Chapter 1

Talia's POV

I had only just stepped out of the Council of Elders' hall when Darius Vilkas blocked my way, his malevolent aura nearly engulfing me whole.

With just one glance, I knew then that he had been reborn as well.

In my previous life, although his gaze toward me before our mating ceremony wasn't kind, it was still never like this, like he was looking at something filthy stuck to his skin that he just couldn't get rid of.

"Don't you dare think that I will mark you even if the Elders force me into doing it. I've already seen right through your desire to sleep with me!"

His gaze toward me was filled with contempt and disgust.

It was exactly the same as what happened in my past life. Back then, I wasn't able to move him with my love, and I'd even died a horrible death as well.

But this time, I didn't bother explaining anything to him and just walked right past him.

His face darkened instantly.

He was so used to me fawning over him and always trying to please him that he thought my ignoring him now was just me playing hard to get.

He scoffed behind me. "Talia Whiteclaw. I'm telling you to stop wasting your time on me. Ingrid is the she-wolf I'm going to protect for the rest of my life. You will never hold a candle to her even if you tried!"

Ingrid. Ingrid Whiteclaw.

It was her, my own younger biological sister, who kept coming between Darius and me in my past life.

She hated me because I could become mates with him and often tried picking our relationship apart. Meanwhile, Darius always took her side and trampled all over my sincerity.

I didn't stop walking.

I had decided that it was better for me to go on with the marriage alliance to another pack than it was to continue being bitter enemies with Darius yet bonded to him for the rest of my life.

Darius watched me leave determinedly, his frown deepening more and more.

He kept convincing himself that I was just putting on a show, that I would come back to him crying and begging him to take me back when I couldn't put up with the facade anymore.

He probably never thought that I wasn't acting this time.

All of the love I had for him in my past life had long dissolved into ashes with his constant, incessant cruelty toward me.

This time, my only wish was to leave him forever.

I finally reached my stone hut when the sun had set in the sky. Yet, I was shocked when I pushed the door open and saw Ingrid standing inside my home, holding a necklace in her hands.

That necklace was the only item that my grandmother, Emma Talbot, had left for me before she passed away.

Grandma was the only one who ever felt sorry for me and cared for me in the entire pack. Mom and Dad had died when I was quite young, and it was Grandma who brought me up.

The day she left me, she held my hand tightly and said, "Talia, this necklace will keep you safe from harm. You must always keep it on you, no matter what."

"What are you doing?" I asked, my voice as cold as ice.

Ingrid turned around with an innocent smile on her face. "Oh? I was here to pay you a little visit, Talia. This necklace of yours is really pretty. Lend it to me for a few days, alright?"

She put the necklace around her neck while speaking.

I immediately rushed over to her and grabbed hold of her wrist. "Put that down!"

Ingrid's eyes turned red at once. "Talia, you're hurting me…"

"I told you to put that down!"

My voice was trembling.

That necklace was the only thing Grandma left for me.

Yet, Ingrid sounded aggrieved as she said, "But I'm only borrowing it for a few days! Why are you so petty and selfish?"

My grip on her wrist tightened even more, and she cried out in pain.

Just then, the door was thrown open with a loud bang.

Darius stormed into the hut, his face darkening at once when he caught sight of the scene inside.

"Talia Whiteclaw! What do you think you're doing?"

He immediately shoved me aside and pulled Ingrid into his arms.

I was shoved back hard against the stone walls, and it hurt so much that I gasped out loud. However, I couldn't care less about the pain now. Instead, I glared at the necklace around Ingrid's neck and growled, "She took what belongs to me!"

Darius looked down at Ingrid.

Ingrid's eyes were full of tears as she said in a weak, aggrieved voice, "Alpha, I just thought that Talia's necklace looked really nice, and I only wanted to borrow it for a few days… I didn't know that she would mind that much…"

While speaking, she reached up to remove the necklace from around her neck. "I'll just give it back to you since you insist on having it back. Don't get mad at me anymore…"

She then hurriedly tore it off her neck, tugging hard at the chain with her finger.

The necklace broke apart at once and fell to the floor with a crisp thud.

I immediately froze.

That necklace… The very necklace that Grandma had put around my neck… was broken.

I lunged for the necklace at once, shakily retrieving the pieces that had snapped cleanly in two.

"I'm sorry, Talia… I didn't mean to break it…" Ingrid said in a tearful voice next to me.

However, she was looking at me with a smug, challenging gaze while leaning into Darius' arms.

I looked up at Darius.

He stood next to Ingrid, with a protective arm around her shoulder. There was a huge frown on his face as he looked at me with a familiar disgusted expression.

"It's just a stupid necklace. What's the point of getting upset over it?"

A stupid necklace?

Did he just call this a stupid necklace?

I gripped the pendant in my hands so hard that my knuckles turned white.

"This is the only item my late grandma left me."

I spoke in a soft voice, so soft that it was barely audible.

Darius seemed to think about it for a while. Yet, the look in his eyes quickly disappeared after half a second, and I thought that I'd perhaps been mistaken after all.

Moments later, Ingrid tugged on his sleeve and said, "It's all my fault, Alpha. I never should have messed with Talia's belongings. I'm going to grovel at her feet now and beg for her forgiveness!"

With that, big, fat tears began spilling down her cheeks.

Darius immediately shifted his attention back to her and spoke in a voice so gentle that I couldn't even recognize him.

"It's not your fault," he said, patting the back of her hand.

Then, he turned his gaze—now as sharp as a knife—toward me, all warmth gone from his face.

He said icily, "Listen properly, Talia Whiteclaw. Ingrid has already apologized for it, and this will be the end of this episode. If you dare to make things hard for her again over such trivial matters next time, I'm not going to let you off that easily!"

A trivial matter?

Did Darius just say this was a trivial matter?

I lowered my head, looking at the two halves of the necklace in my hands. I could still hear Grandma's voice reverberating in my ears.

"This necklace will protect you from harm, Talia," she seemed to whisper into my ear.

But it didn't, Grandma.

The necklace didn't protect me from harm because I failed to protect it.

Darius then left with Ingrid.

I could still hear her asking him timidly outside my hut, "Alpha, do you think that Talia will hate me for this?"

Darius answered firmly, "She'll never have the guts."

Their footsteps gradually disappeared.

I leaned back against the cold stone walls, holding the necklace pendant against my chest.

It was cold.

Grandma's warmth had long disappeared, and the last of my hope was gone as well.

I closed my eyes, finally letting my tears slip out.

I only had to bear with it a little while longer.

Just a little while more.

The marriage alliance would be taking place in just three days.