Torment

In my previous life, my father gathered my sister Sarah and me and ordered us to choose a mate from the Alphas of the three great wolf packs: Black Fang, Red Claw, and Silverwind. Both of us set our sights on the same man—the most powerful Alpha among them all, Red Claw’s Alpha, Rhett. However, my father had always favored Sarah. Without giving me a choice, he forced me into a political marriage with Blake, the slightly weaker Alpha of the Black Fang pack. Meanwhile, Sarah got exactly what she wanted and married Rhett. At the time, no one expected what would happen next. After I became pregnant, Blake suddenly awakened the hidden power within his bloodline—the legendary strength of the Black Wolf. Overnight, he rose to become the most powerful Alpha of all. From that moment on, he treated me with endless tenderness, indulged my every wish, and never once raised his voice to me. Meanwhile, Sarah’s life with Rhett turned into a nightmare. Day after day, she endured his fists and cruelty. Her body was constantly covered in bruises and wounds. The jealousy consumed her until she finally lost control. One day, she forced poisonous wolfsbane down my throat. I died in unbearable agony, both the child in my womb and I. In my final moments, as my life faded away, I saw someone rushing toward me. It was Seville, the silent Alpha of the Silverwind pack, the man who had barely spoken a word the entire time. Yet, he was the one holding my lifeless body, crying uncontrollably. … When I opened my eyes again, I had returned to the day we were meant to choose our mates. This time, Sarah moved first. She deliberately seduced Blake before I could even approach him. Only then did I realize that she, too, had been reborn. She looked at me with open provocation, her lips curling into a smug smile. “You’re… too late.” I smiled brightly in return. Then, I chose the least favored Alpha of them all, Seville. She could go ahead. Blake was all hers. All the torment Blake inflicted on me in my previous life, she can have it this time.

The cold seawater engulfs me, its relentless pull dragging me into the abyss. I kick desperately, my lungs burning, but the surface drifts farther and farther away. "Save me, Kane… save our child…" Pain lances through my body as I clutch my stomach, shielding the fragile life within me. The child I never thought I'd have, the child who was supposed to be our blessing. Through the watery haze, I see Kane Porter standing on the jagged cliffs above the shore. His tall, commanding figure is framed by the moonlight, his golden eyes burning with hatred. The alpha of the Nightfall Pack, the man who once whispered my name with reverence, now looks at me like I'm filth beneath his feet. His voice cuts through the roaring waves, sharp and merciless. "Don't think I don't know what you've done, Selene." The currents tug me deeper. My strength wanes, but his words stab deeper than the water ever could. "You drugged me with a philter, hoping to make me mark you—hoping to force your way into the position of my Luna. Because of your selfishness, Arya is gone. You destroyed her mind, pushed her into madness!" A shadow of despair twists across his face, but it vanishes beneath pure fury. "She fell from that cliff because of you." I shake my head, but I can’t speak. The sea is swallowing my voice. "Do you know what it’s like to wake up every day in torment? To live knowing the woman I loved died because of you?" His eyes glint like a wolf ready to tear out his prey's throat. "I want you to feel every ounce of that pain. I want you and your cursed child to die with her." The waves crash above me, and darkness claws at the edges of my vision. When I open my eyes again, I'm taken back to the day Kane's philter takes effect. He approaches me, his face flushed and his breathing rapid. He's already undone his buttons. "Hang on, Kane. Arya will be here soon!" I back away and open the door behind me. Then, I run off.