Chapter 3

Dad's eyes turned hard.

"Aria, this is not something to joke about. Have you forgotten the prophecy?"

The Luna looked at me, worried. "Did Oscar say something hurtful? He doesn't always show it, but he cares about you. He's my son. I know him."

The Alpha nodded. "The ceremony is already arranged. You can't act on a whim."

I'd expected this. And since I'd brought it up, I came prepared.

I looked at them, calm. "Don't get worked up. Hear me out."

"Oscar isn't in love with me. He's in love with Catherine."

"Tonight, the Moon Goddess will descend on Moonlight Vale. I'm going to ask her to transfer the fated mate bond from me and Oscar—to him and Catherine."

"By tomorrow morning, he'll find out Catherine is his fated mate."

"The marking ceremony can still go ahead. The disaster the prophecy warned of will never come."

Mom blurted out, "And what about you? What about you? You've loved Oscar for years."

The whole table was still reeling. They all turned to look at me, expressions impossible to read.

I held up the reassignment letter and smiled.

"I've accepted a posting from the alliance. I'm transferring to Cero City."

Cero City was the crossroads connecting every pack. No alpha ruled it. Only the alliance delegation operated out of there. It was the default location for council summits.

It was also the place where Oscar had died trying to save me.

In my last life, I'd received the same letter. I turned it down.

This time, I had no reason to stay.

The room went heavy with silence. I made my voice light.

"Honestly, I've thought it through. Better to chase what I actually want than chain myself to someone who doesn't want me. Out there, I might find someone who actually loves me."

The Luna wiped at her eyes, voice catching. "You're a good girl, Aria. Oscar just wasn't lucky enough to deserve you."

I hugged her, my own eyes burning, and laughed through the tears.

"It's okay. We're still family. To me, you've always been like a second mother."

That made her smile through her tears.

So now Task One came down to tonight.

As night fell, I went alone to the banks of Moonlight Vale.

I was early. I called out to the Moon Goddess in my heart.

She and I had an arrangement. If I ran into trouble completing my tasks, I could call for her, and she would help where she could.

Sure enough, she appeared.

I told her about the prophecy. She hesitated.

"I can transfer the fated mate bond from you and Oscar to him and Catherine. But it will leave you very weak. And for one full week, your healing ability will be gone."

I bowed slightly. "I understand. I'm willing. Please begin."

The moment I'd accepted the chance to come back ten years, I'd accepted that I would give up everything to rewrite our story.

Let him live with the woman he loved. Not bleed out from eighteen wounds in some riot.

Let me chase a wider life with a clear conscience. Not spend my days drowning in guilt.

The Moon Goddess gave a soft sigh. Then I felt something inside me start to come apart.

The feeling was hard to describe. It wasn't pain. It was worse than pain.

Like losing some essential piece of myself.

When she vanished, my face had turned deathly pale.

The moon climbed above the treetops. The hour I'd agreed on with Oscar was almost here.

I leaned against a tree and looked up at the bright, full moon. There was a quiet hope in my chest.

Tomorrow morning I'd report to my new post in Cero City. Tonight, on the banks where we'd first met, watching the moon together—it would be my way of saying goodbye.

I didn't know how long I waited. Then I heard familiar footsteps. I plastered on a bright smile and turned around.

"Oscar, you're—"

He stalked up to me, face dark, eyes burning.

"Aria. Did you tell my parents about Catherine?"

"I—"

"Do you know Catherine swallowed poison after my parents called her? She's in the ICU right now, waiting on a blood transfusion. Is this what you wanted?"