Second Turning

On my eighteenth birthday, the High King summoned the heirs of the four great clans—the Vampires, the Werewolves, the High Serpent Clan, and the Merfolk. He laid their portraits before me and said, "Choose one to be your bondmate."

I did not hesitate. I pointed to Damon—the werewolf with no noble bloodline, born in a forgotten corner of the realm. The entire court erupted in disbelief.

Everyone knew who I used to love. Alpha Iris—the heir of the most powerful Lycan bloodline. For seven years, I chased him with blind devotion. No matter how harshly he treated me, I never gave up. I confessed to him over and over, sometimes right in the royal court. I even performed a blood-binding ritual—slitting my wrist—to earn the right to marry him.

In my previous life, I got what I wanted—I married him and we performed the mate bonding ceremony. With that union, he inherited the High King's resources and rose to become the ruler of all four clans.

However, what I did not expect was that after our wedding, he turned around and marked my adoptive sister. My parents were furious and sent her away. From that day on, Iris hated me with a vengeance.

He surrounded himself with women who all looked eerily like her. One by one, they came—each more vicious than the last. With his silent approval, they tore me down, piece by piece, until I was nothing more than a joke—no longer the queen I once was.

The suffering pushed me into severe depression. Only suppressants keep my wolf form from spiraling out of control.

Until one day, my medication was replaced with a slow-acting poison. He was the one who did it.

I died alone, locked away in the cold palace, a child still growing inside me.

However, the Moon Goddess granted me another chance.

Reborn in this life, I chose to let them have each other.

But what I didn’t expect was that Alpha Iris had been reborn too.

...

I had just stepped out of the High King's grand palace when I bumped into Iris and his wolfish crew.

The heirs of the four great clans took one look at me, and scattered like ants in a disrupted anthill. They could not resist throwing a few jabs my way as they left.

"Back to haunt Alpha Iris, Sophie? You've got guts; I'll give you that. You'll stop at nothing to chase after a guy. Aren't you worried your late, heroic granddad's watching from above, shaking his head in disappointment?"

Iris stood there, his eyes frostier than the Arctic, sizing me up as if I were an insect.

"What's your angle this time? Hoping the High King will go to bat for you again? Still harping on that ancient favor your grandpa did for him in the war? How many times can your family play that card?"

His voice dripped with contempt, his eyes rolling with irritation. "You've turned this into royal court gossip, dragging my name through the mud. I won't mark you as mine, not even if you beg the Moon Goddess herself."

I knew that look all too well.

My love had never even nudged his heart.

I swallowed the storm inside me, keeping my voice steady.

"This has nothing to do with you. The High King called for me. He's going to lead my coming-of-age ceremony himself tomorrow."

The words hung in the air, and the heirs who had not quite disappeared stopped dead in their tracks.

"The High King is personally overseeing your ceremony?!"

I understood their shock.

The High King had long since stepped back from such formalities, often sending others in his stead for even his own kin's events. His direct involvement was no small matter.

In a world of werewolves, vampires, the High Serpent Clan, and merfolk, I stood among them as a pureblood werewolf. With a lineage untainted, I was seen as the ideal partner for the next generation.

The High King had made his intentions clear when I was just seventeen. He declared that at my coming-of-age ceremony, he would pick a husband for me from the royal heirs of the four great clans. Whoever he chose would take over the High King's power and lands, stepping up as the new supreme leader.

The crowd snapped out of their daze, chuckling as they clapped Iris on the back, their eyes twinkling with sly praise.

"Way to go, Alpha Iris! You're set for life!"

"Don't forget about us when you're on top. The High King's got your back, and now you're the real deal—the next in line for the throne."

Iris shot me a look, his smirk loaded with pride and a hint of mockery. "You've been pining after me for years, and now you've got your wish. Does that feel good?"

He leaned in, his voice dropping to a murmur.

"Just so we're clear, I'm laying down the law to avoid any future drama. This whole mate contract thing is just for show. Sure, you'll be my Luna in name, but don't even think about butting into my personal life or trying to boss me and my wolf around.

"Play by my rules, and I might just be persuaded to mark you."

I was seething with anger at his outrageous demands. It was beyond ridiculous.

A thought struck me. 'Could it be? Had he been reborn, too?'

Right then, a gentle, frail voice called from behind me. "Sophie."

I turned to see Ruby in a stunning velvet gown, her eyes rimmed with red, coughing softly as she approached me, looking innocent.

Iris's face transformed in an instant, and he hurried over to her. "You're still not well. What are you doing out here?"

Ruby's voice was barely above a whisper. "Dad sent me... He worried my sister would be lonely in the royal court all by herself."

Iris gave me an icy, mocking glance. "Aren't you a delicate one, needing company just to leave the house? Can't you see that Ruby's sick?"

With that, he led Ruby away.

Before they were out of sight, Iris threw one last chilling look my way, his voice a stern warning.

"Sophie, if you keep acting like you're better than Ruby and picking on her, forget about me joining you in that bonding ceremony!"

I could not help but let out a snarky laugh.

'Iris, buddy, it's actually me who's not interested in the bonding ceremony with you,' I mused silently.