Chapter 4.

ARIA'S POV

Lily's eyes go wide instantly like I just slapped her. Her bottom lip wobbles and she looks at Dad.

"What did I say wrong daddy?" Her voice cracks perfectly on cue. "I was just trying to be nice to Aria because she was so nervous yesterday about the mate ball and Damon and... I just wanted to wish her happy birthday!"

I can't help it. I scoff.

"Oh, cut the crap, Lily. You don't care about me. You've never cared about me."

She gasps like I slapped her again. "Aria? What did I ever do to you? If I did something, just tell me! I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry!"

"Aria!" My dad's voice snaps. That soft, confused look he had two seconds ago when I hugged him? Gone. "What is wrong with you? Your sister gets up early to be nice to you on your birthday and this is how you talk to her?"

Dad, if I were you, I wouldn't stand between us.

The words are right there on my tongue and as much as I want to say them out loud, I bite them down. I can't be cruel to him after losing him in my previous life.

Lily jumps in quickly, doing her little peacemaker act.

"No, no Daddy, it's okay. Aria, if I upset you — I'm really sorry. It's my fault, I shouldn't have—"

"Don't apologize to her," Dad cuts her off and looks straight at me. "Aria. Apologize to your sister. Right now."

I fold my arms. "I'm not apologizing to a snake."

Lily's face crumples. "Dad, it's fine, really. Maybe she's just — maybe she's in a bad mood, or maybe it's—"

"If you say 'that time of the month' I swear to the Goddess, Lily," I hiss.

She flinches and starts crying harder and that's when I realize that she's so good at acting the victim, I didn't see it in my previous life.

"Oh my Goddess, cry harder," I mutter. "Maybe he'll buy it if you add more tears."

And of course — perfect timing — the kitchen door swings open.

Linda. My stepmother. Hair in that perfect low ponytail, lipstick perfect at 7 AM. She takes one look at Lily sobbing and her whole face turns to stone.

"What is going on in here?" She rushes over and wraps an arm around Lily. "David? Why is my daughter crying?"

Dad sighs, rubbing his forehead. "Aria is being disrespectful. She told Lily to stay away from her."

Linda looks at me like I’m something she scraped off the bottom of her shoe. How did I never notice the disgust in her eyes in my previous life?

"Aria, sweetheart..." She uses that sweet-poison voice she only uses when Dad is watching. "What's gotten into you? You girls have been best friends since you were little. You're sisters."

And that is what breaks me.

In my last life, I would have folded by now. Said sorry, hugged her, begged them to forgive me. I was always the good girl. The doormat. That's how they walked all over me until there was nothing left. That's how they killed me.

Not this time.

I stare right at Linda and laugh. It's not a nice laugh.

"Best friends? Sisters?" I look her dead in the eye. "Wow. You're really going to stand there and pretend you care about me? That's pathetic even for you."

Linda's mouth actually falls open. "Excuse me? David, did you hear what she just—"

"There's nothing wrong with what I said!" I snap.

"There is clearly something wrong with you!" Dad shouts back. I know he's losing it now. "You know what, Aria? You keep this attitude up, and I'm not taking you dress shopping. You can wear one of your old rags to the mate ball tonight for all I care."

I laugh again.

"Fine! As if I care about that stupid ball. Or that stupid dress. Or impressing that asshole!" My voice is shaking now. "Take it. Take my allowance, take the dress, take everything. I don't want it."

"Aria, what has gotten into—" Dad starts, and Linda goes, "David—" at the same time.

I don't stay to listen.

I turn on my heel, storm up the stairs, and slam my bedroom door so hard the picture frames on the wall rattle.

I hate them. I hate them both.

I start pacing. My heart is pounding out of my chest. I need to figure out how I'm going to get through today without Damon scenting me as his mate. I cannot let that bond snap into place. If he becomes Alpha, my father dies. I don't know how yet, but I know it starts tonight.

Sasha growls in my head. 'We need to mask our scent.'

"How?" I whisper.

'There are witches in the Dark Forest. They can make a potion. It hides your scent for twelve hours. Just long enough to get through the full moon.'

The Dark Forest. My stomach drops. That place is crawling with rogues. No unmated she-wolf goes in there alone and comes out alive.

"I need Dana," I mutter.

I close my eyes and push into the mind-link. 'Dana! Get over here. Now. It's urgent.'

Ten minutes later my door bangs open and Dana stumbles in, panting, hair everywhere.

"Happy birthday to my favorite bitch!" she shouts and throws herself at me. I squeeze her so tight I can't breathe — because in my last life, she was the only one who mourned for me while I was dying.

"Hey," I say, my voice thick.

She pulls back and looks at my face. "Whoa. Okay, birthday girl looks pissed. You ready to find out if the Moon Goddess finally gives you your precious Damon?"

My face twists. "Ugh. Don't. Don't even say his name. As if I'd want to be mated to that asshole."

Dana freezes mid-grin. "Wait. What?"

"What?"

"What do you mean 'that asshole'? Aria, that's Damon. Your Damon. The guy you've been obsessed with since we were, like, twelve."

"I know."

"No, you don't get it. No matter what he does, you literally drool over him. Did you guys fight?"

I sit down on the bed. "Dana, sit. I need to tell you something and you're going to think I'm insane."

She sits. And I tell her. Everything about my past life before I was reborn until my death.

When I finish, her mouth is just... open.

"Holy... shit," she breathes. "Holy fuck, Aria. That's — that's so fucked up."

"Yeah."

"So wait — you literally died? Like died-died, and now you're back? On your eighteenth birthday?"

"Yes."

She stares at me for a second, then grabs my hands. "Okay. Okay, I'm in. What do we do? What was supposed to happen today?"

"Originally, we were supposed to go dress shopping for the prefect dress but we're not doing that. This time, we're going to the Dark Forest. I need a witch to make me a scent-blocking potion so Damon can't scent me tonight."

Dana's eyes bulge. "The Dark Forest? Are you crazy? Aria, that's rogue territory! Your wolf is still weak, mine just turned eighteen two months ago— we can't fight off rogues!"

"I know. But I can't trust anyone else. Only you."

She chews on her lip, pacing now too. Then she stops.

"Okay, okay, crazy idea — what if we take Damon?"

I stare at her. "I'm sorry, did you hit your head on the way over here? Why would I take the guy I'm trying to avoid to help me avoid him? That's literally the dumbest thing I've ever heard."

"No, listen! Think about it," she says, completely serious now. "We need a bodyguard, right? Damon is the strongest unmated male in the pack. And — and even if he was a dick in your past life, right now he's still the one person we can trust to sneak out of pack territory and not run his mouth about it. Your dad would kill us if he found out we left without permission."

I hate that she has a point. I hate it so much I start pacing again.

"Okay," I finally say. "Fine. We take him. But we do NOT tell him what we're doing. We make up some excuse about needing herbs or something, we get the potion, and we come back like nothing happened. Got it?"

Dana grins, nervous and excited at the same time. "Oh my Goddess. Operation Trick-Your-Fated-Mate?"

"Operation Make-Sure-He-Never-Becomes-Alpha."

"If you say so." She snorts.

I close my eyes and reach for Damon through the mind-link before I change my mind.

But I feel nothing.

I try again.

Still nothing.

My eyebrows pull together.

“His mind-link is off.”

Dana looks at me. “Why?”

I shrug. “He's probably at the training arena.”

She slowly raises an eyebrow. “And you know this how?”

I roll my eyes. “Duh. Remember? I worshipped the ground the guy walked on.”

Her mouth falls open.

“Wow.” She shakes her head. “Was it really that deep?”

“Unfortunately.”

“Like, you knew his schedule and everything?”

“I knew everything.”

Dana stares at me for a second before bursting out laughing.

“This is actually worse than I thought.”

“Can we please focus?”

“Right. Sorry.” She grabs my phone from the dresser and shoves it into my hand. “His mind-link is off, so call him.”