Willow·hai
I am the elder daughter of the Dawnlight pack Alpha.
On the day I came of age, my father told my sister and me to choose our future mates from the two sons of the Brightvale pack Alpha.
The older brother, Damian, was steady and self-possessed.
The younger one, Kieran, counted for nothing in his own pack, and it showed in the sullen, beaten-down way he carried himself.
In my last life I chose the younger brother without a moment of hesitation, because I wanted him to know what it felt like to be someone's favorite.
But on the very day he became Alpha, he threw me out to the rogues.
I was carrying his pup.
They tortured me until I died.
Right before the end, Kieran stood over me and looked down.
"If it weren't for you, I'd have been with your sister Adeline a long time ago. You deserve this!"
Only then did I learn that he had wanted my sister for years, and that he had never once meant for me to be the Luna of Brightvale.
Then I opened my eyes again.
Kieran and I had both come back to the day of the choosing.
He knelt before my father, solemn as a vow.
"Honored Alpha, the one I love has always been your younger daughter, Adeline. I want nothing to do with your elder daughter, Cassia."
Every wolf from Brightvale watched me and enjoyed it.
But I only smiled, faintly.
Then I turned and chose the brother standing at Kieran's side. Damian.
Kieran was still living inside the illusion of his last life, certain he had taken the Alpha title on his own strength.
He had no idea that from the beginning to the end, only the mate I chose was ever fit to become Alpha.