Chapter 1

I gasped and shot upright, chest heaving.

My hands—I stared at them without thinking. The skin was smooth and tight, with no age spots. Twenty years old.

I'd been reborn.

"Elara?" A trembling voice came from nearby.

I whipped around. My sister, Selene Moonveil, stood in the doorway, staring at me with the same shock on her face.

She wore the white leather dress of Silver Moon's unmated females. Her long hair spilled over her shoulders, her face smooth and unwrinkled, her eyes bright and clear.

Our gazes locked. Then we both spoke at once.

"You too—"

"You too—"

We cut off mid-sentence.

The next moment, we rushed at each other and threw our arms around one another.

"Moon Goddess..." Selene's voice shook. "I thought I was the only one who came back."

"Me too." My throat felt raw. "Selene, we're here. Three days before the engagement."

Yes. In three days, the two packs would unite through marriage.

The arrangement our families had made was simple.

Selene Moonveil, eldest daughter and gentle healer Omega, would marry Ethan Grimwolf, Silver Moon's Alpha—cold, brutal, S-class.

And I, Elara Moonveil, warrior Beta, would marry Kaden Frost, Black Forest's scribe—a soft-spoken, scholarly Beta.

In our past lives, those marriages had destroyed both families.

Selene had withered under Ethan's indifference and his childhood sweetheart's cruelty until depression consumed her. Depression consumed her until it killed her.

Kaden and I had been a disaster, too. He'd thought me too rough. I'd thought him too soft. We broke our mate bond before we even hit our third anniversary, and the whole pack laughed at us for it.

Selene pulled back and took a deep breath. Her eyes blazed with determination.

"Elara, let's switch."

I blinked. "What?"

"The engagements." She gripped my hands tightly. "You marry Ethan. I'll marry Kaden. This time, we won't make the same mistakes."

I looked at her. Then I smiled, "I was thinking the exact same thing."

That evening, I packed my bags.

"Elara, shouldn't we talk to the family before we switch?" Selene bit her lip.

I took a deep breath. "Selene, this is our choice. The elders think you're gentle enough for a dominant Alpha like Ethan, and I'm feisty enough for Kaden, but they're wrong."

"But not even discussing it with Mom and Dad..."

"Discuss?" I let out a bitter laugh. "They arranged these marriages. We're just pawns. Once it's done, it'll be too late for them to object."

I continued, "Selene, just put everything on me. I left a letter in Mom's room explaining everything. Don't worry. I'll say switching was my idea. They won't blame you."

Before I'd even finished, hurried footsteps sounded from outside.

"Elara! Get out here!"

It was my mom, Diana!

My blood ran cold. How had she found out so fast?

"Selene, I'm going!" I grabbed my bag and dove through the window. Under the moonlight, my bones began to reshape. Gray-brown fur erupted from my skin as my limbs hit the ground. I lowered my body and bolted toward the pack border.

"Stop! You brat!" Diana's roar exploded behind me, followed by the sound of her shift—bones cracking and popping.

I pushed harder, leaping over brush and splashing through streams.

"Have you lost your mind!" Diana's wolf form was a full size larger than mine, and faster. "The elders arranged this marriage. You can't just switch whenever you feel like it!"

I clenched my jaw, unable to answer in this form.

"Elara! Stop!" Diana was gaining on me. I swerved sharply into a thicket of thorns. The barbs tore through my fur and pain shot through me, but I gritted my teeth and kept going.

Her body was too large to follow.

I used the advantage to burst out of the thorns. Ahead, the pack border barrier appeared—a pale blue shimmer marking the edge of Ethan's territory.

I didn't hesitate. I leaped across the boundary.

"Elara!" Mom stopped at the edge of the thorns, shifted back to human form, and glared at me from beneath her cloak.

I shifted back too, straightening my torn clothes, and shouted, "Mom! I'm going to get married! If it doesn't work out, I'll come home myself!"

"You—"

Before she could finish, I shifted again and disappeared into the Dark Forest.

Diana's furious shouts echoed behind me, but I didn't look back.