Chapter Two: Picked

Celestine Sterling

A shiver ran through my entire body. With growing disbelief, I slowly lifted my gaze and looked around the room.

Everything was exactly the same as I remembered.

The massive mahogany desk stood near the window, polished to perfection and illuminated by the soft afternoon light spilling through the curtains. 

Towering bookshelves lined the walls from floor to ceiling, packed with countless volumes my father had spent years collecting. The familiar scent of aged parchment, ink, and cedarwood lingered in the air, wrapping around me like a forgotten memory.

The room felt so familiar that it made my chest ache.

For a moment, I simply sat there in silence, staring at the surroundings I had once known so well, unable to tear my eyes away. Every object seemed frozen in time, untouched by the horrors I remembered.

And somehow, that frightened me more than anything else.

Because if this was truly my father's study, and if I was truly alive, then there was only one question left to ask.

How was I here when I clearly remembered dying?

“So, have you decided?” my father asked with a warm smile. “Are you choosing Tyler Stone as your future husband? You can announce it tomorrow during your birthday celebration. I'm almost certain he's your mate.”

My entire body went cold after hearing that statement again for the second time, but I was extremely confused.

“D-Dad?”

Tears instantly filled my eyes.

“Is that really you?” My voice trembled uncontrollably. “Is this...real?”

My father frowned in confusion before squinting at me.

“Celly, who else would I be besides your incredibly handsome and loving father?” he joked with a chuckle. “What's gotten into you?”

The moment I heard his laughter, something inside me broke. I threw myself into his arms. “Dad!”

I sobbed against his chest, and the tears came endlessly.

“Celly, sweetheart, what happened?” he asked softly, rubbing soothing circles on my back. “Are you alright?”

But I couldn't answer because it was real.

Every second of it.

Tyler and Vanessa had killed me. I knew they had been back there; it was impossible that it would be a dream. I felt it, the dagger that pierced my chest.

“N-Nothing. I-I'm fine,” I whispered between shaky breaths before lifting my head. “Dad...what date is it today?”

His smile returned. “It's December first. Tomorrow is your eighteenth birthday.”

“You're finally becoming a young lady,” he continued proudly. “If your mother were still here, she would've organized the grandest ball the mountain has ever seen. Since it's just the two of us, we'll have to celebrate extravagantly in our own way.”

December first.

The day my father gave me the freedom to choose my future husband before my eighteenth birthday.

The day I chose Tyler Stone.

A choice that led to betrayal, heartbreak, and my death.

Slowly, I clenched my fists beneath the desk. I took a deep breath and forced the horrifying memories of my murder back into the darkest corners of my mind, burying them where they couldn't reach me, even if only for a moment.

If today were December 1st, then somehow I had been sent back six months before the day I died. 

Six months before the betrayal and pain…before my life was ripped away from me.

Back then, it had been near the end of summer. The days were warm, the sunlight lingered a little longer in the evenings, and the world felt alive. 

But why was I reborn? And how did it happen?

My gaze drifted toward my father, who sat quietly lost in thought, his eyes distant as he reminisced about my mother.

There was a softness in his expression that only appeared whenever he spoke of her, a mixture of love and longing that time had never managed to erase.

A painful ache tightened in my chest.

I knew that if Mom were here, if she had lived long enough to see what became of me, her heart would have shattered beyond repair. 

Mom had always dreamed of seeing me happy, of watching me build a family of my own and create the future she had wanted for me.

Instead, the man who had vowed to love and protect me had become my executioner.

“Yeah...” I said quietly, agreeing with Dad’s statement before going back to my seat. “Mom would definitely plan something crazy like what you also have probably planned for tomorrow.”

He chuckled, then his expression changed. Dad still smiled, but it was a solemn one. “I miss your mother so much, Celly.”

I looked at him and managed a small smile, composing myself. “Yeah, I miss her too. I'm sorry for being so dramatic today.”

“I just missed you too much; you’re just too busy lately to have time for me,” I added while playing with my fingers.

I hate lying to him, but that isn’t exactly a lie.

My father then puffed out his cheeks dramatically.

“Celly, I'm literally here trying to make up for all the time I've spent working, so stop crying,” he complained playfully. “Now answer my question…”

“Do you want Tyler Stone as your husband? I know you've loved that boy ever since you were little pups,” he asked again.

A bitter ache spread through my chest. 

In my previous life, I would've blushed immediately. I would've smiled and said yes without hesitation.

Because I loved Tyler more than anyone.

But that love had died the moment he drove a knife through my heart.

He loved my stepsister more than me—his own mate—and tomorrow, that painful truth would finally be revealed to everyone.

Everything made sense now.

Ever since Vanessa stepped into this mansion, nothing had ever been the same.

No wonder she always insisted on coming with us whenever Tyler and I went on dates, no matter where we planned to go. 

At first, I thought she simply didn't want to be left behind. I even found it amusing that she wanted to spend time with us.

Then, little by little, Tyler stopped asking me out alone.

It became the three of us.

Instead of planning dates for just the two of us, he began inviting Vanessa every single time, as though her presence had become just as important as mine.

I never questioned it.

I wanted Vanessa to feel that, despite only being my stepsister, I truly considered her family. I didn't want her to feel like an outsider, so I welcomed her into every part of my life without hesitation.

I even admired Tyler for embracing the people I cared about. I thought he was simply making an effort to love the family I cherished. 

I never realized that the attention I found so heartwarming was quietly turning into betrayal.

Dad remarried several years after Mom passed away. I accepted his decision because I believed he wasn't replacing her. 

He only wanted someone to look after me while he fulfilled his duties away from the White House. He couldn't bear the thought of leaving me alone in such a massive, empty home.

I still remember the day before the wedding.

Dad was kneeling in front of Mom's grave, tears streaming down his face as he apologized to the woman he had loved with all his heart. His shoulders trembled with every sob, and for the first time, I truly understood how much it hurt him to move forward.

I stayed beside him the entire time, silently holding his hand. I even told him that I would be fine on my own, that he didn't have to go through with the marriage for my sake. But he simply smiled through his tears and shook his head.

He couldn't accept the idea of his little girl growing up alone in a house that felt far too empty whenever he was gone.

The memory faded as I let out a slow, heavy sigh before lifting my gaze to meet his eyes.

“No, Dad.”

The words left my lips without the slightest hesitation, carrying a certainty that surprised even me.

“I don't want Tyler Stone as my husband.”

Silence filled the study.

My father's expression looked as though the world had suddenly turned upside down. “What?” he stared at me in complete disbelief.

“Celly, did you hit your head or something?” he asked, sounding utterly stunned. “You've been obsessed with that boy for years.”

“Yeah, I know, but…he's not the one I want anymore, Dad,” I said firmly, forcing the words past the tightness in my throat. “He can marry Vanessa instead to keep our family connected to the Stone Pack.”

“Wow…I—I’m confused, Celly.” Dad stared at me in disbelief, completely at a loss for words, and honestly, I couldn't blame him.

For as long as I could remember, every conversation we had somehow found its way back to Tyler Stone. 

I talked about him constantly, whether it was his smile, his achievements, our future together, or the countless dreams I had built around him. 

Tyler had become such a permanent part of my life that hearing me speak about him this way must have felt impossible.

“Celly,” Dad said carefully, his expression growing serious as he studied my face, “did he do something to hurt you?”

The question struck me harder than it should have.

For a moment, I desperately wanted to tell him everything. I wanted to tell him about the betrayal, the heartbreak, the pain of watching the man I loved choose someone else. I wanted to tell him how I died with regret and sorrow weighing heavily on my chest.

But I couldn't.

None of it had happened here.

Not yet, at least.

To everyone else, those memories didn't exist. They belonged to a life that was gone, a life only I remembered.

And if I told him the truth—if I somehow convinced him that I had lived another life and died in it—it would shatter him. 

He had already lost Mom. The thought that he had lost me too, even in another lifetime, would break whatever pieces of his heart remained.

My eyes burned as tears gathered once again.

“Oh, for damn's sake, did he hurt you, Celly?” Dad suddenly pushed back his chair and stood so abruptly that it scraped loudly against the floor.

Panic immediately shot through me. The protective look in his eyes told me exactly what he was thinking. 

If Tyler had hurt me, he was fully prepared to march over there and make him answer for it. “Dad, no! He did not hurt me.” I cried, jumping to my feet as well.

He froze, but the anger simmering beneath his expression remained.

“I just...” My voice faltered as I struggled to explain feelings that were impossible to put into words. “I don't know; things are different now.”

Dad continued staring at me, unconvinced.

I lowered my gaze and wiped at my tears before forcing out the only explanation I could give. “He's just…not my type anymore.”

“Not your type? That boy was like your life, Celly. Are you telling me the truth?” he asked, looking at me suspiciously.

“Yes, I swear!” I approached him to force him to sit down. “In fact, I have someone I have in mind!”

Dad looked confused, but he sat back when he heard what I said. “Who do you have in mind that I don’t know? This hurts me, Celly. You’re keeping things from me now?”

I bit my lower lip, not wanting to hurt him more. 

Who should I pick?!

Then I remembered someone, “T-The half-blood in the forbidden mountains. He’s the one I am picking.” 

Vanessa’s husband back then that she hadn't even been with.

“Aeizor Montero? Alpha of Montero Pack?” Dad looked confused. “Did you even meet him before this day?”

“I remember the last time you saw that pup; it was at one big party before he left his pack and built his own inside the forbidden forest,” he added.

I blinked. “We met at a party before?”

I didn’t know or even remember that.

“Celly…why would you pick him?” Dad curiously asked while tilting his head after hearing what I said.

Knowing him, he wouldn’t stop until he got an answer that would satisfy him.