Chapter 1

After my rebirth, I severed all ties with my Alpha mate, Damien.

In my previous life, I spent six months pushing myself through grueling combat training I wasn't suited for just to attend the Alpha Academy with him, leaving my body covered in scars.

This time, I tore up the admission offer and headed to the Royal Lycan Academy of Healing in Europe instead.

Years later, I returned to the pack to hold my mating ceremony with my second chance mate—the Alpha King, the most powerful werewolf in existence.

Damien knelt outside the pack house, his eyes bloodshot. "Please, just give me another chance. Love me again..."

I am the daughter of the Blackwood Pack’s Alpha, and my mate, Damien, is the Alpha heir of the neighboring Shadowcrest Pack.

We grew up training and playing together. When other pups mocked me for being weak, he was the first to defend me. When I got hurt during training, he would gently dress my wounds.

When our wolves awakened at eighteen, we were matched as mates.

Everyone said we were a match made in heaven.

I believed them.

But during our senior year of high school, Damien returned from a border patrol after rescuing an Omega named Sarah from rogues.

She was beautiful, appearing as fragile and innocent as a doe.

Two months later, Damien finally made his decision.

"Elena, let's break the mate bond. My wolf might have chosen you, but that's just instinct. I've never actually loved you, Elena. You've always just been like a sister to me."

"Besides, Sarah needs my protection more than you do."

That night, I cried until I was completely exhausted.

My wolf howled inside me, unable to accept the betrayal.

My parents were heartbroken for me. The next day, my father used all of the Blackwood Pack's influence and resources to pressure the Shadowcrest Pack.

The Shadowcrest elders were furious and threw Damien into the dungeon.

Sarah was forcibly exiled and sent to a remote, distant pack.

A week later, news arrived that the transport convoy had been ambushed by rogues. Sarah had been killed in the chaos.

When I heard the news, I was overwhelmed with guilt.

I only wanted her gone; I never wanted her dead.

Damien completely spiraled after hearing of her death.

When he was released from the dungeon, his eyes were hollow. He wouldn't eat or speak, moving like a shell of a person.

I watched him waste away, and it felt like a knife to my heart.

I stayed by his side every day.

I cooked for him, even though he wouldn't touch the food.

I talked to him, even though he never responded.

I held him and comforted him when he woke up from nightmares.

Six months passed, and Damien still hadn't improved.

I heard of a legendary medicine in the Far North—Moonlight Herb—said to heal any wound, whether physical or spiritual.

I crossed the frozen wastelands, nearly dying several times, before I finally found it.

The moment Damien drank the medicine, light returned to his eyes.

He looked at me and slowly offered a tender smile.

"Elena." His voice was raspy, but it was the first time he had said my name in six months.

That night, in a small cabin atop the snowy mountains, Damien marked me.

We returned to the pack and had a massive wedding.

Everyone congratulated us, saying we had passed the ultimate test and finally found our happy ending.

Our married life was peaceful and happy. Damien was very gentle with me.

My only sorrow was that I couldn't get pregnant.

Damien told me he didn't mind.

We adopted a boy named Ethan.

I poured all my maternal love into Ethan, treating him as my own flesh and blood.

However, when Ethan was fifteen, I suffered from sudden silver poisoning. As I lay weak in bed, Damien walked in holding Sarah’s hand.

My mind went blank.

My son, Ethan, rushed out from the study and threw himself into Sarah’s arms.

"Mom! You're finally back! I missed you so much!"

Mom?

I felt like my heart was being ripped out.

"Elena, let me introduce you." Damien wrapped his arm around Sarah’s waist, his voice dripping with mockery. "This is my true Luna, Sarah. And in case you haven't realized, she’s Ethan’s biological mother."

His eyes were filled with pure hatred.

"Did you really wonder why you could never have children? I've been lacing your food with silver for years."

My tears wouldn't stop falling.

"Why... why would you do this?"

Damien’s eyes turned blood red.

"Because you used your status as the Alpha’s daughter to try and kill Sarah! You forced her to fake her death and go into hiding! You ruined our lives!"

He leaned down and whispered in my ear.

"Do you know where your parents are right now? The silver dungeons. Your brother Lucas is there, too. They were locked up three months ago. Don't worry, none of you murderers are getting away with this."

With that, he injected the final dose of silver into my body. I died in agony, consumed by resentment.

But when I opened my eyes again, I was back at the exact moment eighteen-year-old Damien first told me he wanted to break our mate bond.

I snapped my eyes open and realized I was sitting in my familiar high school classroom.

"Elena! Stop giving Sarah a hard time!"

Damien’s voice broke through my thoughts.

I looked up and saw him standing at the classroom door, shielding the blonde girl, Sarah. His eyes were full of defensiveness and disgust.

Sarah kept her head down, her shoulders trembling slightly as if she had been deeply wronged.

Seeing Damien holding Sarah so closely made my heart tighten, and a sharp pain spread through my chest.

Even though I had been reborn, even though I already knew how this man would betray me, abandon me, and eventually kill me, my heart still ached for him.

Damn this mate bond.

I gripped the straps of my backpack, my fingers shaking slightly.

"Elena!" Damien raised his voice, clearly angry that I was ignoring him. "I'm talking to you! Why did you push Sarah in the hallway today? She’s just an Omega; she can't handle your bullying."

"Since you’re seeing this now, I’ll be blunt. Elena, I’ve never loved you. My wolf might recognize you as my mate, but Sarah is the only one in my heart."