Letting Go Is the Alpha's Antidote

Kane Porter and I had both taken the potent philter. I had bought it from a black-market vendor outside Graystone.

He had told me, "Just a single drop is enough to drive a male werewolf insane. It'll make the man you love mark you!"

So I bought it, paying a hefty price.

In my past life, I had used it to force Kane, the man I had secretly loved for eight years, to mark me.

And what was the outcome?

He had marked me. I had become his Luna. But I had also become the woman he hated the most.

For Arya Sowle, he had pushed me—pregnant with his child—into the ocean, leaving me and our unborn baby to drown.

It had all been my fault. If I hadn't drugged him, hadn't forced him to mark me, and hadn't become his Luna, I wouldn't have met such a tragic end.

Now, reborn in this moment, I refused to make the same mistake. This time, I would bring him and his beloved Arya together.

Draped in a white fur cloak, Arya followed me to Kane's bedroom door, her gaze sharp with suspicion.

"Scarlett, you said Kane was drugged with a philter and that he's in pain?"

I nodded.

She hesitated before asking, "Everyone knows you've been secretly in love with him. Why aren't you using this opportunity for yourself?"

"Because at this moment, the person he wants to see is you."

She studied me, suspicion lingering in her gaze. But in the end, she stepped inside.

From behind the door, I heard Kane's low, desperate murmur. "Arya…"

Then, Kane lunged forward, pulling her into a desperate kiss. Their bodies tangled together.

I shut my eyes, closed the door, and ran down the long hallway without looking back.

But I knew. Compared to the agony of drowning with my unborn child in my past life, the pain of letting go of the man I loved was nothing.

Standing atop Graystone's city wall, I gazed up at the moon. Heat coursed through my body, every inch of me aching for touch.

The philter I had taken was taking full effect.

I curled into myself, willing my body to resist its pull. But the drug was too strong. My mind went blurred, my limbs turned weak, and my skin felt feverishly hot.

"Miss, are you alright?"

I turned around and saw a tall man standing there. He wore a black cloak adorned with wolf fangs, and a dagger rested at his waist.

"Are you… a guard from the castle?"

"Miss, do you need anything?" He stepped forward just in time to catch me before I nearly tumbled off the city wall.

I didn't answer. Instead, I threw myself at him, wrapping my arms around his neck and pressing my lips to his. My voice trembled with desperation as I said, "I need… you."

"Miss, you're drunk. Let me take you back to your room to rest." He hoisted me over his shoulder like a sack of grain and started walking.

Once inside my room, he turned to leave, but I grabbed his arm. My fingers slipped beneath his collar as I whispered, "Stay with me. Touch me. Kiss me. Please…"

The man furrowed his brows and muttered, "Scarlett, don't do this…"

"Please, I can't take it…" I clung to him, my fingers tugging at his clothes. The hard planes of his muscles beneath my touch only intensified the desire raging inside me.

Then, I heard a low chuckle above me, followed by a resigned sigh. "Just don't regret it."

And with that, he pressed me down, his kisses falling like a raging storm.