Another Life, Another Chance

Chapter 2

​My eyes snapped open.

I gasped and coughed as huge amounts of air filled  my lungs that were still burning as if that silver blade was still buried deep in my chest.

​I scrambled to touch my stomach, but there was no blood. No ruined silk gown...No Kael kissing Vivian over my dying body... Nothing...it wS almost like it never happened.

​I turned to look at my surroundings even though my head was throbbing violently, with cold air biting at my bare skin. The sharp, bitter stench of wolfsbane smoke hit the back of my throat, making me dizzy. Around my wrists, heavy silver chains clinked loudly as two guards dragged me onto a raised wooden platform.

​The auction. You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.

​I stared down at my hands. Dirt and old bruises from my pack's invasion still covered my skin, but it was completely whole. The knife wounds were gone.

​Tears prickled my eyes, my breath coming in ragged, terrified hitches. My heart pounded against my ribs so hard I thought it would burst. The Moon Goddess actually did it. She sent me back...back to the absolute beginning, just three weeks after my pack was invaded by unknown...no...not unknown...Kael. Kael did this... Kael invaded my pack, caused a distraction and left me for auctioneers to pick me up. All so that he could swoop in and play the hero card.

"It's okay...it's fine...it's just three weeks ago. I can find them. I will find my pack and claim my throne before Kael can even begin to get his plan in motion." I whispered under my breath.

​The grief and shock hit me like a physical punch, making my knees shake uncontrollably under the glare of the crystal chandeliers. Wealthy Alphas in tailored suits watched me from velvet seats like starved predators.

​The auctioneer stepped forward, tapping his microphone and smiling like a snake.

​“Ladies and gentlemen,” he drawled, his voice booming through the speakers. “Tonight we present something very rare. A pure-blooded she-wolf, unmarked, unmated, and very much untouched. The last surviving daughter of the Silverclaw bloodline!”

​A low, disgusting murmur rolled through the crowd. In my past life, I had frozen with pure terror at this exact moment. I had stood here trembling, weeping, wondering why the world was so cruel, hoping they would take pity on me and send me back to my pack...well, until Kael showed up and offered me everything I thought I needed.

​He wanted a traumatized girl who would cling to him out of gratitude. He wanted me to hand over my pack's land and the Northern Throne without a fight.

​“Starting bid,” the auctioneer shouted, slamming his gavel down. “Five hundred thousand!”

​"Five fifty!" someone called in the front row.

​"Six hundred!"

​"Seven hundred thousand!"

​The numbers started climbing fast, voices cutting over one another as they bid on me like a piece of property. My shaky breathing slowly evened out. The sorrow in my chest began to curdle, twisting into a dark, bitter knot as I forced my eyes directly onto the front row.

​There he sat. Kael Nightbane. Broad shoulders, dark hair pulled back, wearing his usual black suit. His face was completely calm, almost bored, as if he really did not want to be there...as if he hadn't orchestrated my entire downfall.

​Looking at his face, the grief I had been feeling drained out of me, replaced by a cold, creeping hatred. 

Fuck him. Fuck him and his plans, and the fuck love he offered me...

My wolf snarled in my head, snapping her jaws. The mate bond tried to spark in my veins, but I suffocated it with pure rage. Just sitting there, waiting for his cue. I wanted to leap off the stage and rip his throat out with my bare teeth.

​"One million!" a voice boomed from the middle section.

​"One point two!" another shouted.

​The room grew louder, the bidding turning into a frenzy. Kael still hadn't lifted his card. He was waiting.

​“Two million!”

​The voice came from the back of the room, so deep, heavy, and commanding.

​The entire hall went dead silent. A wave of real tension filled the crowd. Kael’s posture stiffened slightly, his dark eyes narrowing. Who the hell was that? 

That voice...it sounded so familiar... I knew that voice... I just couldn't remember where.

​“Two million going once,” the auctioneer called out, practically sweating under the stage lights. “Do we hear two point five?”

​Kael finally shifted in his seat. He slowly raised his card, his dark eyes locking onto mine.

​"Three million," Kael said, his smooth voice cutting effortlessly through the quiet room.

​The auctioneer's eyes went wide. "Three million from Alpha Kael Nightbane! Going once... going twice... sold!"

​The gavel slammed down.

​A torrent of blinding rage boiled over in my blood, making my skin burn. In my past life, I had fallen for every single lie. I had let him take me home, let him comfort me, and let him mark me because I thought he was my savior.

​Not this time, you bastard.

​My hands clenched into tight, trembling fists at my sides as the guards unlocked my chains. The treaty hadn't been signed. The marriage hadn't happened. My pack's land was still legally mine, and I was still the rightful heir to the Silverclaw throne.

​Kael stood up and walked toward the stage, his face morphing into that fake, protective mask I used to trust. He looked at me expecting to see a frightened, desperate girl reaching out for help.

"Lyra Silverclaw... I've come a long way just to get you out of here and take you to a safer place." He whispered, even though his voice was still very commanding. 

"Forgive my mode of saving you... As you know, buying you was the only way I could legally get you out of danger."

I refused to respond... All I did was stare at his face, at his eyes... At his lips as they moved, creating lies upon lies that I had eaten up in my past life.

​Keep playing your little hero game, Kael.

My jaw locked tight as my blood roared with pure fury. Buy me. Take me back to your mansion. Because the second I step foot in your territory, I am going to tear your life apart.