Eclipse of the Heart

When I opened my eyes again, Debra had already thrown herself into the serpent clan's arms.

"King of Beasts, I choose Patrick."

With that, she shot me a defiant look, her eyes gleaming with absolute certainty.

I knew then: she had been reborn too.

In my past life, Debra had been dead set on being the first to give birth to a half-beast, so she'd chosen the wolf clan without a second thought—the strongest of all the packs.

She suggested I pick the serpent clan, saying their pregnancy rates were higher.

I took her advice and chose Patrick.

After Patrick and I mated, I got pregnant fast. And our child was the first half-beast of the generation.

The King of Beasts immediately declared our child the next ruler.

Meanwhile, Debra kept having stillbirths.

She convinced herself it was the wolf clan's bloodline that made the babies hard to carry—so she crept into Patrick's bed in the middle of the night.

What she didn't expect was that Patrick was fiercely loyal to me. He kicked her out of bed on the spot, then summoned the entire pack to prove his innocence.

Jacob flew into a rage when he found out and dissolved their bond on the spot.

A human without a mate can barely survive in the beast world. Debra tried to latch onto other beastmen, hoping to form a new bond and reclaim her place in the pack.

But they'd only sleep with her—none of them would bond with her.

When Debra was on the verge of starving to death, I took pity on her and brought her back.

I fed her when she was starving. And how did she repay me? She poisoned my child, then shoved me off a cliff.

The phantom sensation of falling still clung to my skin.

But the pain in my chest hurt far worse than any physical wound.

After Debra made her choice, the King of Beasts signaled that it was my turn.

I scanned the remaining beast clans and pointed at Jacob.

"I choose..."

Before I could finish—

Smack.

A slap landed across my face.

"You bitch! How dare you try to steal my mate!"

It was the mate of Gary, the black bear from the pack.

She stormed over, accusing me of seducing her mate and demanding an explanation.

I was stunned. "There's nothing between Gary and me."

"Still won't admit it?" She pulled out a tuft of fur and threw it at my feet. "Found this on my bed—it's your hair, isn't it?"

But that didn't prove I'd slept with Gary. I wasn't the only human in the pack.

Before I could defend myself, Debra stepped forward with a gasp. "Sis, no wonder I saw you walking with Brother Gary that night. So that's what you two were doing! How could you seduce a mated beastman?"

With that one line, she sealed my fate.

The other beastmen who had been showing off in front of me immediately backed away.

Especially Jacob—the smile he'd been trying to hide vanished, and his brow furrowed.

I stared at Debra in disbelief.

In her eyes, I saw nothing but cunning.

Then it hit me: in my past life, Debra had actually had a fling with this very same Gary.

Suddenly, everything clicked. This was her setup.

"Can't believe I was fooled by her. I thought she was so innocent."

"Stealing someone else's mate—she should be banished from the pack!"

The murmurs grew louder.

The King of Beasts had no choice but to step in.

Beastmen were fiercely possessive of their mates—they wouldn't tolerate this kind of behavior, even from a human.

With a wave of his hand, the King cast me out.

As I was leaving, Debra came to see me off.

She leaned against Patrick's chest, playing the part of the concerned sister.

"Julie, being banished isn't necessarily a bad thing. There are plenty of strong beasts out there—maybe you'll find your true mate."

What a load of crap.

Sure, there were strong beasts outside.

But they were all madmen—rejects cast out by their own packs.

A human like me, cut off from tribal protection, was as good as dead.

In my past life, Debra had nearly died several times out there, and I'd been the one to save her.

And this was how she repaid me—by stealing my mate after being reborn, and getting me banished.

I let out a cold laugh. "Thanks for the good wishes, Debra. But you should worry about yourself. Patrick's a strong one—you better keep up your strength. Wouldn't want to disappoint him."