Chapter 1

Evelyn Jackson's reaction and her choice planted a thought in my mind.

'Was she reborn too?'

Obviously, the look on her face had already given her away.

The Alpha family had only sent their butler to pick me up.

There was no welcoming ceremony or celebration.

It had been the same in my previous life. The orphanage director had let us choose our own adoptive families.

Evelyn had wanted nothing more than a life of wealth and luxury.

She deliberately lured me away beforehand. By the time I returned, she was already sitting inside the Alpha family's luxury car.

Looking at me through the window, she had declared arrogantly, "Natalie, it's all fate."

She had gotten exactly what she wanted.

Every day she flaunted her life. One day the Alpha presented her with an expensive cashmere sweater. The next, the family hosted a lavish coming-of-age banquet in her honor.

Wherever she went, bodyguards surrounded her, and luxury cars chauffeured her around.

It only lasted three short years. She was soon expelled from the pack and brutally killed by rogues in the wilderness.

On the way to the Alpha estate, the butler explained the family's rules to me.

His gaze was cold and piercing. It felt hard for me to even breathe.

"I remember it all," I replied while forcing myself to remain calm.

Soon, the car passed through the forest, and the driver led me into a magnificent estate.

The front doors stood open when we arrived.

Portraits of every previous Alpha hung along the walls.

The moment I stepped inside, a massive figure lunged at me.

Instinctively, I stumbled backward, but the wolf was too fast. He slammed me to the ground and pinned me beneath him.

His overwhelming aura kept me on the ground.

His claws tore across my arm and left bloody scratches. I gasped in pain.

"Stop!" A beautiful shewolf shouted.

She hurried over and helped me to my feet. "Are you all right?"

I shook my head and watched as the wolf shifted back into his human form. He had distinct facial features, and he carried the lingering pressure of an Alpha who hadn't fully withdrawn his aura.

"How boring," he scoffed.

I recognized him immediately. He was Oscar Hammer, the Alpha family's sole heir. He was a prodigy who had awakened his wolf spirit before the age of eighteen.

But in my previous life, he had been attacked by rogues during the Spring Hunt. After that day, he had never been able to shift into his wolf form again.

Stripped of his wolf form, he became violent and hot-tempered. He eventually cut ties with his family.

The Alpha family was plunged into a prolonged succession crisis.

Covering the wound on my arm, I walked over to him.

Holding back the irritation inside me, I said, "Hello, Oscar."

His expression froze for a moment before he let out a mocking laugh.

"So you've already learned how to suck up to people?"

His gaze swept over me. "Don't think that just because you've joined this family, you'll be taking my place as heir."

I smiled. "Don't worry. I'm not interested in your position."

What interested me were the Alpha family's knowledge and resources.

Everything that had taken me over ten years to obtain in my previous life had now been placed directly in front of me.

Why would I refuse such a shortcut?

This time, I was certain I could go much farther in life than before.