You Only Live Twice Novels & Stories

“I’m here to decide what I can live with.” Lady Serephine’s hand slid from her belly to the edge of her gown, fingers smoothing fabric as if Elowen’s words were merely noise. “Decide,” she echoed softly. “But remember, Lady Elowen. Second wives don’t get to rewrite the story. They only get to accept the ending.”

he replied calmly, “and live better lives. It’s a cycle, Lyra. They will be reborn stronger, wiser. What happens here is temporary.” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “Temporary?” I repeated in disbelief. “She’s dead. Dead! Her life is over, and you think just because she might come back in another life that makes it okay?” He was quiet for a moment “They will have a second chance, Lyra. Everyone does.” I let out a bitter laugh, shaking my head. “And what about the ones who don’t make it out? The ones who never get that second chance? How can you stand there and tell me that it’s okay because they’ll reincarnate? You’re playing with lives.”

He literally gave me a ten percent attention and gave the rest of them to Kitara, it was something I could easily say without compromising. “How many times do we get to live?” I narrowed my eyebrows into slits. “Tell me.” “Do we get to live twice?” He asked with a hint of sarcasm in his voice, “of course it's once.” “Yes, and that's why I did it,” I said with a smirk. “I can't lose you twice in this life.” My face beamed as I spoke. “You never lost me in the first place, I can assure you about that,” his hands were crossed across his chest.

“It’s worked just fine up until now.” Jessica let her gaze rest on me a moment longer, as if she wanted to see whether I realised how ridiculous my habit had become. I knew damn well that I couldn’t keep playing the eternally single Josh now that I had passed thirty by more than two years. It goes entirely against our instinct to remain alone, especially after thirty. If you manage to hold out until your thirtieth year and have the misfortune of not having found your true partner, then it is natural for a wolf to settle for the second best option. I had simply never been able to make myself do that.

“You’ve been inside her this whole time?” “No,” the voice said, amused. “But she was built for this. You were all busy trying to revive her, and never thought to ask why she was the only one who survived Phase II.” That made everyone stop. Anais felt her stomach drop. “Phase II… was supposed to kill everyone.” Dahlia stepped forward, tense. “Except it didn’t. Maris lived.” “Because she was the test,” the voice replied through her. “The first successful merge. The beginning of Phase III.”

You think you're entitled to everything because of your oh-so-great bloodline? "However, there's one thing you'll never get your hands on." Iris looked lost. "And what's that?" I stood tall, my voice ringing out. "A do-over. There's no magic pill for regret in this world." I raised my voice just a notch. "Pretty soon, Damon and I will tie the knot, and you're totally invited to the bonding ceremony." Iris looked like he had more to say, but I did not want to hear it. I wriggled free and slammed the door shut.

I can feel the warmth of him like a second layer of air. For a second, I imagine leaning forward. Just once to see if it still feels the same. The thought hits me fully formed and dangerous: Maybe one last time would fix it. Maybe if I let it happen again, properly, deliberately, then it would lose its power. Maybe it would turn into something ordinary instead of this sharp, humming thing under my skin. Like popping a blister instead of walking on it. The idea scares me because it does not sound like a bad idea at all.

"It happened to me. Forty years ago, when I was thirty-one years old, I died. And I came back." The quiet in the room was complete. "I am not telling you this to create sympathy," he said. "I am not asking you to reconsider anything about what comes next. I understand what the next months look like for me." He paused. "I am telling you because you should know that you are not the only one. That you were never the only one. That there are others — some of whom you will find, some of whom may find you — and that what you choose to do with the second life matters in ways that extend beyond your own story."

Secretly married for two years to a man the rest of Dublin fears. A child wasn’t in the equation. I open the box with fingers that keep trembling. I follow the instructions like they're an experimental protocol—timer on my phone, exactly three minutes, binary result: yes or no. When the two pink lines appear in the plastic window, the world stops spinning. I sit on the cold bathroom floor for a time I can’t measure, staring at those two lines as if they might change under enough observation. They don’t. Two lines. Unequivocal. Rewriting every variable of my life in a single second.

“You will either marry Caspian or Arnold. Our shipping business needs the protection of the Falcone family.” Suddenly, a familiar voice rang clearly in my mind. ‘This time, I’ll make sure I choose the perfect husband first.’ I snapped my head toward my sister, Leia. She was gracefully smoothing her skirt, a sweet, flawless smile on her face. However, what I had just heard… Was that her inner voice? ‘In my last life, I married that violent lunatic Caspian and lived in fear every single day. This time, I’ll take the gentle Arnold, and Elysia shall suffer instead.’