Chapter 1

I froze where I stood.

On this day in my previous life, Grandpa told me he was headed to the Valen Keep to read the moon and restrain a rogue wolf spirit. He said it was just one night's work and promised he'd be home soon.

I waited until one in the morning. Then the city morgue called to tell me my grandfather was dead and asked me to identify and claim his body.

I went completely numb. All I could think about was the way he'd stood at the door before he left, his hands trembling as he held out a bowl of my favorite hot berry soup.

Smiling, he'd said, "After this job, I'm done working for the packs. I'm finally retiring. I'll stay home and spend my days with my little Ivy. How does that sound?"

Back then, I naively believed Grandpa was only going to perform an ordinary moon blessing.

I never imagined he'd use the Blood Moon Ritual—the most forbidden rite of the Blackmoon wizards—to pour his own lifeblood into Damian's wolf spirit. One life for another. He believed his sacrifice would buy me a safe, secure future.

He had no idea that the Valens had already hired a moon seer to read the future.

They advised that Grandpa's bloodline was the purest of its kind, making him the perfect vessel to bear the eclipse curse tormenting Damian.

The curse suppressed a werewolf's healing, turning even a minor fall into a crippling injury.

If silver poison entered the body, it would slowly eat away at the wolf spirit itself.

The more miserable and powerless my life became, the easier it would be for Mrs. Valen to control the pack.

The stronger her grip became, the more secure the pack's power, territory, and business empire would be.

Grandpa and I had never been anything but sacrifices for the Valens to use and throw away.

The sight of Grandpa's stooped back filled me with a surge of hatred.

I kicked the wooden door open and shouted, "Grandpa, I'm not marrying him!"

Both Grandpa and Mrs. Valen froze in shock.

They knew I'd been in love with Damian Valen for as long as they could remember. Ever since my grandmother worked as the housekeeper at Valen Keep, I'd secretly loved him.

I'd wasted twenty years loving the man who would destroy my entire family.

Now that I'd refused to marry him, they all assumed the blood moon had driven me insane.

Mrs. Valen shot me a disdainful look.

"Have you really thought this through? Don't come crawling back later, kneeling in the snow and begging Damian to mark you as his mate."

"Please," I let out a cold laugh. "Your grandson will be the one crawling from the foot of the mountain to the summit, begging me to put on his ring."

I wasn't the one about to die. Damian was. He should've been treating Grandpa and me like royalty, not acting like he was above us.

"You b... !"

Mrs. Valen's face turned crimson with rage. She spun on her heel and stormed down the mountain with the others. She was convinced I'd come crawling back within days, begging them to take me in.

Grandpa looked at me and sighed.

"Sweetheart, I'm an old man. I won't be around forever. If the one you love can give you a safe, comfortable life after I'm gone, that's all I could ever ask for."

The sight of Grandpa alive and unharmed made my nose sting. I shook my head.

"Grandpa, I don't want to trade your life for my happiness. I want you to stay with me a little longer.

"However many years fate gives us, we'll make the most of them."

Tears glistened in Grandpa's eyes. Right then, I made myself a promise. This time, I'd protect our family no matter what.

And for everything the Valens had done to us in my last life, I'd repay them twice over.

In my last life, all I ever cared about was Damian. I never learned the magic Grandpa wanted to pass down, leaving his legacy with no one to inherit it.

This time, I devoted myself to learning it.

Reading the moon. Calming wolf spirits. Placing silver wards. Casting moon-shadow doubles. Reversing blood-pact backlash. Brewing wolfsbane potions...

Forbidden or not, I learned it all.

I wasn't doing it to become someone's perfect wife. I was doing it so that one day, I'd be strong enough to stand against the Valens.

Werewolves respected strength, but they feared the ancient moon laws more. Once a witch swore a protection oath beneath the moon, any werewolf who killed her outside a lawful duel would be branded an oath-breaker. Their pups would die young. Their lands would wither. No matter how much the Valens hated me, they could only pressure, deceive, and use me. They didn't dare openly rip out my throat.

Three months into my training, word spread that Damian had slipped in his bathroom and broken his leg. He'd been rushed to the pack infirmary in the middle of the night. A healthy werewolf would've healed before sunrise, but without Grandpa suppressing the curse, Damian's bones healed even more slowly than a human's.

The next day, the Valens' butler came up the mountain overnight and pounded on our front door hard enough to shake the whole house.

"Ms. Blackmoon, are you really going to stand by and watch Mr. Valen die?

"You haven't visited him once these past few months. He misses you terribly. Even while lying unconscious in the infirmary, he keeps calling your name!"

Oh?

So that's it. Now that they know I'm not going to marry Damian, they're finally willing to swallow their pride.