Chapter 1: The Last Betrayal

Pain was everywhere.

It consumed me so completely that I could no longer tell where it began or where it ended. It flowed through my veins like molten fire, burning everything it touched and leaving nothing but agony behind. Every nerve in my body screamed as the wolfbane poison spread deeper into my bloodstream, destroying my wolf and tearing me apart from the inside out.

The dagger was still lodged in my chest.

Every breath felt impossible.

Each inhale dragged sharp blades through my lungs, and every exhale carried away another piece of my life.

Around me, healers rushed frantically from one side of the room to the other. Their voices blended together into a distant storm.

"Her heartbeat is weakening!"

"We need more silverleaf extract!"

"The poison is spreading too quickly!"

Their panic should have frightened me.

Instead, I felt strangely calm.

Detached.

As though I were already standing at the edge of death, watching everything happen from far away.

The scent of blood filled the room.

My blood.

I almost laughed at the irony.

For years, I had imagined countless futures beside Damian Blackwood. I had imagined standing proudly beside him as his Luna. I had imagined growing old with him. I had imagined building a family with him.

I had imagined giving him my heart.

I had never imagined giving him my life.

Yet that was exactly what I had done.

The memory replayed endlessly in my mind.

The assassin emerging from the shadows.

The gleam of steel.

The wolfbane-coated dagger flying toward Damian's heart.

And me...

Running toward him without hesitation.

Without thought.

Without fear.

Because loving Damian had always been the most natural thing in the world.

Even when he never returned that love.

Even when every smile I offered was met with indifference.

Even when every sacrifice I made seemed invisible to him.

A bitter ache settled in my chest.

How pathetic I had been.

For six years, I had devoted myself entirely to him.

I defended him when others criticized him.

I protected him whenever danger approached.

I loved him with every piece of my soul.

And now I was dying alone.

A healer squeezed my shoulder gently.

"Stay with us, Lyra."

I wanted to tell her it was pointless.

But my lips refused to cooperate.

Then I heard voices drifting through the partially opened door.

Familiar voices.

My heart stumbled.

Damian.

And Selene.

Even through the haze of pain, my wolf stirred weakly.

Hope.

After everything, a small, foolish part of me still hoped.

Perhaps Damian was worried.

Perhaps he cared.

Perhaps watching me sacrifice myself had finally made him realize what I meant to him.

Then Selene spoke.

"You look troubled."

A pause followed.

Then Damian answered.

"The assassin escaped."

His voice was cold.

Controlled.

Unmoved.

"That's not what's bothering you," Selene said softly.

Silence followed.

A terrible silence.

My pulse quickened.

The room suddenly felt colder.

Then Selene sighed.

"She's dying, Damian."

Nothing.

No reaction.

No concern.

No emotion.

My stomach twisted painfully.

"Do you feel guilty?" she asked.

The silence stretched endlessly.

For one fragile moment, hope bloomed inside me.

Then Damian spoke.

"No."

The word shattered me.

I squeezed my eyes shut.

Surely I had heard wrong.

Surely—

"She saved your life," Selene continued. "Most men would feel something."

"I didn't ask her to do it."

The poison in my veins suddenly felt merciful compared to his words.

Each syllable cut deeper than the dagger ever had.

The healer noticed my trembling.

"Lyra?"

I ignored her.

I couldn't stop listening.

Because somehow the truth hurt less than the lies I had lived with for six years.

Outside, Selene laughed softly.

"Poor Lyra."

My throat tightened.

"I almost feel sorry for her."

Then she asked the question that destroyed everything.

"Did you ever love her?"

The entire world stopped.

The healers disappeared.

The pain disappeared.

There was only silence.

Please.

Just this once.

Lie to me.

Please, Damian.

Lie.

Then he answered.

"No."

Something inside me died.

Not my body.

Not my heart.

My soul.

The mate bond cracked violently inside my chest.

Pain exploded through me.

Far worse than the wolfbane.

Far worse than death itself.

"No," Damian repeated. "I never loved her."

Tears slipped down my cheeks.

The healer grabbed my hand desperately.

"Stay awake!"

But I couldn't.

Because my entire life was collapsing outside that door.

"Then why keep her around?" Selene asked.

Damian answered immediately.

"She was useful."

Useful.

The word echoed endlessly inside my mind.

Useful.

Not loved.

Not cherished.

Not wanted.

Useful.

A convenient tool.

A loyal servant.

A disposable sacrifice.

A sob escaped me.

The healers rushed forward.

More herbs.

More medicine.

More desperate attempts to save me.

But none of it mattered anymore.

"You know she would've done anything for you," Selene said.

"I know."

"You could have chosen her."

Then Damian laughed softly.

The sound felt like another dagger piercing my chest.

"I never wanted her."

Everything blurred.

My wolf whimpered in agony.

The mate bond shattered further.

Blood filled my mouth.

The healers panicked.

But their voices were fading.

All I could hear was Damian.

The truth.

The betrayal.

Six years.

Six years of love.

Six years of devotion.

Six years wasted.

The door opened.

Damian stepped inside.

Even through my fading vision, I recognized him instantly.

Tall.

Powerful.

Beautiful.

The man I had loved more than my own life.

His silver eyes met mine.

Cold.

Detached.

Empty.

As though I were already dead.

"Did... you mean it?" I whispered.

His jaw tightened.

"Lyra—"

"Did you mean it?"

The silence answered for him.

A broken laugh escaped me.

"You know what's funny?"

He frowned.

I looked directly into his eyes.

"I would've died for you again."

Something flickered across his face.

Regret.

Surprise.

Maybe guilt.

But it was too late.

"I know," he said quietly.

Of course he knew.

That was the tragedy.

He had always known.

And he had never cared.

Darkness swallowed the room.

The pain disappeared.

I knew I was dying.

I looked at Damian one final time.

If there was another life...

Another chance...

I would never love him again.

Never chase him.

Never sacrifice myself for someone who saw me as nothing more than useful.

My final breath left my body.

Darkness consumed everything.

And the world vanished.

...

"Lady Lyra?"

A distant voice called my name.

"Lady Lyra?"

My eyes flew open.

I sat upright instantly.

Sunlight streamed through the windows.

Birds sang outside.

My room.

My old room.

The room I hadn't seen in six years.

A young maid stood beside my bed.

Concern filled her face.

"Lady Lyra, are you alright?"

My heart began pounding.

My gaze swept across the familiar furniture.

The curtains.

The mirror.

The walls.

Then I saw the calendar.

The date.

My breath caught.

Tomorrow.

The mating ceremony was tomorrow.

My hands started shaking.

Because this was the exact morning before Damian Blackwood became my mate.

Slowly, I touched my face.

My skin.

My hair.

My younger body.

Realization crashed into me.

I wasn't dead.

I hadn't dreamed everything.

I had come back.

Back before the betrayal.

Back before the heartbreak.

Back before the dagger.

Back before my death.

A cold smile slowly formed on my lips.

The maid stepped back nervously.

Because the girl who had awakened this morning was no longer the same Lyra Silverthorne.

And somewhere within Moonfang territory, Damian Blackwood had no idea that fate had just changed.

Or that the woman who once died for him had returned with absolutely no intention of loving him ever again.