THE ALPHA'S REBORN

Chapter One: The Day We Died

Aria’s POV

The silver chains around my wrists were burning through my skin.

Every movement sent another wave of pain through my body, but I refused to cry.

Not in front of them.

Not today.

The entire Moonridge Pack had gathered in the execution square.

Hundreds of wolves stood behind the iron barriers, whispering as they stared at me.

Some looked at me with hatred.

Some with pity.

Most looked at me like I was already dead.

Rain poured from the dark sky, soaking my torn dress and washing the blood from my lips.

I lifted my head.

And there he was.

Alpha Damien.

My mate.

My husband.

The man I had loved more than my own life.

He stood at the top of the stone platform wearing his black Alpha coat, his expression cold and unreadable.

Beside him stood Selena.

The woman who had destroyed me.

She wore white.

Almost like an innocent bride.

Her hand rested gently on Damien's arm as she watched me suffer.

My stomach twisted.

Three years ago, I had stood beside Damien on that same platform as his Luna.

The pack had cheered.

He had placed the Luna crown on my head and whispered that he would protect me forever.

I had believed him.

I had been stupid.

“Aria.”

Damien's voice cut through the rain.

I stared at him.

“Do you have anything to say before your sentence is carried out?”

A bitter laugh escaped my lips.

“Anything?”

I looked around at the pack.

“My entire life has been taken from me because of a lie.”

Selena's expression changed for only a second.

Fear.

I saw it.

“You still refuse to admit what you did,” she said softly.

I turned toward her.

“You know I didn't do it.”

Her face paled.

“You know I never poisoned the Alpha.”

“You were found beside the poison.”

“You planted it.”

“You were seen entering his chambers.”

“Because I was his mate!”

The words exploded from my throat.

The crowd went silent.

I looked at Damien.

“You were sick that night. I went to check on you.”

His jaw tightened.

“I woke up and found you standing beside my bed with the poison.”

“I didn't poison you!”

“You were the only person in the room.”

“Because someone locked the door behind me!”

Nobody answered.

I searched Damien's eyes desperately.

For three years, I had waited for him to believe me.

Just once.

“Damien,” I whispered.

His eyes met mine.

“I loved you.”

Something flickered across his face.

Then disappeared.

“I loved you more than anything.”

My voice broke.

“And you chose to believe everyone except me.”

His hands tightened around the armrest of his chair.

I took one shaky breath.

“If you kill me today, remember this.”

I stared directly into his eyes.

“You will regret it.”

Selena stepped closer to him.

“Alpha, she's trying to manipulate you.”

I laughed again.

“Manipulate him?”

My eyes burned with tears.

“What else can I possibly take from him? He already took everything.”

Damien stood.

The entire square became silent.

He looked at me for a long moment.

Then he spoke.

“Take her to the execution ground.”

My heart shattered.

Even though I had expected it, hearing the words still destroyed the last piece of hope inside me.

The guards grabbed my arms.

I didn't fight them.

I simply kept looking at Damien.

Waiting.

Hoping.

Begging silently for him to stop them.

He didn't.

As they dragged me away, I turned my head one final time.

“Damien!”

He looked at me.

“This isn't the end.”

His expression hardened.

I smiled through my tears.

“You will find out the truth.”

The guards pulled me away.

“And when you do…”

My voice trembled.

“I'll already be dead.”

Damien’s POV

The sound of the execution bell echoed through the pack.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

I sat alone in my office after everyone had left.

I should have felt relieved.

The traitor was gone.

Justice had been served.

That was what I told myself.

But something felt wrong.

I opened the evidence file again.

The poison.

The witness statements.

The reports.

Everything pointed toward Aria.

Everything except one thing.

Her eyes.

I remembered them.

She hadn't looked like a guilty woman.

She had looked betrayed.

I pushed the thought away.

“No.”

I closed the file.

Then someone knocked violently on the door.

“Alpha!”

I stood.

“What?”

The door opened.

One of my guards stumbled inside, pale and terrified.

“Alpha, you need to come with me.”

“Why?”

He swallowed.

“We found something.”

“Where?”

“In the old medical chamber.”

My chest tightened.

“What did you find?”

The guard stared at me.

“The original poison vial.”

I froze.

“What?”

“We had it tested again.”

He lowered his voice.

“It wasn't the poison used to attack you.”

My heart stopped.

“What are you saying?”

The guard's eyes filled with fear.

“The poison that nearly killed you came from a completely different source.”

My chair fell behind me.

I barely noticed.

“Then where is the vial Aria was accused of using?”

The guard hesitated.

“That's the problem, Alpha.”

“Speak.”

“It was planted.”

Silence.

My blood ran cold.

“Who planted it?”

“We don't know yet.”

I stared at him.

“Find out.”

“Yes, Alpha.”

He turned to leave.

Then another guard rushed into the room.

“Alpha!”

“What now?”

His face was white.

“We found the person who accessed your chambers that night.”

My heart began pounding.

“Who?”

The guard looked at me.

“It was Selena.”

The world stopped.

I couldn't breathe.

“No.”

“Alpha—”

“No.”

I shook my head.

“That is impossible.”

But somewhere deep inside me, I already knew.

I remembered Aria's last words.

You will find out the truth.

My legs weakened.

I grabbed the edge of the desk.

“Where is Aria?”

Nobody answered.

My eyes widened.

“Where is my Luna?”

The guard lowered his head.

“Alpha…”

His voice broke.

“She's dead.”

Something inside me shattered.

Aria’s POV

Darkness.

That was all I remembered.

Then—

Warmth.

I gasped.

My eyes flew open.

I sat upright.

My chest heaved violently.

I touched my throat.

No chains.

No blood.

No execution ground.

I looked around.

A bedroom.

My bedroom.

But that was impossible.

I stumbled out of bed and ran toward the mirror.

The woman staring back at me wasn't the broken woman who had died moments ago.

She was younger.

Her skin was unscarred.

Her eyes were bright.

My hair fell over my shoulders.

I touched my face.

“No…”

I stepped backward.

“This can't be real.”

Then I saw the date on the calendar.

My blood ran cold.

Five years earlier.

The day before I first met Damien.

The day before everything went wrong.

The day before I became Luna.

A sob escaped my lips.

I was alive.

I had been given another chance.

But this time, I knew the truth.

I knew who would betray me.

I knew who would destroy me.

And I knew the man who would eventually regret losing me.

I wiped my tears.

“No more.”

I looked at my reflection.

“I won't make the same mistake twice.”

A knock sounded at the door.

I froze.

“Luna Aria?”

My heart stopped.

That voice.

I knew it.

The door slowly opened.

And there he stood.

Damien.

Alive.

Young.

The man who had killed me in my previous life.

His face went completely pale when he saw me.

For several seconds, neither of us spoke.

Then Damien whispered—

“Aria…”

I stared at him.

He took one step toward me.

“You're alive.”

My heart pounded.

Because the look in his eyes told me something terrifying.

He remembered too.

He remembered everything.

And if Damien remembered our first life…

Then he also remembered exactly how he had destroyed me.

His eyes filled with tears.

“Aria…”

I stepped backward.

“Don't come near me.”

He stopped.

For the first time in my life, I watched the mighty Alpha Damien look completely broken.

“I remember,” he whispered.

My blood turned cold.

He remembered.

He remembered my death.

He remembered his betrayal.

He remembered everything.

I stared at the man who had once been my entire world.

Then I smiled bitterly.

“Good.”

His eyes widened.

“Because this time…”

I walked past him.

“…you'll have to live with what you did.”

And behind me, Damien whispered the words that made me stop.

“Aria… Selena was the one who killed you.”

I slowly turned around.

Because that wasn't the worst part.

Damien's face had gone pale.

“And she knows we're both reborn.”