Chapter 3.

Veyra’s POV

By midnight, I had made a list of everything I needed to survive the apocalypse.

Food. Water. Medicine. Weapons. Fuel. Secure storage. Reliable transport. I stared at the paper, remembering how quickly our comfortable lives had fallen apart.

In the beginning, Blackthorn had enough food to feed its people for months.

Then the roads became dangerous, livestock started dying, and merchants stopped delivering supplies. Before long, people were fighting over rotten vegetables and handfuls of grain.

I had watched neighbors betray one another over things they once considered worthless and when our supplies finally ran out, my family decided I was worth more dead than alive.

My pen pressed hard against the paper. Never again.

Buying food wasn’t enough. I needed clean water, medical supplies, independent power, and somewhere secure enough to withstand both infected creatures and desperate survivors. Most importantly, I needed money nobody could take from me.

In my first life, I had allowed Draven to use my inheritance whenever Blackthorn needed assistance. I had paid debts, funded repairs, and purchased supplies because I believed a Luna should put her pack first.

Draven had called it building our future.

I had called it love. Now I know better.

I opened my financial records and began reviewing my investments, properties, and private accounts. Some assets could be sold quietly. Others needed to be transferred before Draven noticed anything unusual. The process hurt more than I expected.

Every transaction reminded me of something I had sacrificed for him.

The house I had sold to finance his expansion. The jewelry I had pawned to pay the warriors’ salaries.

The savings I had emptied because he promised we would rebuild them together.

I stopped at an old transfer receipt bearing his signature.

For our future.

A bitter laugh escaped me.

“What future, Draven?” I whispered.

The man who had promised to protect me had watched my family prepare to eat me. I closed the file and continued transferring my money into accounts he couldn’t access.

If protecting myself meant taking back every coin I had given him, then I would do it without hesitation.

By sunrise, I had secured the first portion of my funds. Now I needed a place to hide everything I planned to buy. And I knew exactly where to look.

The mountain estate stood beyond a narrow road surrounded by thick woodland.

I remembered it from my first life. Its previous owners had abandoned it during the early food shortages, leaving behind a property that later became the subject of bloody disputes between desperate survivors. Most people considered it worthless because of its distance from town and the repairs it needed.

They were wrong. The estate had a freshwater spring, defensible access roads, underground storage rooms, and enough land to grow food if the climate permitted.

I intended to secure it before anyone else discovered its value.

An elderly caretaker named Mr. Hale met me at the entrance. He looked surprised when I explained that I wanted to purchase the property immediately.

“Lady Nightingale, I must warn you that the buildings need considerable work,” he said as he led me inside.

“The roof leaks, several windows are broken, and the underground rooms haven’t been properly maintained.”

“Then we’ll repair them.”

He glanced at me. “You’re willing to spend that much on an abandoned estate?”

“I’m willing to pay for what it’s worth.”

I followed him downstairs, inspecting the storage rooms and making notes. Some needed reinforcement. Others could hold preserved food and medical supplies. The rear access required clearing, and the main entrance needed stronger security.

I wasn’t foolish enough to believe walls would make me invincible.!A shelter could become a prison if the people inside turned against one another. I knew that better than anyone.

If I ever opened this place to survivors, there would be rules. Nobody would control the food alone. Every supply would be recorded, and shortages would be reported immediately.

Nobody would be sacrificed simply because someone powerful decided their life mattered less.

I would build a sanctuary, not another Blackthorn.

After reviewing the documents and confirming that I could complete the purchase, Mr. Hale accepted my offer.nI left with the transaction underway and a list of repairs to begin.

For the first time since waking up, I felt as if I was finally moving ahead of the disaster instead of running from it.

Then I remembered someone who might help me prepare for what was coming.

Talia Wren. In my previous life, she had tried to warn me about the medical treatments I received after my miscarriages.

I hadn’t listened closely enough, and by the time I understood that something was wrong, it was too late. This time, I would listen. Talia answered my call after several rings.

“Veyra? Is everything all right?”

“I need your help sourcing medical supplies.”

“What kind?”

“Emergency treatment kits, antibiotics, protective equipment, and medicines that can be stored for extended periods.”

“Why does a Luna need enough medical supplies for a disaster?”

I leaned against the estate’s doorway, “Because I believe a serious crisis is coming.”

“Do you have evidence, or are you frightened by rumors?”

Her bluntness almost made me smile.

“I can’t prove everything yet. But I know what the early symptoms will look like.”

I described the exhaustion affecting otherwise healthy wolves, the sudden aggression, and the failed shifts that would precede the worst of the outbreak. Talia stopped questioning me.

“Where did you hear about these symptoms?” she asked quietly.

“I can’t tell you that.”

“Then why should I trust you?”

I looked out at the surrounding forest.

“Because I wouldn’t risk your help if I thought this was nothing.”

Another silence followed.

“I’ve seen confidential reports describing unusual wolf illnesses,” she admitted. “The cases were considered isolated, but some of the symptoms match what you’ve described.”

My heart began pounding.

“Will you investigate?”

“Yes, but you need to understand something. Buying supplies on this scale will attract attention. People will start asking questions.”

“Let them.”

“Veyra, whoever is watching might not appreciate your preparations.”

“Then I’ll prepare for them, too.”

Talia sighed. “I’ll look into the reports. But don’t make promises you can’t keep, and don’t trust everyone who offers to help.”

“I won’t.”

When the call ended, I felt a little less alone. Unfortunately, that feeling didn’t last. My first major supply order included grain, preserved food, medical kits, water filters, fuel, and equipment for reinforcing the estate.

I divided the purchases among several merchants and arranged staggered deliveries. Nobody needed to know the full extent of my preparations. For a few hours, everything went according to plan. Then one of the merchants called.

“Lady Nightingale, we have a problem with your order.”

I straightened in my chair. “What problem?”

“Someone claiming to represent your household requested that part of the delivery be redirected.”

“Who authorized it?”

“The request carried Alpha Draven’s household seal. I’ve sent you a copy of the document.”

The file appeared on my phone. I recognized the seal immediately. But the signature beneath it wasn’t Draven’s. It belonged to Seren.

My fingers tightened around the phone. In my first life, I had trusted my sister with access to household arrangements. She had been free to handle purchases and contact merchants whenever I was occupied with pack duties. Those permissions should no longer have existed. Someone had either kept an old authorization or deliberately created a new one.

“Cancel the redirected delivery,” I ordered. “Release nothing without my personal confirmation. And don’t mention this to Draven.”

The merchant agreed. I immediately contacted my solicitor to review the remaining permissions and strengthen the security around my accounts. Seren had no reason to interfere with my purchases unless she knew something.

The question was how much. I had barely begun preparing for the apocalypse, yet someone was already reaching into my resources. And I had a terrible feeling this was only the beginning.

I returned to the mountain estate after sunset.

Mr. Hale hurried toward me as I approached the entrance, his expression unusually tense.

“Lady Nightingale, someone visited earlier.”

I stopped, “Who?”

“He claimed to represent the royal court. He asked detailed questions about the underground storage rooms, the water supply, and the estate’s access roads.”

My stomach tightened.

“Did he show you identification?”

Mr. Hale reached into his pocket and handed me a small card.

The royal insignia gleamed beneath the security light. Below it was a name I recognized.

Kael Veyr.

I stared at the card, unable to hide my shock. I hadn’t met the king yet. I’d told nobody about this estate except Mr. Hale and Talia.

So why was Kael Veyr already investigating my sanctuary?

And how much had he discovered?

For the first time since my rebirth, I felt the clock ticking faster than I could control. Someone had noticed my preparations.

And if the king already considered me a threat, I needed to find out why before he decided to stop me.