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All Chapters of He Knew All Along That His Dead Mate Had Come Back: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

10 Chapters

Chapter 1

In my last life, when I died in Kane's arms, the moon was full.A hunter burst out of the trees and lunged at his heart with a silver knife. I didn't stop to think. I threw myself in front of him. I still remember the silver poison spreading through my flesh, the cold crawling up my bones until even breathing hurt.I heard Kane screaming my name. He never cried in front of the pack, but that night he held me and begged me to open my eyes.When the system sent me back to the human world, the last thing I heard was him crying.My parents thought I'd only been missing for a while and had finally come home safe. They made all my favorite dishes, but I kept waking in the middle of the night, remembering the wind in Graypine Forest and the warmth of Kane's hand around mine.Three years later, I traded 20 years of my life for one chance to return to the pack. The system agreed to let me borrow the body of a low-ranking she-wolf who had just died. There was only one condition: I couldn't tell

Chapter 2

As soon as my wounds healed a little, I started looking for ways to get close to Kane.The Graypine pack relied on its strong warriors and left many smaller jobs to low-ranking wolves. I started by helping the healer. I cut the bandage cloth the hunters had left behind into shorter strips that were easier to wrap around wounds. Then I dried several kinds of herbs and made little pouches the guards could carry, just as I used to.Kane used to come back from the border covered in wounds. I'd treated them more times than I could count. I knew which herbs he was allergic to. I also knew not to use water that was too hot when the cold made his old injuries ache. Now he was using medicine I'd prepared once again, and he even praised how careful I was in front of the healer."This is a good idea," he said. "Where did you learn it?""I used to make them for someone who was always getting hurt." I looked at him. "He had a terrible temper, and he'd never admit it hurt."Kane's eyes lingered on m

Chapter 3

Kane had never liked hunting dogs that humans raised. The pack's warriors said dogs barked wildly at the scent of wolves and could easily draw hunters in, so hardly anyone kept them in the territory.But that day, as he watched Ash lying at my feet, his expression was unusually gentle."Ivy was like this too," he said. "She didn't even like eating vegetables, but she always had to grow them. And she wanted to save every injured little animal."I smiled and asked, "So do you still hate them now?"He reached out and stroked Ash's ears without answering.The next day, Ash died in a corner of the garden. A silver trap had sliced open the side of his neck, and blood soaked his gray fur. I crouched beside him, unable to stand for a long time. Finally, I clung to a tree trunk and threw up until there was nothing left.Someone had seen one of Selena's attendants walk by carrying a trap. The evidence wasn't hard to find, and the warriors guarding the gate knew whose orders that attendant follow

Chapter 4

The color drained from Kane's face.He took two steps toward the door, then stopped and planted himself in front of Selena. It was the stance an Alpha took when protecting someone from a threat. I'd seen it countless times when hunters surrounded us. Now he was using it against me."Leah, when did you get here?" he asked."When you said Noah needs an heir." I looked at him. "I heard plenty, including the part where you recognized me two years ago and kept me working as a servant on purpose."The few people in the council hall all avoided my eyes. Kane reached for me, and I stepped back. My burned arm scraped the doorframe, and the pain made my fingertips tremble.I'd been pregnant with his child once too.Back then, Kane had just taken over the Graypine pack for his young nephew, Noah Blackwood. The old Alpha had died suddenly, and several packs along the border were watching for weakness. Some feared Kane would have a child of his own and take Noah's inheritance away. Kane patrolled t

Chapter 5

Mia's hands kept shaking as she cleaned my burn. She'd heard what happened in the council hall, but she didn't dare ask much. She only said quietly, "If you're leaving, could you take me with you? I don't want to work for Selena anymore."I looked at her hands, cracked from years of washing bandages, and remembered how she used to pout and wheedle over little things when she worked for me. Now she seemed afraid that even asking for this much would upset me."I'll make sure you have somewhere to go," I told her. "But where I'm going, you can't follow me for now."She froze, thinking I was about to hide something from her and go somewhere dangerous alone again. Before she could say anything, measured footsteps sounded outside the door.Kane came in with a few attendants, carrying a familiar medical kit. It was the one we used to bring whenever we went out together, stocked with medicine to stop bleeding, gauze, and salve for silver wounds. He'd once said that as long as he was around, I'

Chapter 6

I slept through the night in Riverbend. In my dreams, there was no hunter's silver knife and no Kane calling my name. When I woke, all I heard was someone setting out dishes downstairs.Helen handed me the transfer papers with Mia's name already on them. Then she called over a few reliable guards who hired themselves out in town. "Graypine people have been coming into town a lot lately. I don't feel right letting you go back alone. Let these men take you. At least someone will be with you at the border."I was going to say no, but then I thought of Mia, still in the pack, and agreed.When we returned to Graypine, the yard was packed. Mia wasn't in the back kitchen. I asked three people before a girl from the laundry finally pointed toward the stone courtyard, crying. "Selena says Mia set the dog on her on purpose. She wants justice for her baby. They've been beating Mia for ages."My heart sank like a stone.When I ran into the courtyard, the first thing I saw was the new little huntin

Chapter 7

When Kane stood up, his chair scraped harshly across the floor."I've told you, Selena's baby is where I draw the line." He lowered his voice, and his eyes began to take on a wolfish gleam. "I didn't hold that slap against you. And what she did to you before ends here too. If you both give a little, Graypine can have peace again. If Mia doesn't pull through, I'll find you another maid."A chill spread through my chest. To him, even Mia was replaceable."Don't bother," I said. "There won't be a next time."Kane's head snapped up. "What do you mean? You're leaving again?"I didn't answer. He grabbed my wrist so hard that I thought he'd crush the bones. The weight of a high-ranking Alpha's dominance bore down on me. This low-ranking body trembled on instinct, but I stayed on my feet and refused to bow my head."Ivy, don't use leaving to force my hand." His voice grew rougher. "You died once. I've had enough of that kind of life. If you want to go back to the human world, you'll need my pe

Chapter 8

When I opened my eyes again, I was lying in my own bed at home.My room was just as I'd left it. The flowers my mother had been tending for me still sat by the window, and a photo of the three of us at the beach stood on the bookshelf. Before I could sit up, the door opened, and she froze in the doorway."Ivy?" She hurried over and cupped my face, her eyes going red at once. "Why has so much of your hair gone white? You're so young. How did this happen all at once?"The system had already taken its 20 years. In the mirror, a wide silver streak ran through my hair at the temples. My face looked much more worn than when I'd left, as though I'd suffered a long illness in just a few days.My mother held me and cried until her shoulders shook. I didn't want her to worry, so I forced a smile. "This is kind of nice. When we walk down the street now, people won't know which of us is the big sister."She laughed despite herself and gently tapped my forehead, but she didn't let go. My father hea

Chapter 9

Two years later, the system appeared one more time.I was choosing a birthday present for my father when that long-absent voice sounded in my head. I nearly dropped what I was holding.[Host, some of the people you care about are settled now. You may choose to take a look.]I thought of Mia, hesitated for a moment, and agreed.In the image, the herbal shop in Riverbend had new curtains and flowers blooming by the door. Mia wore a clean work dress. She weighed herbs and made change with ease. Her silver-whip wounds had healed into scars, and she no longer moved so timidly. Whenever she ran into something she didn't know, she'd shout for Helen. They'd argue a little across the counter, then burst out laughing together.A young man helped her carry stock. She could turn down his advances without embarrassment and still invite him to stay for tea. Seeing how at ease she was, I believed for the first time that she'd never be punished again just for being close to me.Thank you, I told the s

Chapter 10

I made one last request of the system.Don't let me see anything about Graypine ever again, I told it. And don't show up in my life anymore either. I'm home now. I don't need to know who regrets what, or who cried all night over me.The system was silent for a moment, then agreed.After that, life settled down. I kept working, went to the market with my parents on weekends, and sometimes hiked with friends outside the city. The wide streaks of premature white hair in the mirror reminded me I'd traded 20 years for a love that was already over. Sometimes it still hurt, but I no longer lay awake all night over that choice.Then one morning, while I was washing up, I noticed the white hair at my temples was gone.At first I thought the light was too dim, so I went to the window. Sunlight fell on the mirror. My hair was its familiar dark color again, and even the weariness in my face seemed to have vanished overnight. I touched my face, unable to believe it.When my mother came in, she froz

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