The Life I Lost.

Rebecca’s Pov

I believe that the chest is going to be so fast.

The stench of blood and copper is overpowering, and the cold air bites my flesh. As Davis's wife, I recall standing in our large bedroom.

I recall staring at Harper, the lady Davis had a romantic interest in prior to our families pressuring him to wed me. "You truly thought he desired you?"

Harper asked, laughing in a voice as icy as ice, while staring at me with hard, frigid eyes and whispering something that stabbed me more deeply than a knife.

"You were simply a business deal. a link between two packs. You were never loved by Davis. He won't ever.

Then came the flash of pain, the burning in my chest, and the heavy darkness pulling me down. I remember the cold floor against my cheek and the heavy gold ring on my finger—the symbol of a marriage built on lies. I closed my eyes, wishing I had never met Davis Draven, wishing I had chosen a different life.

Except... the darkness didn't keep me.

Suddenly, I gasp for air. My eyes snap wide open. The smell of blood is gone. Instead, I smell sweet lavender and fresh vanilla—the exact scent of my bedroom when I was nineteen years old.

"What... what is happening?" I whisper, my voice shaking.

I scramble backward, my hands scraping against soft cotton sheets. This isn't the grand, cold master suite at the Draven Pack estate. This is my old room in my family’s luxury apartment in the city. The walls are painted a soft cream color, my favorite books are stacked neatly on the wooden desk, and my fluffy white rug is right where it has always been.

My heart hammers against my ribs, but this time it is from pure shock. I throw the blankets off and run across the cold floor to the tall mirror by my closet.

I freeze. The girl staring back at me has wide, terrified green eyes, smooth skin without a single trace of worry lines, and long dark hair falling over her shoulders. There are no bags under my eyes from years of crying over a husband who wouldn't look at me. There is no heavy gold wedding ring on my left hand.

I hold my hands up to the glass and touch my face. "I'm young," I gasp, tears spilling over my eyelashes. "I'm actually young again."

The door to my room flies open, and a bright light spills in. A young man with messy brown hair and sleepy eyes stumbles into the doorway, rubbing his face. It’s my brother, Julian. Back in my first life, he got mixed up in bad pack politics and made choices we all regretted. But right now, he looks healthy, safe, and only seventeen years old.

"Rebecca?" Aevrion mumbles, yawning loudly. "Why are you screaming? Do you know what time it is? It is like three in the morning."

I stare at him, a fresh wave of hot tears burning my eyes. He is alive. My brother is right here, breathing and whole. Without even thinking, I run across the room and throw my arms around his neck, hugging him so tight he stumbles backward.

"Whoa! Hey! What is wrong with you?" Aevrion complains, though he wraps his arms around me anyway, patting my back awkwardly. "Did you have a bad dream or something?"

"You're alive," I sob into his shoulder, my voice cracking. "Oh, Aevrion you're really here."

"Of course I'm here, where else would I be?" he asks, pulling back to look at me like I have lost my mind. He reaches out and wipes a tear from my cheek with his thumb. "You're burning up, Rivi. Are you sick? Should I go get Mom and Dad?"

"No!" I say quickly, shaking my head. "No, don't wake them. I'm fine. Just... a really bad dream. Go back to bed, Julian. Please."

Aevrion looks at me for a long moment, suspicious, but he is too tired to argue. "Okay, fine. But if you scream again, I'm telling Dad."

He shuffles back out into the hallway and closes my bedroom door. I stand alone in the quiet room, the silence wrapping around me like a blanket. I walk back to the mirror and look deep into my own eyes. It wasn't a dream. I died, but somehow, time turned backward. I have been given a second chance.

Three whole years before my parents even introduced me to Davis Draven. Three years before I agreed to let our packs join together. Three years before I ruined my entire life for a man who looked at me like I was a piece of furniture.

I grip the edge of the dark wood dresser so hard my knuckles turn completely white. My reflection looks back at me, but the fear in my eyes is quickly turning into something else. Something hot and fierce.

"Never again," I whisper to the empty room, my voice steady and cold. "I will never let him trap me. I will never wear his ring. Davis Draven will never touch my heart again."