CHAPTER 3 - REBORN IN FLAMES

"Aria! If you are late to training again, Alpha Zack will have your hide!"

I bolted upright in bed, my heart hammering as Jennifer, one of the orphaned she-wolves, pounded on my door. Training. Alpha Zack. The words sent ice through my veins.

"I am coming!" I called back, my voice strange in my own ears. Younger. Weaker.

I stumbled to the small mirror hanging on the wall and gasped. Staring back at me was my eighteen-year-old self—plain brown hair instead of the silver-white from my previous life, ordinary hazel eyes instead of violet, the familiar weak frame I had always hated. No Luna markings. No power.

But the memories remained crystal clear. The rejection. The poison. The death. And somehow, impossibly, I had been sent back.

"Moon Goddess, what have you done?" I whispered, gripping the edge of the mirror.

*Given you a chance to change your fate,* that ancient voice echoed in my mind. *But be warned, young Luna. The path ahead is treacherous. Some things are destined. Others you must fight to change.*

A knock interrupted my spiraling thoughts. "Aria, seriously! Alpha Zack just arrived at the training grounds. You know how he gets about punctuality!"

Right. I remembered this day. This was the day I would first meet Zack properly. The day my entire world would change. Or had changed. Or would change again?

My head spun with the implications, but I forced myself to move. I pulled on training clothes with shaking hands, my mind racing. If I was back six years, that meant Marcus was still Zack's trusted Beta. Selene was still the innocent warrior everyone admired. And I had knowledge that could save me—if I was smart enough to use it.

But how could I, when I was still this weak, pathetic version of myself?

The training grounds buzzed with activity when I arrived, deliberately keeping to the back of the crowd. My eyes found him immediately—Zack Silvermoon in his prime, barking orders at warriors twice my size. At twenty years old, he had just recently become Alpha after his father's death, and his dominance rolled off him in waves that made my knees weak.

"You are late, Moonstone."

I froze as his golden eyes locked onto me from across the grounds. The entire crowd parted as he stalked toward me with predatory grace, and I remembered with painful clarity how intimidated I had been the first time this happened.

"I apologize, Alpha," I said quickly, dropping my gaze in submission. "It will not happen again."

"Look at me when I am speaking to you." The command in his voice was absolute.

I forced my eyes up, and the moment our gazes met, I saw it—the flash of recognition that went deeper than this moment. The mate bond, not yet fully realized but already pulling at us both. In my first life, I had been too naive to understand what I was feeling. Now, with death still fresh in my memory, the bond felt like a noose tightening around my neck.

"What is your name?" he demanded, though I knew he already knew it. This was part of his dominance display, making me state it publicly.

"Aria Moonstone, Alpha."

His eyes narrowed slightly, and I realized my voice had come out steadier than it should have for a weak orphan wolf facing her Alpha for the first time. Careful, I warned myself. I could not reveal what I knew.

"Moonstone," he repeated, something flickering in his expression. "Any relation to the Moonstone bloodline?"

"My parents were Iris and Thomas Moonstone, Alpha. They died when I was fifteen." The words came easier this time, the old grief dulled by newer, sharper pains.

"The attack six years ago." Zack stepped closer, and his scent washed over me—pine and rain and dominance. My body responded instinctively, and I hated myself for it. "You survived."

"Barely," I whispered, which was true in more ways than one.

"Aria can barely shift properly," Marcus's voice cut through the moment as the Beta appeared at Zack's side. I fought to keep my expression neutral as I looked at the man who would eventually orchestrate my death. He looked so trustworthy now, with his easy smile and concerned eyes. "Perhaps she should sit out of combat training, Alpha. We would not want her injured."

"No." Zack's eyes never left my face. "Everyone in this pack learns to fight. Especially orphans without protection. Pair her with someone experienced."

"I will take her," Selene volunteered, stepping forward with a bright smile. My stomach churned as I looked at the woman who would poison me. She looked so genuinely kind, her auburn hair glowing in the sunlight. "I do not mind working with beginners."

"Fine." Zack finally looked away, and I could breathe again. "Do not go easy on her, Selene. Weakness gets you killed in this world."

If only he knew how right he was.

Selene led me to a sparring circle, her grip on my arm friendly but firm. "Do not worry, I will be gentle," she assured me. "Though Alpha Zack is right—you need to be stronger. The world is not kind to weak she-wolves."

"I know," I said quietly, watching her face for any sign of the monster beneath. But there was nothing. Just a seemingly kind warrior taking pity on a pathetic orphan.

We began sparring, and I deliberately held back, making the same clumsy mistakes I had made the first time. But inside, my mind worked furiously. I knew what was coming. I knew who would betray me. But I was still trapped in this weak body, still without power or allies.

"You are too tense," Selene instructed, correcting my stance. Her hands on my shoulders made my skin crawl. "Relax. Trust your instincts."

My instincts were screaming to run.

"Again," she commanded, and we reset.

I threw the same weak punch I had thrown before, and Selene easily blocked it. But as she countered, something strange happened. Power surged through my veins—hot and silver and absolutely wrong for where I was in the timeline. My eyes must have flashed because Selene stumbled back, genuine shock crossing her face.

"Your eyes," she breathed. "They just—did you see that, Alpha?"

I spun to find Zack watching from the edge of the circle, his expression intense and unreadable. Around us, other wolves had stopped to stare.

"What color were they?" Zack demanded, moving closer.

"Violet," Selene whispered. "Like the old Luna bloodline. But that is impossible. Aria is just an orphan."

Zack's gaze bored into mine, and I saw the exact moment everything changed. "No," he said slowly, possessively. "She is something far more interesting."