingers curled into fists, my nails digging so deep into my palms that I felt the sharp sting of pain. It was grounding. Real.
This time would be different.
There was only one way to save my pack, to save my family, to avenge my own death.
I had to stop the union.
I had to formally, publicly, 'Reject' Alpha Gavin Carlisle.
The thought sent a tremor of pure terror through me, a primal fear of the spiritual agony it would cause. Rejecting a fated mate was an affront to the Moon Goddess herself. The pain was said to be like having your soul torn in two.
But it was nothing compared to the fires of my memory.
A plan began to form, sharp and clear in my mind. I had a week. Seven days. Enough time to gather evidence, to subtly turn the elders, to convince my grandmother, Matriarch Cordie, that this alliance was a mistake. I held all the cards. I knew their every move.
A sense of calm, of control, washed over me. I had the script. Time was on my side.
A frantic knocking shattered the silence of my room.
"Come in," I called, my voice steadier than I expected.
My personal maid, Clara, burst in without waiting for a second invitation. Her face was pale, her eyes wide with a panic that had nothing to do with my usual morning routine.
"My lady," she gasped, her chest heaving. "Forgive the intrusion, but... visitors."
I felt a prickle of unease. "What visitors?"
"The envoys from the Stonefang Pack," she stammered, her voice trembling. "They... they are here."
The blood drained from my face. The calm I had felt moments ago evaporated like mist.
"What did you say?" My voice was a low whisper. "They aren't due until next week."
Clara shook her head, wringing her hands. "They've arrived a full week early, my lady. An official delegation, led by Alpha Gavin's personal emissary. They've already passed the outer checkpoints. They are at the manor gates, awaiting a formal welcome."
The room tilted.
I gripped the edge of my vanity table to keep from falling, the polished wood digging into my fingers.
A week. I was supposed to have a week.
My plans, my carefully constructed strategy, my confidence-all of it shattered in a single, brutal moment.
They were here. Now.
I had no time to lay the groundwork, no time to persuade my grandmother, no time to gather proof of the vipers nesting in our home. I had to face them, completely unprepared, and somehow fight a battle I had planned to win through careful maneuvering.
The game had changed before I even had a chance to make my first move.
I took a deep, shuddering breath, forcing the panic down. Then another. The cold fury from before returned, icing over the terror.
I met my own eyes in the mirror, watching the frightened gaze harden into something as cold and unbreakable as ice.
"Clara," I said, my voice low and even. "Help me dress."
She blinked, startled by my sudden composure. "Of course, my lady. The blue silk? It's your finest-"
"No," I cut her off. "The plain white linen gown. The simplest one I own."
In our traditions, white was for ceremonies, yes. But it was also the color of mourning. Of refusal.
Clara looked confused but nodded, scurrying to the wardrobe. "As you wish, my lady."
As she laid out the dress, memories of my first life flickered. The lavish gifts the Stonefang envoys had brought. The magnificent dresses, the jewels. How naively I had accepted them, thrilled by the attention, blind to the cage being built around me.
I walked to the window, pushing aside the curtain. Far below, at the end of the long, winding drive, I could see them. A small, disciplined party of wolves in human form, standing before our massive iron gates. Above them, a banner snapped in the wind.
The black wolf's head of the Stonefang Pack.
It looked like a predator, poised to devour us. It looked like it was laughing at me.
No, a voice inside me whispered, fierce and unyielding. I am not helpless.
Even if the board was thrown into chaos, I would be the one to set the pieces right.
I turned from the window.
I smoothed down the simple white fabric of my dress. Then, I walked towards the door, each step deliberate and heavy.
I step into this new life with unwavering certainty. Starting with my rejection of the arranged marriage, I believe there will always be a way to stop me and my pack from heading towards death.
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