Chapter 1

Lucian—the Alpha of the Luproma Pack—had been cursed by a dark witch with a mate-hunger hex.

To survive, he had to claim his fated mate before the moon set.

If he didn't, the curse would burn through his spirit, shatter his control, and make his body tear itself apart from the inside.

In my previous life, I loved him like a fool.

As a witch, I know the fastest way to save him. So I gave my purity as a witch and forged a blood bond with him, to break the hex.

But at dawn, his childhood sweetheart Seraphina, just an omega in Luproma Pack, burst into the hall, tears streaming down her face.

“Lucian! The summons came, the Empire chose me as the Blood Prince's Seventh bride!”

Her voice shook.

“He's not like other Lords,” Seraphina said, voice low.

“He's from the First Bloodline—hundreds of years old.

Every bride he takes dies within days.

Not murdered.

Not abandoned.

Gone.No body. No soul.

Even their names vanish from family records.

They say his bond doesn't claim—he feeds.

And the worst part?

They all go willingly.”

She dropped to her knees.

“All six brides disappeared. Not even bones were left. I don't want to die… Please, just claim me as your true mate instead!”

But it was too late.

Lucian had already taken my maiden blood. And in werewolf law, an Alpha can only have one bonded mate for life.

As he claimed me,there's no second chances.

On our bonding night, Seraphina hanged herself at the sacred altar.

Her white gown was soaked in blood—like a rose crushed beneath frost.

Lucian didn't blink. He ordered her body removed and finished the bonding rites without a word.

But on the seventh night after her death… he unleashed a dozen war wolves and left me alone in the frozen tundra.

Blizzards howled. Ice bit through my skin.

He stood on the cliff above, eyes blazing red,whip cracking like a death sentence in the wind

“If you hadn’t thrown yourself at me like some starving stray, I could’ve waited for Seraphina!

You shattered our destined bond. Now watch your own flesh feed my wolves!”

They tore into me before I could scream.

Dragged me for miles across ice and stone.

My skin ripped. My bones broke.

Then,I woke up.

Back to the night the curse struck.

Inside, Lucian writhed on the furs—veins black under his skin, teeth bared, growling like a wolf whose soul was being ripped out.

This time, I didn’t wait.

I rode through the blizzard, dragged Seraphina from her bed, and shoved her into his chamber.

“You are his cure. ” I said, voice like ice. “I knew you’re chosen by the Empire, I’ll take the Blood Prince instead.”

Behind the door, heavy panting filled the dark.

Claws scraped wood—slow, desperate, hungry.

Seraphina seized my wrist. Her golden eyes gleamed, sharp as fangs.

“Elise… Is that really Lucian in there?

Or did you drug some stranger and trick me into bedding him—just to ruin my name and steal Lucian for yourself?”

I couldn't blame her.

Everyone knew: I, Lady Elise, scion of the venerable Valerius line—whose blood runs with ancient sorcery,had chased Lucian for years.

I'd refused three dukes just to wait for him.

After all, once an Alpha bonds, the soul-mark is forever. This was my only chance to become his Luna… so why give it up?

But in my last life, the identity of Luna earned me nothing but a violent end by fang and claw.

Only then did I understand: Lucian's soul had always called for Seraphina. Not me.

Now that I'd been reborn… I'd rather face the Blood Prince than die again at the teeth of Lucian's war wolves.

“Seraphina,” I said evenly, “you're wrong. Lucian is like kin to me, my brother's blood sworn brother.

“You’re the one who grew up with him, the one his heart chose.

You're his true mate. I just couldn't watch him burn alive from the hex.

“If you walk away now, you will die in the capital.”

She opened her mouth, said nothing.

“Elise? Is that you? Come in, help me!”

Lucian heard voices in the hallway.

When my brother was away, I was usually the only one in his castle besides the servants.

Seraphina went rigid.

That voice. That scent-call. She would know it anywhere.

Without another word, she thrust a crumpled parchment into my hands—her Imperial summons,

The seal was broken, and her selection letter lay within.

“The Empire sent this to me at dawn,” she whispered, smile sharp as winter thorns. “Remember correctly: mine is blank. The chosen one is you.

Go. Be the Seventh ghost in his castle.

As a witch, you know: once a Mate Bond seals, it can't be undone.”

“I won't believe you suddenly ‘don't want him',” she added, low and venomous. “You must be up to something.

She leaned in, breath icy against my ear.

“Unless you stay right here, guard the bedroom, and later brew the bonding bath—so the whole pack knows I'm his true mate, and you're nothing but a ghost at the door. I'll scream and tell the whole pack you sneaked into an Alpha's bedroom like a shameless rogue.”

I knew she wanted to strip me of every shred of pride.

But I couldn't risk it. The memory of fangs in my throat still haunted my dreams.

I nodded.

With a cold laugh, she pushed open the door.

“Seraphina?” Lucian rasped. Sweat slicked his skin—but his eyes lit like twin moons. He pulled her onto the furs and claimed her mouth like a starving wolf.

The look in his gaze,it was everything I'd begged for, but never earned.

I shut the door softly.

But their mating sounds—whimpers, growls, the creak of furs—still pierced the wood like thorns dipped in venom.

Hours passed.

Servants carried in oak tubs of steaming water，moonbloom and lavender swirling on the surface. My calming blend.

Then, silence.

Time stretched until I could barely feel my feet.

And then, the door opened.

Lucian stepped out in a silk robe, chest bare, skin still flushed from claiming his mate.

His Alpha pheromones rolled down the hall，thick, musky, soaked in Seraphina’s sweetness.

The unmistakable stench of a sealed Mate Bond.

His eyes landed on me， scowled.

“Elise Valerius！Why are you still here?”

Then, as if remembering my betrayal, he kicked over the basket of healing herbs at my feet—the ones I'd prepared for their bonding.

“Are you really this shameless?! You know I never wanted you—yet you lurk outside like some pathetic shadow?! Have you no honor?!”

Herbal water soaked me from head to toe. In the northern freeze, it turned to ice in seconds，biting like shattered glass.

Before I could speak, he growled, “Don't think I owe you anything because you ‘played noble' and brought Seraphina.”

“I've already claimed her. We'll seal the bond in the Moon Hall soon. And you—” his voice dropped to a lethal rumble.

“stay out of my sight. Now!”

I swallowed the ache in my throat.

“I know. I won't come near you again.”

I turned to leave.

At the end of the hall, maids whispered, “The Imperial summons for the Blood Prince's bride went out today. Noble girls trembled opening theirs—thank the Moon Goddess, theirs were blank.”

“They say the Blood Prince is from the First Bloodline—an Alpha so old, his bond doesn't heal, it feeds. Every bride gives her life-force to keep him strong…”

“The Sixth? Vanished. No body. No soul-mark. Like she never existed.”

Lucian's eyes narrowed. Suddenly, he barked, “Elise—your summons. Hand it over.”