Chapter 1

VIOLET’S POV

“Luna, we’ll start the process soon,” my doctor says. “Please be patient.”

I smile. “No problem, doctor.”

He bows and quickly leaves the room. As I adjust my patient gown, I can’t help the small chuckle that slips out.

To the staff at this hospital, I must look like one unfortunate woman, and someone to pity each time I come here. But isn’t it ironic that I don’t feel that way at all? Is it crazy that I feel… happy whenever I’m here?

“You have a rare blood condition.”

Three years ago, my husband came home with my test results and said those words to me. I remember shaking my head in disbelief, tears sliding down my face, and wanting to curse the Moon Goddess herself. Those words felt like a death sentence, like a curse carved into my fate and for a long time, that was all I could see.

It was only later that I understood what else it brought with it, the one thing I always wanted: Adrian’s affection.

When my father died after seventy years as Alpha, he left behind only one child: me. But the laws of our pack states that a woman cannot lead even if she has the true Alpha blood so I had no choice but to choose a husband, someone who would rule as Alpha beside me. And he had to come from the Beta family. Adrian was the first son of the Beta family so I chose him immediately.

But I knew he did not love me even as I picked him. I knew because Adrian never looked at me the way a man looks at the woman he wants.

Despite all of that, I admired him, right from when I was a teenager. Back then, I would linger along the paths he often took, pretending I had nowhere else to be, just so I could catch a glimpse of him. Sometimes, that was enough for me. However, he was cold and distant, always careful to keep his space from mine.

Even after our marriage, nothing changed. When he became Alpha, I was his Luna only in name. For the first year, we did not share a room, we did not share a bed and we did not even share a kiss.

Still, I learned how to live with that emptiness.

Then I got sick and he discovered my blood condition. That was when everything changed in our marriage.

Now, Adrian watches me closely, he asks after my health, he kisses me, holds my hand and shows me the affection I once accepted I would never have.

It is cruel, in its own way. And yet… sometimes, I am ashamed to admit that I am grateful for it.

A nurse enters the room and bows slightly, avoiding my eyes. She looks nervous and pale. “Luna, it’s time. I’ll lead you to the room.”

For some reason, the atmosphere today feels different, as if something bad has already happened. I usually come here every two weeks for a simple blood draw, but today is the first time I’ve felt this kind of unease. Has my condition gotten worse?

“Is everything okay?” I ask, pushing myself to my feet. “Are my test results… bad?”

The nurse shakes her head quickly, her hands fidgeting. “No, Luna. Please… forgive me for worrying you.”

With a sigh, I let her lead me toward the lab but instead of taking the usual path, she turns down a corridor I don’t recognize. I stay quiet, telling myself maybe we’re just using a different lab today.

Then we step into an operating room.

“Why are we here?” I ask, glancing around. Four doctors move methodically, setting up an operating bed, while a few nurses assist them. None of them look at me or even speak. “Someone tell me what’s going on.”

One of the doctors finally turns toward me, holding a syringe. “Luna, I apologize for the confusion. Please sit while I explain everything.”

I hesitate because something feels off and my wolf is agitated. My usual doctor isn’t here, and these men look like surgeons, not the staff who usually handle my tests. Is something wrong with my body? Why are they keeping information from me?

Still, I settle onto the bed, my eyes fixed on him and he gestures to the nurse to set up an IV line.

“Tell me what’s happening,” I demand. “Do not inject me until I know exactly what you’re doing.”

He meets my gaze. “We are just setting up an IV line.”

Then, slowly, he inserts the needle into my vein.

“This is anesthesia for surgery.”

My eyes snap wide. “Surgery? What are you talking about?”

He tilts his head. “Didn’t the Alpha tell you? You’re having heart surgery.”

I grip his hand, trying to stop him but it’s too late. The anesthesia is already in my vein. I yank at the IV line, rising to my feet, but my vision blurs.

“I didn’t consent to this!” I cry, trying to keep my balance, but my body feels weak. “Where… where’s Adrian?”

Two nurses rush forward, trying to force me back onto the bed and I struggle, but my strength is gone. My limbs feel like jelly, my eyes barely able to stay open. I reach for my wolf, trying to give her control but she’s dormant and I can’t reach her. What have they done to me?

They strap me down as the room spins around me and words slur from my lips: Why… are… they… doing this? Where… is Adrian?

“Adrian,” I call weakly, tears streaming down my face. “Adrian…”

“I’m here, Violet.” His voice reaches me, and I force my eyes open.

Slowly, he approaches the bed and looks down at me. He’s smiling but there’s no warmth or affection, just something cold.

“Surgery is about to start,” he says calmly.

My fingers twitch, then manage to grip his shirt. “What surgery?” I whisper.

His smirk deepens. “I need your heart.”

What is he talking about? Need my heart for what?

He leans down, and brushes my hair, pity flashing in his eyes as he looks at me. “I would have kept you alive, Violet,” he whispers. “All I needed was your true Alpha blood to keep my Sophie healthy. But now…” He pauses, then sighs. “Now her heart is failing and I must save her.”

His mate.

Is this a nightmare? A hallucination? Is this the effect of the injection? Adrian can’t possibly be saying this to me… can he?

“Once the surgery is successful, Sophie will receive your heart and live,” he adds. “She’s the one I love, Violet. The one for me.”

My hands fall limply to my sides, my heart shattering into a thousand pieces. Even in this haze, I search his face for any hint of a lie but the warmth I once saw in his eyes for three years is gone. Now they look down at me, cold, empty, and utterly unrecognizable.

“Why?” I whisper, my voice trembling. “I loved you.”

“I know,” he responds. “I know you love me and that’s why you believed me when I told you about your blood condition. I poisoned your wolf slowly until she became sick and you never even thought to test for yourself in all these years.” He scoffs. “Sophie is my true mate, Violet and I cannot let her die from heart disease. You’ve enjoyed her place in my life for three years… and now, it’s my turn to care for her. No hard feelings.”

I reach for him with what little strength I have left, but he steps back. I try to force myself up, to stand, to stop him, to not let him walk away after deciding to kill me for his mate but my body remains lifeless on the bed.

His lips move and I can see him speaking, but I can’t hear a word.

Then the doctors close in around me, cold instruments hovering above my chest. And through the haze, one truth becomes painfully clear—they are about to cut out my heart and hand it to Adrian, for his true mate.

I close my eyes, every moment of his deceit flashing through my mind. For three years, I rejoiced in the affection he showed me, never knowing I was nothing more than a blood bank for his mate. I was never sick, I was always healthy and he used me.

With the last breath left in me, I whisper a prayer to the Moon Goddess: give me another chance. Don’t let me die like this.

Then darkness takes me.

***************

My eyes flutter open, and I jolt awake with a gasp. Instinctively, I clutch my chest, my heart pounding as I scan the room.

Wait… why am I here?

I touch my face, then my arms, tracing my hands over my body.

I am alive. I’m not dead. But how?

The last thing I remember is the operating room, Adrian’s voice, and his confession and now…I’m back in my bedroom. Was it all a dream?

A knock at the door makes me flinch and a maid steps inside and bows. “Good morning, Luna. I’m here to help you get ready.”

I swallow hard, forcing my voice to work. “Get ready for what?”

She looks momentarily surprised before answering, “The coronation. You’re to choose your Alpha today.”

My eyes widen.

No. That’s not possible.

The coronation happened four years ago. I remember it clearly.

Oh, Goddess.

Did I really die?

Am I reborn?