Chapter 2: Back From The Dead

My hands would not stop trembling.

It had nothing to do with fear.

Fear had died with me.

What remained was rage.

A deep, scorching fury that burned beneath my skin every time I remembered the last moments of my previous life.

I stood motionless before the mirror in my bedroom, staring at the reflection of the girl looking back at me.

Eighteen years old.

Young.

Healthy.

Alive.

There were no shadows beneath my eyes. No exhaustion carved into my face. No scars left behind by years of heartbreak and disappointment.

The girl in the reflection still looked innocent.

Still looked hopeful.

Still looked like she believed in true love.

A bitter laugh almost escaped me.

That girl no longer existed.

She had died on a healer's bed with a wolfbane dagger buried in her chest.

She had died listening to the man she loved admit that he had never loved her at all.

My fingers curled against the dressing table.

The memory hit me again.

I never loved her.

The words echoed through my mind like a curse.

My stomach twisted violently.

For six years I had chased Damian Blackwood.

For six years I had convinced myself that if I loved him enough, if I remained loyal enough, if I sacrificed enough, he would eventually choose me.

Instead, he had chosen no one.

Except perhaps Selene.

His precious stepsister.

The woman he looked at when he thought nobody was watching.

The woman who occupied every corner of his heart.

And I had been foolish enough to stand between them, believing I mattered.

A soft voice interrupted my thoughts.

"Lady Lyra?"

I blinked.

The maid standing behind me looked concerned.

I quickly masked my expression.

"I'm fine."

The lie tasted bitter.

Nothing was fine.

Everything had changed.

I had died.

And somehow, impossibly, I had returned.

A sharp knock sounded at the door.

The maid hurried to answer it.

Moments later another servant entered.

"Lady Lyra," she said respectfully. "Alpha Damian has returned from patrol."

My entire body stiffened.

Damian.

He was here.

Alive.

Breathing.

Walking through the manor completely unaware that he had destroyed me in another lifetime.

For a brief moment, memories surged forward.

His rare smiles.

His deep voice.

The way my wolf used to leap with excitement whenever he entered a room.

Then came the darker memories.

His indifference.

His rejection.

His cold eyes watching me die.

The warmth vanished instantly.

I turned away from the mirror.

"Why are you telling me?"

Both servants stared.

Confused.

Everyone in the pack knew about my obsession with Damian.

The old Lyra would have demanded every detail of his patrol.

She would have rushed outside just to catch a glimpse of him.

The realization made me cringe.

How pathetic had I been?

The servant hesitated.

"I thought you would want to know."

A cold smile touched my lips.

"Not anymore."

Shock flashed across both their faces.

Good.

Let them be surprised.

The old Lyra was gone.

And she was never coming back.

---

The entire pack manor buzzed with excitement.

Servants rushed through hallways carrying decorations.

Flowers filled every room.

Laughter echoed through the corridors.

Tomorrow was supposed to be the happiest day of my life.

Tomorrow was the mating ceremony.

The day that had ruined everything.

Most people expected me to spend the day choosing dresses and discussing ceremony details.

Instead, I headed straight toward the training grounds.

The moment I arrived, conversations stopped.

Several warriors looked at me as though I had grown another head.

I understood their confusion.

The old Lyra hated training.

Not because she disliked fighting.

Because she spent every spare moment watching Damian.

Damian trained.

Selene watched him.

And I watched them both.

The memory disgusted me.

I walked toward the weapon rack and grabbed a practice sword.

A nearby warrior nearly choked.

"Lady Lyra?"

I tossed him another sword.

"Fight me."

His eyes widened.

"What?"

"You heard me."

The warrior looked horrified.

"I can't do that."

"Why not?"

His expression became increasingly uncomfortable.

"Because Alpha Damian would kill me."

The humiliation hit harder than expected.

Of course.

Nobody saw me as strong.

Nobody saw me as capable.

They treated me like fragile glass because they pitied me.

Not because they respected me.

My grip tightened around the sword.

Then I threw it back onto the rack.

"Forget it."

I turned to leave.

A familiar voice stopped me instantly.

"What exactly are you doing?"

My body froze.

I knew that voice.

I would recognize it anywhere.

Slowly, I turned around.

Damian Blackwood stood several feet away.

Tall.

Powerful.

Intimidating.

The future Alpha of Moonfang.

The man I once loved more than my own life.

The man I actually died for.

For a split second, my chest tightened.

Then I remembered his words.

She was useful.

The pain became ice.

Damian studied me carefully.

Confusion flickered across his silver eyes.

"Why are you here?"

I folded my arms.

"Is the training ground forbidden?"

"No."

"Then there's your answer."

Several warriors suddenly became fascinated by the dirt beneath their boots.

Nobody spoke to Damian that way.

Especially not me.

His gaze narrowed.

"You seem different."

If only you knew.

I shrugged.

"Maybe I finally got tired of being predictable."

The mate bond stirred.

I felt it.

The familiar pull still existed.

But this time I refused to surrender to it.

For years, I had allowed that bond to dictate my emotions.

Never again.

An unfamiliar tension settled between us.

Neither of us looked away.

For the first time since meeting him, I wasn't smiling.

Wasn't blushing.

Wasn't desperately trying to earn his attention.

And strangely enough, that seemed to unsettle him.

He stepped closer.

"What happened?"

A laugh escaped me.

A real laugh.

Sharp and bitter.

"What happened?"

His jaw tightened.

"Yes."

I looked directly into his eyes.

The same eyes that had never once looked at me the way they looked at Selene.

The same eyes that had remained cold while I died.

"What happened," I said quietly, "is that I finally grew up."

Something unreadable flashed across his face.

Before he could respond, another voice interrupted.

"Damian!"

My entire body tensed.

Selene.

Of course.

She approached with effortless grace, her smile bright and flawless.

For years I had believed she was my closest friend.

Now I knew better.

The moment her eyes landed on me, her smile faltered.

Only for a second.

But I noticed.

"Lyra," she greeted warmly.

Fake.

Every word sounded fake now.

"Selene."

Her eyes narrowed ever so slightly.

The old Lyra would have embraced her immediately.

Instead, I simply watched.

Observed.

Waited.

"You seem upset," she said.

"I'm not."

"Are you nervous about tomorrow?"

The mating ceremony.

The prison that had disguised itself as a dream.

Before I could stop myself, the words slipped free.

"I'm not attending."

Silence exploded across the training grounds.

Every warrior froze.

Damian's expression darkened.

Selene's smile vanished.

"What?" she whispered.

My heart sank.

Too soon.

I had revealed too much.

Damian took a step forward.

"What did you say?"

The Alpha authority in his voice made several wolves lower their heads.

Not me.

Never again.

I met his gaze without flinching.

"I said I'm not nervous."

He didn't believe me.

I could see it.

Neither did Selene.

Before either of them could push further, another warrior rushed forward carrying an urgent report.

The moment shattered.

But Damian's eyes remained fixed on me long after he turned away.

As if he knew something had changed.

As if he could sense fate slipping through his fingers.

And for the first time, I was glad.

Let him wonder.

Because this was only the beginning.

That night, standing before my mirror, I discovered something that made my blood run cold.

A thin silver scar stretched across my chest.

Exactly where the wolfbane dagger had pierced my heart.

The wound from my previous life had followed me into this one.

And when a chilling voice whispered from the darkness, warning me that others remembered my death, I realized the truth.

I wasn't the only one who knew fate had been rewritten.

Someone inside Moonfang Pack had been waiting for my return.

And they were already watching.