Chapter 1

"Grace, I'm turning down your invitation. I already promised Lilith the opening dance."

Darian shook off my hand without hesitation and walked toward Lilith.

Whispers rippled through the crowd — mocking me for being rejected after asking my own fated mate to dance.

But none of them knew how happy I was.

Because I had been reborn.

I was back at my twenty-second birthday ball.

I was the only daughter of the Stone Creek Pack Alpha, and Darian was my fiancé.

In everyone's eyes, I was the spoiled, clingy girl who had trapped Darian against his will.

Darian thought so too.

So even though we were fated mates, he never spared me a second glance.

In my past life, he had done the exact same thing at this very ball — shaken off my hand in front of everyone and walked straight to Lilith.

I had begged him to stay. He never looked back.

I became a laughingstock.

When Darian's parents found out, they were furious. They scolded him and ordered him to complete the marking ceremony with me immediately.

On the day of the ceremony, Lilith left a suicide note and threw herself off a cliff.

From that day on, Darian saw me as the one who killed Lilith.

He wanted revenge.

In public, he played the devoted husband.

Behind closed doors, he destroyed me piece by piece — drove my parents to their deaths and killed my unborn child.

After my parents died, he became the new Alpha of the Stone Creek Pack.

I begged to dissolve the mate bond countless times. He refused every single one.

He said he wanted me to suffer forever.

For twenty years, I lived in complete despair.

Finally, the last time he threw me into the sea, I stopped fighting.

They pulled me out, but I still died in that freezing treatment room.

The bitter irony — as I lay dying, the TV showed Darian and Lilith embracing at an airport.

Lilith had never died. She was alive and thriving, a bestselling author.

The world was moved by their reunion, showering them with blessings.

Only I died with nothing but regret.

This time around, I would stay far from Darian, protect my parents, and live.

Under the stunned gazes of the crowd, I turned and walked toward the young man sitting alone in the corner.

"Hi. Would you do me the honor of the opening dance, Alex?"

Before Alex could respond, I took his hand and led him to the center of the dance floor.

Gasps erupted around us.

"Did she just grab Alex's hand?"

"Doesn't Grace only have eyes for Darian? Why is she asking another man to dance?"

"When Alex realizes what happened, he'll rip her arm off!"

"Obviously — everyone knows the Blaze Pack Alpha is a cold-blooded killer."

"I heard he once killed a maid just for saying the wrong thing!"

"Shut up! If he hears you, you're dead!"

I leaned close to Alex's ear and whispered, "Is any of that true?"