Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Serena’s POV

By the time I reached the warehouse, the sun was already sinking behind the buildings, but I remained inside the van for several minutes, staring through the windshield as I thought about what had happened with Emily.

I had tried to warn her about January first, but the moment I mentioned the Great Awakening, that strange pressure had closed around my throat again, leaving me unable to speak until the pain became unbearable.

There was no doubt anymore. Something was preventing me from directly revealing the future.

I didn't know whether it was a rule attached to my rebirth or whether changing certain events too quickly would create consequences I couldn't predict, but I knew better than to keep testing it. If I couldn't warn people about what was coming, I would have to prepare quietly and use everything I remembered from my previous life to make sure I was ready.

I stepped out of the van and walked toward the warehouse.

In my previous life, I hadn't understood its value until the Great Awakening had already begun. By the time I learned that the underground rooms could protect people from the freezing temperatures and that the nearby water source would remain usable, several groups were already fighting to control the building.

This time, I had arrived before the world knew it would need places like this.

The owner was waiting near the entrance.

"You're Serena, right?"

"Yes."

"I'm Daniel, the owner. I wasn't expecting anyone to take the entire warehouse so quickly."

"I don't want to waste time."

He glanced around the enormous empty space. "Do you mind if I ask what you're planning to store in here? It's a lot of room for one person."

"I'm preparing for a business I'm starting."

It wasn't exactly a lie, although there was no way I could explain what I was really preparing for.

After we finished the paperwork, I contacted a security company and had every lock replaced. I didn't want ordinary keys that could be copied or passed around, so I paid for biometric access using fingerprints and facial recognition, along with cameras covering the entrances and surrounding grounds.

When the technician asked how many people needed access, I looked at the warehouse before answering.

"Only me."

He raised an eyebrow. "No employees?"

"Not yet."

He laughed softly, but I didn't explain.

Once everything was installed, I registered my fingerprints and face and tested the main entrance several times. Each time I stepped away, the heavy door locked behind me.

I walked down to the underground section and stood there for a moment, listening to the lock click into place.

Something inside me finally settled.

No one would enter this warehouse unless I allowed them to.

Not Adrian.

Not the Silver Fang Pack.

And certainly not the family who had watched me die.

The thought brought back a memory I had been trying not to revisit.

Snow covered the ground around the Silver Fang shelter, and I was on my knees outside the gates with blood running down my arm while the cold drained the last of my strength.

"Adrian, please let me in."

He stood behind the gates with Elena beside him.

She was wearing the necklace I had once treasured, with my Moonstones resting against her chest, while one hand protected her pregnant stomach.

Then I saw Ethan.

He was crying behind his father, and I reached toward him with the little strength I had left.

"Ethan, please. Tell your father to let me in."

He didn't move.

He only stood there crying while Adrian watched me from the other side of the gates.

"You can't do this to me," I whispered.

Adrian didn't answer.

The warriors came instead.

They chained me to a post while I struggled until my wrists burned against the metal. Then the needle entered my arm, and cold spread through my body as they drained my blood.

Adrian had discovered that my blood could strengthen awakened flames.

I had spent my life believing that being his mate made me important to him.

In the end, my blood had been more valuable to him than I was.

My mother stood nearby with a cruel smile while my father watched without interfering.

"You finally understand your place," she said.

Then the gates closed.

I opened my eyes and realized I was still standing inside the warehouse, my hands clenched at my sides.

For years, I had wondered what I had done to deserve that ending. Now I understood.

I had spent too much of my life believing I needed those people to give me permission to be valued. I had allowed my love for Adrian to become an excuse for every betrayal, and I had mistaken loyalty to the pack for a responsibility they never intended to return.

I wouldn't make that mistake again.

My phone began ringing.

Adrian. I stared at the screen.

In my previous life, I would have answered immediately. Adrian never had to wonder whether I would come when he called.

This time, I let it ring until the call ended.

It rang again.

I finally answered.

"Serena, where are you?" He asked, 

"I'm busy."

"Busy doing what?" He asked again

"Why are you asking?"

"You've been ignoring me all day.", oh he noticed. 

"I've had things to do."

There was a pause. "Since when do you have things that are more important than me?"

I almost laughed.

"Why did you call?"

"I wanted to see you."

"Why?"

His voice softened. "Because you're my mate."

The words struck somewhere deep inside me.

There had been a time when hearing them could make every doubt disappear. Now all I could remember was standing outside those gates while the man who called me his mate watched me die.

"I have to go," I said.

"Serena, wait."

I ended the call.

For several seconds, I stood there with the phone in my hand, surprised by how easy it had been to walk away.

I still remembered loving Adrian. I wasn't going to pretend that rebirth had erased years of feelings, but I finally understood that loving someone didn't mean surrendering my life to them.

I looked around the warehouse, taking in the secured doors and cameras.

For the first time since waking up, I felt as though I had something that belonged entirely to me.

I locked the warehouse before getting into my car and thought about the sixty days ahead.

In my previous life, I had spent those final weeks worrying about Adrian and protecting people who would eventually abandon me.

This time, every day would be spent building a future that didn't depend on anyone choosing me.

When January first arrived, the world would fall apart.

But I wouldn't be standing outside someone else's gates, begging to be saved.

I would already have a place of my own.