THE ALPHA'S REBORN

Chapter Three: The Night History Repeated

Aria’s POV

The flames were everywhere.

They climbed the walls of the pack house, swallowing curtains, furniture, and everything that stood in their way.

Smoke burned my eyes as I stood frozen at the entrance.

But I barely noticed the fire.

All I could see was Damien.

He was on his knees in the middle of the burning hall.

Blood ran down the side of his face.

His clothes were torn.

And behind him stood Selena.

She held a silver dagger in her hand.

The same kind of dagger that had killed me in my first life.

My heart stopped.

For a moment, I wasn't standing in the burning pack house.

I was back on the execution ground.

I could feel the silver chains around my wrists.

I could hear the pack whispering.

I could see Damien watching me die.

Then his voice pulled me back.

“Aria!”

I blinked.

Damien was looking directly at me.

“Get out of here!”

Selena slowly turned toward me.

Her eyes met mine.

Then she smiled.

That smile.

I remembered it.

She had worn the same smile while I was dying.

“You really came back for him,” she said.

I clenched my fists.

“Move away from him.”

Selena laughed.

“You haven't changed.”

“I have.”

I took a step forward.

“I remember everything.”

Her smile disappeared.

For the first time, fear crossed her face.

Good.

She should be afraid.

Because this time, I knew exactly who she was.

I knew every lie she had told.

Every trap she had prepared.

Every person she had manipulated.

And I knew she had killed me once.

She wasn't going to get another chance.

Selena lifted the silver dagger.

“Then you remember how this ends.”

She rushed toward me.

I barely had time to react.

I moved aside as the blade sliced through the air.

I grabbed her wrist.

She twisted free and attacked again.

Our bodies collided.

I shoved her against the wall.

“You killed me!”

Her eyes flashed.

“And you should have stayed dead.”

My blood ran cold.

She remembered.

She remembered everything.

“You remember,” I whispered.

She smiled.

“Of course I remember.”

She struck me across the face.

I stumbled.

Damien tried to rise.

“Aria!”

“Stay there!”

I didn't know whether I was protecting him or myself.

Maybe both.

Selena attacked again.

This time, I caught her arm and twisted it behind her back.

She screamed.

“Tell me who you're working for.”

“I don't know what you're talking about.”

“Liar!”

I tightened my grip.

“Who helped you destroy me?”

Selena suddenly laughed.

“You really think I did everything alone?”

My stomach dropped.

“What does that mean?”

She looked past me.

At Damien.

Then she smiled.

“Ask your Alpha.”

I turned toward him.

Damien's face had gone pale.

“What does she mean?”

He didn't answer.

My heart sank.

“You know something.”

“Aria—”

“You know something!”

Before he could respond, a deafening explosion shook the building.

The floor beneath us trembled.

A huge section of the ceiling collapsed.

“Run!” Damien shouted.

He grabbed my waist and pulled me away just as burning wood crashed down.

“Let me go!”

He released me immediately.

“Are you hurt?”

“I'm fine.”

Blood was dripping from my shoulder.

Damien noticed.

His eyes darkened.

“You're bleeding.”

“It doesn't matter.”

“It matters to me.”

I looked at him.

“That's what you said before.”

His expression changed.

I could see the pain in his eyes.

But I refused to feel sorry for him.

Not again.

A strange howl suddenly echoed outside.

Every wolf in the building went silent.

Damien's head snapped toward the entrance.

“What is it?” I asked.

He didn't answer.

Another howl followed.

This time, his expression became one of pure shock.

“Nightfang.”

My stomach tightened.

“What's Nightfang?”

“A pack that was supposed to have disappeared years ago.”

Before he could explain, the doors exploded inward.

Black-clad warriors stormed into the burning building.

Their eyes glowed red.

Each wore the same symbol on their chest—a black crescent surrounding a silver wolf.

Damien stepped in front of me.

“Everyone behind me!”

His warriors shifted.

The room erupted into chaos.

Wolves attacked from every direction.

Claws tore through clothes.

Fangs flashed.

The smell of blood mixed with smoke.

I shifted halfway, allowing my claws to emerge.

A Nightfang warrior charged at me.

I ducked beneath his attack and struck his ribs.

He barely moved.

He was strong.

Too strong.

He grabbed my throat and lifted me from the ground.

I kicked desperately.

Then a wolf slammed into him.

He released me.

I landed hard on the floor.

“Aria!”

Damien stood over me.

His wolf was out.

His eyes glowed with Alpha power.

He attacked the warrior with terrifying force.

The Nightfang soldier shifted fully and the two wolves collided.

I scrambled backward.

A second warrior came toward me.

I grabbed a broken piece of wood and struck his knee.

He fell.

I grabbed his dagger.

“Who sent you?” I demanded.

He smiled.

“You'll find out soon enough.”

Then his eyes rolled backward.

He collapsed.

I stared at him.

“What happened?”

Damien rushed toward me.

“Don't touch him.”

“Why?”

“He poisoned himself.”

I looked down at the dead warrior.

A chill ran through me.

These people were willing to die rather than reveal who had sent them.

Then I heard a scream.

Not a warrior's scream.

A woman's.

I turned.

Selena was gone.

My heart dropped.

“Where is she?”

Damien looked around.

“She escaped.”

I clenched my fists.

Of course she had.

She always escaped.

In my first life, she had escaped every consequence until it was too late.

This time, I wouldn't allow it.

“We need to find her.”

Damien grabbed my arm.

“No.”

I pulled away.

“What?”

“You're injured.”

“I don't care.”

“I do.”

I stared at him.

His voice softened.

“I can't lose you again.”

Something inside my chest twisted.

I looked away.

“You already lost me.”

His eyes dropped.

“I know.”

A loud crash came from the other side of the building.

The floor cracked.

Damien grabbed my hand.

“We have to leave.”

I pulled my hand away.

“I can walk.”

“I know.”

He paused.

“I'm not trying to control you.”

“Then stop treating me like I'm helpless.”

“I don't think you're helpless.”

His eyes met mine.

“I think you're the strongest woman I've ever known.”

I didn't know what to say.

So I turned away.

“Let's go.”

Damien’s POV

We ran through the burning corridor.

My lungs burned.

But I didn't care.

All I could think about was Aria.

She was alive.

She was beside me.

And I was terrified.

Because in my first life, I had lost her in a fire.

Not this exact fire.

But I remembered the flames.

I remembered running toward her too late.

I remembered holding her body.

I remembered screaming her name.

And now fate had given me another chance.

I wasn't going to waste it.

We reached the courtyard.

Aria stopped.

I turned toward her.

“Are you all right?”

She looked at the burning building.

“No.”

I followed her gaze.

The pack house was almost completely destroyed.

“What happened here?” she asked.

“Nightfang attacked.”

“Why?”

“I don't know.”

She turned toward me.

“You said they disappeared.”

“They did.”

“Then why are they back?”

I didn't answer.

Because I knew the possibility.

Someone had brought them back.

Someone powerful.

Someone who had been working in the shadows.

Someone connected to my father's death.

I had discovered the first clue shortly before my death.

But I had never had enough time to investigate it.

Now I had another chance.

Aria stepped closer.

“Damien.”

I looked at her.

“What aren't you telling me?”

“Nothing.”

Her expression hardened.

“Don't lie to me.”

I sighed.

“There are things I discovered before we died.”

“What things?”

“I found evidence that Selena wasn't working alone.”

“I already know that.”

“I also found evidence connecting the Nightfang to someone inside Moonridge.”

“Who?”

“I never found out.”

She stared at me.

“You expect me to believe that?”

“Yes.”

“Why should I?”

“Because I'm telling you the truth.”

She laughed bitterly.

“You said that in our first life too.”

The words cut deeper than any blade.

I looked down.

“You're right.”

Her expression softened for a second.

Then she looked away.

“I need to know everything.”

“I will tell you.”

“When?”

“Tonight.”

She looked at me.

“All of it?”

“All of it.”

Before she could answer, a strange scent drifted through the air.

Roses.

Dark roses.

Aria suddenly froze.

“What?”

She touched her head.

“I know that scent.”

I smelled it too.

My blood turned cold.

“Selena.”

A howl echoed from the forest.

Then another.

My warriors became alert.

“Alpha!”

A guard ran toward me.

“We found a trail.”

“Where?”

“The northern forest.”

I looked at Aria.

She was already moving.

“I'll go.”

“No.”

She turned.

“Why?”

“Because it's a trap.”

“You don't know that.”

“I do.”

“How?”

I hesitated.

“Because Selena always wants us to follow.”

Aria crossed her arms.

“And if we don't?”

“She'll come to us.”

A voice suddenly floated from the forest.

“Perhaps I already have.”

We turned.

Nothing.

Then a woman stepped out from between the trees.

Selena.

She wasn't holding the dagger anymore.

Her clothes were torn.

Blood covered one side of her face.

But she was smiling.

“You're getting smarter, Alpha.”

I stepped in front of Aria.

“What do you want?”

Selena looked at me.

“Nothing.”

Then she looked at Aria.

“I'm only here to give her a warning.”

Aria stepped around me.

“Say it.”

Selena smiled.

“Your second life won't end the way your first one did.”

I narrowed my eyes.

“What does that mean?”

Selena's smile became cruel.

“This time, you won't die alone.”

She disappeared into the trees.

My warriors immediately chased after her.

“Stop!”

They froze.

I knew it.

Another trap.

I looked at Aria.

She was staring at the forest.

“What aren't you telling me?” she asked.

I swallowed.

“I think Selena knows something about our rebirth.”

Before I could say more, a sharp scream came from behind us.

We turned.

One of my warriors had collapsed.

Blood covered his chest.

A black crescent had been carved into his skin.

Aria rushed toward him.

“He's still alive.”

I knelt beside him.

“Who did this?”

His eyes opened weakly.

He grabbed my arm.

“Alpha…”

“Who attacked you?”

His lips trembled.

“He said…”

“Who?”

The warrior's eyes filled with terror.

“He said you should have stayed dead.”

Then he died.

I stared at his body.

Aria looked at me.

“Someone knew you would be reborn.”

I nodded.

“And they wanted to make sure we didn't survive this time.”

A cold wind swept through the forest.

Then we heard footsteps.

Not one person.

Several.

I stood.

“Everyone prepare for attack.”

The trees suddenly filled with red eyes.

Dozens of wolves stepped out of the darkness.

Nightfang.

But they weren't attacking us.

They were surrounding us.

Then someone stepped between them.

A tall man wearing a black cloak.

His face was hidden behind a silver mask.

He looked directly at me.

“Alpha Damien.”

I stepped forward.

“Who are you?”

He laughed.

“You still don't recognize me?”

“No.”

“You will.”

He slowly removed his mask.

My heart stopped.

I knew that face.

I had seen it in old family portraits.

I had watched his coffin being lowered into the ground.

My father's face.

Impossible.

Aria grabbed my arm.

“Damien…”

I couldn't speak.

The man smiled.

“It's been a long time, son.”

My entire body went cold.

My father was alive.

And standing behind him—

Was Selena.

She smiled at Aria.

“Welcome back, Luna."