All Chapters of Reborn: The Daughter They Regret Losing: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

Layla's POVI would never forget those words. Not after hearing them spoken over my dying body. Not after the knife.Share your wolf with Aurora.The chandeliers were wrong. The champagne glasses, the marble floor, the dress that pinched my shoulders and hung loose at the waist — none of this should exist. I should be dead on a cold floor with my wolf ripped out of me.My hands were clean. No rope burns. No blood.I was eighteen again.That morning, I'd awakened my wolf for the first time. She'd surged through me, fierce and powerful — unmistakably an Alpha's wolf. My whole body had hummed with her. She was fierce. She was mine.And for the first time in eighteen years, I'd felt like I might be enough. For one stupid, shining hour, I'd believed my father would finally see that. That my father would finally look at me as his daughter instead of the stray they'd dragged in from the border.When I told the family, their faces looked strange. Not proud. Not pleased. Something calculated t

Layla's POVThe corridor outside the banquet hall smelled like roasted venison and expensive wine. Through the kitchen doors, I could see servants rushing back and forth, carrying platters piled high with imported meats, bottles of liquor that cost a fortune, trays of desserts arranged like tiny sculptures.I stopped. Watched.Two servants struggled past with an ice carving, a howling wolf, cut from a single block, already sweating in the warm air. Behind them, another hauled a case of wine that cost more than most border families earned in a month.I knew where the money for all of this came from.When they'd brought me home three months ago, I'd been so desperate to belong that I'd looked into the Pack's finances through my own channels. What I found was ugly. Father looked like a good Alpha on the surface. He held the borders, gave good speeches, kept up the act. But his treasury bled money every single quarter.Out of some naive hope that I could help my new family, I'd started fu

Layla's POVFor one reckless heartbeat, the past flooded in.His study. Midnight. A decanter shattered against the wall and his voice cracked on "get out." Then the quiet after the storm — you can always come back. The only person who ever said that to me and meant it.I stared at Valerius and the words slipped out before I could stop them."You know?"His brow lifted a fraction. "Layla Thorne. Second daughter of Alpha Marcus Thorne's Pack. Twin sister of Aurora, who holds a betrothal agreement with the crown." He didn't pause between facts. "Your Pack is allied with the Vance family. Did you think I would be ignorant of my betrothed's household?"The ground steadied under my feet.He didn't remember.He knew my name from a political file. The twin sister of his future bride.I went cold. The faint, stupid hope that I wasn't the only one who remembered.But Valerius was already moving. His hand caught my chin and tilted my face up, turning it left, then right, studying me. "What were

Layla's POVI'd come back expecting to slip in through the window and sleep until Brenna arrived. Instead I'd walked into my own family auctioning off my wolf, my mate, and my future over birthday gifts.Father's face went dark red. "You were under confinement. Where have you been?"I didn't answer. My eyes moved across the room. The opened gift boxes, the royal brooch in Aurora's hand, Kaelen's careful distance from my sister now that I was watching. A moment ago they'd been pressed shoulder to shoulder.Kaelen cleared his throat and shifted his gaze to the far wall. Not guilt. Embarrassment. The two were different, and I'd stopped confusing them a long time ago.Aurora recovered faster than the rest. Her chin lifted and her voice went shaky, the kind that made everyone want to shield her."Layla, I never wanted to take anything from you. Kaelen and I—""I know." I kept my voice light. "You don't have to explain. I heard enough."Her face flickered. For half a second, the softness cr

Layla's POV"What kind of person hangs around my sister?"This remark infuriated Brenna. "This person has a name, you—"I caught her arm. She swallowed whatever she was about to say, but her shoulders stayed rigid.Aurora tilted her head, a soft crease between her brows. "Cole, don't be mean. Layla must be so lonely in that house all by herself. It makes sense she'd want to see a friend." She gave me a sympathetic smile. "Right, Layla?"The words sounded generous, but Cole's face darkened, exactly the way Aurora intended."An Alpha daughter doesn't roam around at dawn hugging strangers in the middle of the road." Cole's chin lifted. "Look at her. She's covered in dirt. She looks like a rogue.""And you look like someone who's never been punched," Brenna said flatly.I pinched the back of her arm. She pinched me back."I'm not a stranger," Brenna continued, her voice level now. "I'm Layla's oldest friend. And I'm standing on a public road, so unless Pack law has changed overnight, I do