BROUGHT BACK TO LIFE

Year 1916

6th Mating Anniversary

Minerva, a Luna weighing over 220 lbs—should have been celebrating her sixth fated mating anniversary. However, that day turned into a nightmare when she was dragged to the place of judgment. She was accused of poisoning Kayller, one of the twin Alphas who was her fated mate.

"I swear by the Moon Goddess, I did not poison Kayller, Killian!" In front of hundreds of pairs of eyes staring at her in judgment, Minerva cried and begged. However, Killian—Kayller's twin—did not believe her at all.

"Stop shedding your fake tears, Minerva!" Killian snapped. "Your oath means nothing when that poison cup was found in your room!"

"No, Killian! It's a slander! Why would I poison Kayller?!" Minerva screamed hysterically. Her heavy body trembled violently on the cold stone prison floor, tears streaming down her pale face.

"Because you thought Kayller was having an affair with your own sister!" Killian declared, his voice filled with hatred that echoed throughout the room. "You tried to poison both of us because of your insane accusations, but unfortunately... it was Kayller who drank the poison and died!"

"I truly did not poison Kayller, Killian! I swear by the Moon Goddess and my late parents!" Minerva sobbed.

Both her hands were chained with silver that burned wolves, spreading a searing heat that felt like it was melting her entire body. She was whipped repeatedly until fresh blood flowed from her open wounds, but that pain was nothing compared to the cruelty of the accusations Killian had thrown at her.

With what little strength she had left, Minerva turned toward Lydia and Aleesha—her best friend and her own sister—who stood in the front row of the crowd. They were smiling triumphantly at her. Minerva's heart ached terribly, feeling utterly betrayed.

"Be quiet and shut your mouth! You are unworthy of swearing in the name of the Moon Goddess for the crime you have committed! Do you think that because you are a Luna, you can do as you please in this Darkwood Pack?" Killian roughly grabbed Minerva's jaw, forcing her to look up. That look of disgust was there again, piercing straight into the deepest depths of Minerva's heart.

"Marrying you has been the greatest curse of my life. And today, you will pay for what happened to my twin, Kayller!" he declared, his eyes blazing with vengeance and hatred. "Minerva, from this moment on, I reject you as my fated mate. And you shall be sentenced to death for all the crimes you have committed!"

Along with that verdict, Killian cruelly forcibly siphoned all the wolf strength from within Minerva's body, then forced the wolfsbane poison down her throat. The heavy woman's body immediately convulsed violently as the poison slowly paralyzed her entire nervous system.

In the end, Luna Minerva—the kind, obedient, heavy woman who had protected the Darkwood Pack with all her heart, and who had never been touched nor treated as a mate by her twin Alphas—now had to succumb to a tragic death.

Minerva's eyelids snapped open fully. She blinked, finding herself in her own room. She touched her neck and chest, searching for scars from the whips or the lingering burn of the silver that had seared her moments ago. But there was nothing. Her skin was still intact.

"I... why am I still alive?" Minerva murmured in confusion. "Was that just a dream?" She touched her chest. If it was a dream, it felt far too real and excruciatingly painful.

A knock at the door snapped Minerva out of her daze. She quickly stepped forward and opened it, finding a servant already standing there.

"Your Majesty, your twin Alphas are waiting. You are requested to wear this gown for the Mating ceremony," the servant said, extending a dress. Minerva didn't take it immediately.

"The Mating Anniversary ceremony?" she repeated in confusion.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Minerva then took the gown. "Alright, thank you. I'll get ready first," she said, closing the door.

"If this is my Mating Anniversary day... then what I experienced earlier really was just a dream?" she murmured, letting out a sigh of relief.

Minerva turned to prepare herself. However, her steps suddenly halted when her eyes accidentally fell on the calendar hanging on the wall. Her eyes widened perfectly. Her body instantly stiffened as she realized that she had been sent back one year—precisely on her fifth fated mating anniversary.

"Why... why is it now 1915?" Minerva murmured in confusion and disbelief. "Shouldn't this be 1916? This should be my sixth Mating Anniversary."

Unable to believe it, Minerva hurried out of her room. With rushed steps, she checked every calendar hanging in the corridors of the packhouse castle to confirm. She even stopped several servants to ask, and their answers were all the same. It was currently 1915. She had been thrown back to the past.

So, that horrifying memory wasn't just a nightmare? She had truly died, cruelly executed by Killian on their sixth mating anniversary? And now, she had been thrown back to one year before her death, given a second chance at life?

"Why are you still here and not getting ready?!" Killian's sudden shout snapped Minerva out of her thoughts, making her turn and face him. "What are you doing here? Don't make the guests wait for you!"

Minerva simply fell silent and stared at the man before her. Killian was the man she had secretly loved since childhood. When she found out that Killian was her fated mate, Minerva was overjoyed. However, fate apparently had other plans. She was not only bound to Killian, but also had to accept Kayller, Killian's twin, as her fated mate as well.

Unfortunately, Minerva had never truly been wanted by either of the twin Alphas. Her presence in this pack was merely to utilize her strength or status, without ever receiving a single ounce of attention or good treatment befitting a Luna. Let alone attention—neither of them had ever even touched her to this very day.

Killian, her fated mate whom she had secretly loved since childhood, had actually been carrying on a secret relationship with her friend named Lydia, while Kayller was close to her younger sister named Alesha. Remembering it made Minerva's heart ache terribly, especially since she had been falsely accused of poisoning Killian—something she never did.

"Why are you silent? Are you listening to me or not?!" Killian snapped.

"I'm not deaf! My hearing works perfectly fine. So stop shouting at me!" Minerva snapped back, glaring sharply at Killian. Her loud voice instantly made Killian jolt in shock. All this time, Minerva had always been submissive, obedient, and had never once dared to raise her voice at him. "Go ahead, I'll catch up!" Minerva said coldly. She turned and walked straight toward her room, turning her back on Killian, who was still standing there in shock at her suddenly cold demeanor.

Remembering how the man she had loved so deeply had heartlessly accused her and mercilessly eliminated her in the future made Minerva's heart—once full of love—now freeze over, leaving only an empty space filled with walls of wariness.

From now on, Minerva swore she would bury her feelings for Killian deep within. She vowed she would no longer be a weak and easily oppressed Luna. She would use this one year to reverse her fate—she would reject both twin Alphas, and ensure that anyone who dared to disturb her life this time would pay a very heavy price.