THE ALPHA'S REBORN

Chapter Six: The Seven-Day Curse

Aria’s POV

The moment I saw the words carved into the stone, my blood ran cold.

SEVEN DAYS.

I stared at the warning again, hoping I had somehow misunderstood it.

One of you will die again.

My fingers tightened around the piece of cloth Selena had left behind.

Damien stood beside me, completely silent.

For once, the powerful Alpha looked afraid.

Not for himself.

For me.

“Aria,” he whispered.

I turned toward him.

“What?”

His eyes remained fixed on the message.

“This wasn't here before.”

“I know.”

“Then someone came here after Selena died.”

A shiver crawled down my spine.

Someone had been watching us.

Someone knew about our rebirth.

Someone knew what happened in our first life.

And somehow, that person knew exactly how much time we had left.

Seven days.

Seven days before one of us died.

Again.

I looked at Damien.

“Maybe we should leave.”

He immediately shook his head.

“No.”

“Why?”

“Because whoever wrote that wants us to run.”

His voice hardened.

“And I'm done running.”

I almost laughed.

“You say that now.”

His eyes met mine.

“I said I was sorry.”

“That doesn't change what happened.”

“I know.”

“You killed me once, Damien.”

Pain flashed across his face.

“I know.”

“You watched them drag me away.”

His jaw tightened.

“I know.”

“You believed Selena over me.”

His eyes lowered.

“I know.”

“And now you expect me to stand beside you because we're both afraid of dying again?”

“No.”

His answer was so quiet that I froze.

“I don't expect forgiveness.”

He stepped closer.

“I only want the chance to keep you alive.”

My heart betrayed me with one painful beat.

I hated that part of me still cared.

I hated that despite everything, hearing him say those words still hurt.

Before I could respond, a howl echoed through the forest.

Not a wolf.

Not completely.

It was deeper.

Older.

Something that made every instinct inside me scream.

Damien immediately shifted his attention toward the trees.

“Stay behind me.”

I almost scoffed.

“I don't need protection.”

“I know.”

He drew his claws.

“But I'm still going to protect you.”

Branches snapped.

A shadow moved between the trees.

Damien growled.

“Come out.”

Nothing.

Then a voice floated through the darkness.

“You're already too late.”

My blood turned cold.

Damien stepped forward.

“Who are you?”

A figure appeared between the trees.

A hood covered most of their face.

But I could see the silver eyes.

The same silver eyes Selena had possessed.

My breath caught.

“No…”

The stranger smiled.

“You finally remember.”

Damien moved in front of me.

“Aria, don't look at him.”

But I couldn't look away.

The stranger slowly removed his hood.

My knees almost gave out.

I knew that face.

Not from this life.

From my first life.

He had been there the night I was executed.

He had stood among the council.

He had watched me die.

And I remembered his name.

Lord Cassian.

Damien's father.

The man everyone believed had been dead for years.

My voice trembled.

“You…”

Cassian smiled.

“Yes.”

Damien's entire body went rigid.

“Father?”

Cassian looked at him.

“You shouldn't have been reborn.”

Silence swallowed the forest.

Damien stared at him as if the world had just collapsed beneath his feet.

“Why?”

Cassian's smile disappeared.

“Because your second chance was never meant to save Aria.”

He looked directly at me.

“It was meant to destroy her.”

My heart stopped.

Damien immediately turned toward me.

“Don't listen to him.”

But Cassian laughed.

“You still don't understand, son.”

He pointed at me.

“She isn't the innocent Luna you remember.”

I felt my chest tighten.

“What are you talking about?”

Cassian's eyes darkened.

“Your mother was the last descendant of the original Moon Queen.”

My fingers went numb.

“The Moon Queen?”

“Yes.”

He stepped closer.

“And the blood in your veins is the reason you were murdered in your first life.”

Damien stared at him.

“Then why did Selena betray her?”

Cassian's expression became cold.

“Because Selena was never the mastermind.”

My heart shattered.

“Who was?”

Cassian smiled.

“Your own family.”

Before I could ask another question, a sudden explosion shook the forest.

The ground beneath us cracked.

Damien grabbed me and pulled me against his chest.

“Run!”

We sprinted through the trees as flames erupted behind us.

But before we disappeared into the darkness, Cassian's voice followed us.

“Seven days, Aria!”

I looked back.

He was standing calmly among the flames.

“On the seventh night, the truth will be revealed.”

His silver eyes locked onto mine.

“And one of you will die.”

Then he vanished.

I stopped running.

Damien turned toward me.

“Aria?”

I looked at him.

For the first time since being reborn, I wasn't afraid of dying.

I was afraid of discovering the truth.

Because deep inside me, something was beginning to awaken.

Something ancient.

Something powerful.

Something that had been sleeping inside my blood for centuries.

And I knew one thing with terrifying certainty.

The person who had destroyed my first life...

was still coming for me.

This time, I would not die quietly.