MY BLOOD SISTER

ANASTASIA'S POV

Nicholas Bloodhound.

The infamous bastard son. His name alone was enough to make the air turn heavy, and I didn’t need to look around to know everyone was staring at me like I’d lost my mind.

Ruthless. Untamed. Heinous. Those were the three words that always clung to him like a curse.

People whispered he tortured men in his free time just for fun. That he thrived in war and disaster. Even the most fearless wolves were haunted by his reputation.

I couldn't blame the horrified looks plastered on my family’s faces. The man was a monster in their eyes.

Yet he was the one destined for me.

The irony was almost laughable. Because the truth was, I already knew better. Better than anyone else in this courtyard.

After my death, the Moon Goddess herself had shown me a new path. She’d shown me Nicholas.

He had always wanted me. Even back in high school, when everyone else was looking at Amelia, he was looking at me. Even when Grey was revealed as my mate, Nicholas had chased me. Not in the flashy, entitled way Grey did—no. Nicholas had been quiet about it, intense, but always honest.

Once he'd flat out told me I was too good for Grey, too kind, too loyal. And like the fool I was, I’d taken offence. I had believed that loving Grey was enough, that being loyal to my mate was what would sustain our bond.

I used to be terrified of Nicholas. Everyone was. But as years passed in my last life, as Grey’s mask slipped more and more, I started to notice things about Nicholas that didn’t fit the story people told about him. Yes, he was brusque and cold. But never with me.

In the rare moments we’d shared, he’d been patient, soft in ways Grey never managed to be. Looking back, regret burned through me. Nicholas had offered me something real. Something safe. But I had refused him, kept him at arm’s length.

And he'd stayed away. While I stuck to a sinking ship that was my marriage.

And Goddess, I regretted that now.

My stupid choice had cost me everything. Cost me my life.

But not this time.

The Moon Goddess had dragged me back here for a reason, and I wasn’t going to waste it. I wasn’t going to chain myself to misery and betrayal again. This time, I would choose happiness. This time, I would choose Nicholas Bloodhound.

I didn't know much about him, but I trusted the Moon Goddess.

Father was the first to recover from the shock that silenced the room. His sharp gaze pinned me, studying me like he was trying to decide if I’d finally snapped.

“Are you certain, Anastasia?” His voice was like steel. “If I give my word, there will be no going back.”

“Yes,” I answered without missing a beat.

I also didn’t miss the way Amelia’s face twisted into confusion. She was scrambling to figure out my angle, searching for the catch. I drank in her expression, savouring it. For once, she didn’t have control of the narrative.

This was only the beginning.

“Very well,” Father said at last. “Have it your way.” His declare carried through the courtyard, loud and final. “My daughters will be married to the Bloodhound brothers.”

The courtyard erupted into awkward cheers—half-hearted, confused, but cheers nonetheless. Tradition had been upheld, and that was all that mattered to them.

I stood there, soaking in the mixed gazes. The glares from my mother, the contempt of my brothers, Amelia’s pinched little smile that didn’t reach her eyes. I ignored them all. Without another word, I turned on my heel and walked away.

I didn’t stop until I was safely back in my room, the door slamming behind me. My knees gave out and I dropped on the bed.

That was when everything came crashing down.

The weight of rebirth, the memories of betrayal, the pain of dying. My mind wouldn’t stop replaying it.

Amelia and Grey standing over me, their cruel smiles as my life slowly and painfully slipped out of me.

Hot tears streaked my face before I could stop them. I pressed a fist to my chest, hitting it over and over as though I could break open the suffocating tightness lodged inside.

Amelia. My own twin. I knew we had never had the kind of sisterhood others did, but to hate me enough to kill me? And Grey… I had known his shortcomings, his arrogance, his flaws. But I had been stupid enough to think he loved me.

A ragged cry ripped from me as I curled into myself, drowning in sorrow.

Mourning myself. Consoling myself.

For minutes I stayed there, wallowing in the storm of grief and betrayal.

Until the tears dried. And the anger began to surface. The kind that burned slow but hot, filling every vein.

My thoughts twisted into something dark.

Revenge.

Retribution.

Amelia’s blood on her hands instead of mine. Grey brought to his knees.

The door burst open.

Amelia walked in, her pretty face twisted in irritation, the fake angelic act she’d put on in the courtyard nowhere to be found. Her eyes were sharp, her lips curled in disdain.

“What the hell are you up to?” she spat, stepping inside the room.

I stared at her, blank, my mind conjuring images of her dying the same slow, painful way I had.

“Are you deaf?” she snapped, stepping closer. “I asked what you’re up to.”

Slowly, I rose to my feet. I walked toward her, step by step, until I was close enough to see the flicker of unease in her eyes. And I smiled. Cold. Sharp. Enough to make her take half a step back.

“What do you think I’m up to?” My voice was quiet, dangerous. “I’ve only been a good sister, Amelia. Giving you what you wanted, like I always do.”

Her nostrils flared. “Cut the bullshit. I know you’re plotting something. Don’t think picking Nicholas means you’re safe. Nothing can keep you safe. You’ll have nothing, while I’ll have everything. I’ll always be the better sister. Whatever little schemes you’re cooking up won’t change that.”

She leaned in, eyes glinting. “Mess with me or Grey, and you’ll regret it.”

A bitter laugh tore out of me. The irony was laughable. ME messing with HER? When all my life, it's been the reverse. She’d stolen everything I had, taken it as if it was her right and now she had the audacity to THREATEN me for not playing along anymore?

The irony was suffocating.

I laughed harder, the sound sharp and almost unhinged. “What more do you want from me, Amelia?” My voice cracked with rawness. “All my life you’ve come for everything I had and claimed it for yourself.”

For once, she didn’t snap back. She just stood there, oddly still, lost in some private contemplation.

My brows furrowed as confusion prickled at me. I shoved her shoulder lightly, trying to break her out of it.

Her reaction was instant. She grabbed my hand in a grip so tight I winced. I tried to pull back, but her fingers only dug deeper into my skin.

“You want to know what I want?” she hissed, eyes burning with malice. “I’ll tell you. I want your permanent ruin.”

The vitriol in the words knocked the breath out of me. My anger faltered, replaced by a deep, aching sadness. “Why?” My voice trembled. “We’re sisters. Twins. We should be protecting each other. Where did we go so wrong that you hate me this much?”

She laughed, a sharp, cruel sound. “Ever the idiot, aren't you? I’ve always hated you, Ana. Always. I despise your very existence. And I won’t stop until you’re destroyed.”

My heart splintered in my chest. “But why?” I whispered. “You already have everything. Our parents’ love. Their pride. Why hate me?”

For a second, just a second, her smile slipped. Her face clouded over with bitterness and it looked like she might actually give me an answer. That, maybe, I’d finally understand.

But then the mask snapped back on, her lips curling into a malicious grin.

“Brace yourself, Sister.” she sneered. “I’ll have Grey. I’ll be Luna to the largest pack. And you? You’ll be nothing. Just the poor, abused wife of a bastard like Nicholas Bloodhound.”

I stared at her in quiet devastation, the last threads of hope snapping. There was no getting through to her. No saving whatever had once been between us.

So I smiled, caustically, and leaned in until our noses nearly touched. My voice was low, steady, and laced with steel.

“Have it your way then. May the best person win.”