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0003

✧･ﾟ: ✧ :･ﾟ✧  Marichuy ✧･ﾟ: ✧ :･ﾟ✧

The mirror couldn't stop surprising me.

Twenty-three again. Color in my cheeks instead of that gray pallor of the dying. Dark hair falling in shiny waves — not the brittle strands I'd once watched fall out in clumps. A body that was curvy, strong, alive.

My phone rang, shrill in the quiet.

Lily.

My stomach turned. The urge to hurl the phone across the room was overwhelming.

No. Play it smart.

I answered, forcing brightness into my voice. "Lily! Hey!"

"Marichuy!" She squealed, and I could picture her perfect, lying face. "Oh my God, I've been dying to talk to you! Derek finally marked you last week!"

In my first life, I'd stammered through this call, giddy with love.

This time my voice stayed steady. "Yes, he marked me."

"We have to celebrate! Lunch tomorrow with the girls? Rachel and Sophie are dying to hear the wedding details!"

Wedding. The word crawled across my skin.

"Sounds perfect," I lied smoothly. "Where?"

"Rosewood Café, one o'clock! Yay … okay, I have to run, but I'll see you tomorrow! Love you!"

"Love you too." The words tasted like poison.

She hung up.

‘Liar;’ Aria snarled. ‘Poisoner. Murderer. I want to rip her throat out.’

"Soon," I promised. "First, we play along."

Three sharp raps at the door. Confident and familiar.

Derek.

I remembered this morning from five years ago — how he'd swept me into his arms, carried me to bed, and I'd thought myself the luckiest woman alive.

My stomach churned.

"Marichuy? Baby, I know you're awake. I can hear you moving around."

I smoothed my hair, took a breath, and opened the door.

Derek stood there in all his alpha glory — tall, broad-shouldered, dark blonde hair perfectly styled, green eyes warm and inviting. The kind of handsome that had made me stupid five years ago.

Now all I saw was a monster in a pretty package.

"There's my beautiful mate." He pulled me close and leaned in.

I turned my head at the last second. His lips grazed my cheek.

He froze. "Marichuy?"

"Sorry." I stepped back. "Haven't brushed my teeth. Morning breath."

"Since when do you care about that?"

Since I know you've been planning to murder me for my money.

"I just feel gross." I gave him an apologetic smile. "Ten minutes to shower?"

He studied my face, and for one heartbeat I wondered if he could see it — that the naive girl he'd trained was gone.

"Fine," he said, irritation cracking through the charm. "But hurry. I'm taking you somewhere special. Dress nice. Professional." He checked his watch. "I'll be in the car."

He walked away without kissing me again, tension riding his shoulders.

Good. Let him wonder what changed.

I showered fast, my mind racing, and by the time I dressed, I had a plan.

First priority: secure my assets. They can't steal what they can't touch.

I opened my laptop and logged into my bank account.

$30,247,893.42

Thirty million dollars. My parents' life insurance and the profits from the territorial rights they'd earned with their blood.

In my first life, I'd handed Derek full access two weeks before the wedding. Joint finances, he'd called it. By the time I was diagnosed, he'd bled the account nearly dry.

Not this time.

I changed every password, every security question, every permission. Two-factor authentication, tied to my phone alone. Then I pulled up the territorial documents — three valuable parcels of land, all still legally mine.

A horn blared outside. Impatient as always.

I grabbed my purse and went.

…

Derek barely spoke on the drive, which suited me fine — until we pulled up to a building I recognized, and my stomach dropped.

The Grand Pack Summit Hall.

"Why are we here?" I asked carefully.

"Quarterly summit. All the regional Alphas." He flashed the charming smile as he came around to open my door — chivalry I now recognized as theater. "Today's special, though. Lycan King Redford is presiding. We need to make a good impression."

Redford.

In my first life, I'd sat through this summit in a forgettable dress, a pretty accessory at Derek's side. The Lycan King had been a tyrant.

We entered the grand hall, and heads turned. Some bowed to Derek's status. Others whispered behind their hands.

Derek gripped my hand just tight enough to hurt.

And then I heard it.

'Just get through this. Smile, play the devoted fiancé. Three more months of this charade, then I can have Lily openly and all of Marichuy's money legally transferred.'

I faltered at that. I was caught off guard. His mouth wasn’t moving. Did I just hear Derek’s thoughts?

'The King better approve our expansion today. I need that land to leverage against Mom's debt. If he says no…'

"You okay?" Derek asked aloud, squeezing my hand.

What the fuck! I can hear Derek’s thoughts?

Compose yourself, Marichuy! I took a deep breath.

"Fine. Just nervous."

'Good. Nervous and compliant is exactly how I need her.'

I nearly vomited on his shoes.

The massive doors opened, and silence fell like a guillotine.

Lycan King Redford Blackthorn entered.

Every wolf in the room lowered its head, even the Alphas. The power rolling off him was ancient and primal, something that made even Aria go still.

Six-five at least. Jet-black hair. Silver eyes that glowed with their own light. He wore formal black bearing the Lycan royal crest and moved with the controlled grace of an apex predator.

His gaze swept the room.

And stopped. On me.

The world seemed to pause.

Confusion crossed his face… then something else, something I couldn't name. His eyes pinned me in place.

Why was he staring at me like that? He didn’t stare at me this way five years ago.

Lycan Kings don't stare at ordinary wolves.

I reached out with my new gift, straining to hear his thoughts.

Nothing. Silence. A blank wall.

'Marichuy!' Aria's voice exploded in my head, frantic. 'Something about him... he feels like... no, that's not right... but also... MATE? No. Yes? I don't understand what I'm feeling!'

I gasped softly. Derek's nails dug into my hand in warning.

Redford finally looked away, jaw clenched, and took his throne.

The summit began, but I couldn't focus. Four times I caught him staring — not polite glances, but intense, searching looks that made my skin burn.

Then, halfway through Derek's presentation on expanding Silver Moon territory, Redford cut him off mid-sentence.

"Alpha Derek."

The room went silent.

"Your Majesty?"

"Your mate." His voice was deep, edged in a way that made wolves shift nervously. "What is her name?"

Every head turned to me.

Derek's grip turned crushing. "Marichuy Winters, Your Majesty. Daughter of the late Alpha and Luna Winters."

Something flickered across the King's face.

"Winters," he repeated. "The heroes of the Great Pack War."

He rose, and the temperature in the room seemed to drop. He came down from the dais with that predatory grace, walking straight toward me. Derek tensed, but no one stops a Lycan King.

Redford halted directly in front of me, close enough that I caught his scent. Pine and snow and something wild.

Aria practically vibrated — longing, recognition, fear, all tangled together.

"Your parents were remarkable wolves," he said, silver eyes never leaving mine. "I knew them. They saved my father's life once."

My throat had gone dry. "Thank you, Your Majesty."

He never said that before. In my first life, he never acknowledged me at all.

"You have your mother's eyes." His voice dropped lower, meant only for me. "But something about you is... different."

My heart hammered. "Different how?"

For a long moment he just stared, and I saw it — confusion and pain flashing raw across his face.

"I'm not certain yet," he said finally.

Then he turned to Derek, and every trace of warmth died.

"Alpha Derek. Your territory expansion request is denied."

Derek went pale. "Your Majesty, if I may…"

"Your pack's finances are unstable, and I have concerns about your management choices. Denied."

The room erupted in whispers. This certainly didn’t happen five years ago. He approved the expansion last time. Why was he altering the history? What is going on?

Derek's thoughts screamed: 'This BASTARD! I paid good money through the usual channels! Unless Mom was right — we need to speed up the timeline. Marichuy signs over the territories in two weeks, before this gets worse.'

Redford returned to his throne, but not before giving me one last, searching look.

…

Derek detonated the moment the car doors closed.

"What the fuck was that?"

I flinched. "What?"

"The King. Staring at you. Asking about you. Why?"

"I don't know! Why are you all worked up! He was just staring."

"You must have done SOMETHING!" His palm cracked against the steering wheel. "He approved my expansion in the preliminary review last month! What changed?"

You did, I thought. Or rather — I did.

"I'm sorry," I said, making my voice small and frightened. The voice he expected. "I don't understand it either."

He drew a long breath, forcing the mask back on.

"It's fine," he said, while his thoughts said otherwise. "But Marichuy — I need you to sign some paperwork this week. For the wedding. Financial things. Combining our assets, making sure everything's protected." The smile didn't reach his eyes. "You trust me, right?"

'Two weeks. Territories signed over in two weeks. Then we speed up her illness.'

I heard every word.

"Of course I trust you," I lied.

He kissed my forehead, and my skin crawled.

"Good girl."

As he drove, I watched his reflection in the window.

Redford had noticed me. Denied Derek's request. The timeline was already cracking.

'Marichuy,' Aria said quietly. 'We need to find out more about the Lycan King.'

"Agreed."

Ninety days until the wedding. But something told me everything would explode long before then.

"Let the games begin," I whispered.

Derek glanced over. "What?"

"Nothing." I gave him a sweet smile. "Just thinking about our future."

Our very different futures.