Rejected by the Alpha, Chosen by His King

In my previous life, my younger sister and I both married into the Blackthorn Pack. I was the eldest daughter of Silvermoon's Alpha, and everyone said I was the obvious choice to become Blackthorn's next Luna. Yet in the fifth year of my marriage, the baby I had fought so hard to conceive was rejected by Blackthorn's bloodline registry. My husband decided I had betrayed him. He killed our baby in front of me, then threw me into an abandoned silver mine. My sister, meanwhile, gave his younger brother a legitimate heir and became Luna in a blaze of glory. When I opened my eyes again, I was back at the mating ball. My husband walked right past me and fastened the engagement necklace around my sister's neck. That was when I knew he had traveled back as well. He thought choosing another woman would give him an heir his father approved of. What he didn't know was that he wasn't the Blackthorn Alpha's biological son at all. I couldn't wait to see whom he would blame after my sister gave birth. ****** "Enjoy yourselves tonight. May this gathering bring good news to Blackthorn and Silvermoon." Gareth Michelson raised his glass, and applause filled the ballroom. I stared up at the crystal chandelier and finally understood. I had traveled back. I was 24 again, on the night of the alliance ball in Gray Harbor. On Norhaven's west coast, ancient redwood forests separated werewolf territory from the human cities. Gareth, Alpha of the Blackthorn Pack, was the ally my father wanted most. He planned to choose a successor from among his adult sons. Whoever secured the backing of a powerful family and built a stable household would have the advantage. As the music began, several men approached the young women who had caught their eye. Caden Michelson, Gareth's eldest son and my husband in my previous life, walked straight toward me. I looked up at him. The eyes that had once captivated me held no tenderness now, only naked disgust. My father didn't notice. Beaming, he adjusted my shoulder strap as if he could already see me as Blackthorn's Luna. "Mona, your mother and I both came from Alpha families. Caden couldn't have chosen a more suitable mate. Once you're married, make sure you give him an heir as soon as..." His smile froze before he could finish. Caden walked straight past me, fastened the black-diamond necklace around Blair's neck, and pulled her against his side. Blair Walker, my sister, was so stunned she forgot to set down her champagne. Her mother had once been a rogue no pack would accept until my father brought her back to our estate. Those who cared about bloodlines had always looked down on Blair. Yet Caden had cast me aside and chosen her. Low gasps rippled through the ballroom. I understood immediately. Caden had gone back in time too. In our previous life, he had covered the entire lakeshore in white roses before taking me home to Blackthorn Estate as his bride. Blair had married Oliver Michelson, the unfavored second son. At first, Caden had been considerate and gentle with me. But when years passed without a child, he quickly lost patience. He started haunting bars and spending entire nights with beautiful she-wolves. I, on the other hand, was put through every test, and every accusation fell on me. Then, in our fifth year, I finally held my baby in my arms. Noah Michelson had been so tiny, curled up in his swaddling blanket, even his cries soft. Then his bloodline registration destroyed everything. The Blackthorn family tied its territorial trust to descendant status. Every newborn had to be matched against stored family samples during registration. The report couldn't confirm a grandfather-grandson match between Gareth and Noah and called for further testing. Caden read a single page and decided I had slept with another man. He even refused when the doctor asked him to provide a sample. Gareth withdrew the territory he had planned to give his first grandson, and Caden's brothers seized the opportunity to rally support for their own succession bids. Blair's child with Oliver, meanwhile, passed the bloodline registration without issue. Oliver later succeeded Gareth as Blackthorn's Alpha, and Blair became the Luna everyone rushed to flatter. Watching his younger brother gain everything, Caden took all his resentment out on our baby and me. I dropped to my knees and begged him, but he seized our baby and, without hesitation, crushed that faint little cry into silence. Then he beat me with a silver whip until I could no longer shift and dumped me into a mine shaft. Everyone condemned me for being unfaithful. Some even pitied him for marrying the wrong woman. Only as I lay dying did I learn what that report had really meant. It wasn't that Noah wasn't Caden's child. It was that Caden had spent his entire life calling the wrong man Father. "Caden." Gareth's voice pulled me from my memories. "Are you sure? Mona has been trained as a Luna since childhood. She would make an excellent mate." Caden gave me a contemptuous glance and pulled Blair even closer. "Father, Blair is the woman I love. I want her to be my Luna." Blair's eyes filled with tears at once. She had always believed she was every bit as good as I was, but her mother's background had always kept her on the outside. At balls, she was rarely even asked to dance first. Now, everyone who had ever looked down on her stared enviously at the necklace around her neck. She straightened her back and gave me a triumphant smile. Seeing that his son wouldn't budge, Gareth had no choice but to approve the match. In front of everyone, Caden swept Blair into his arms and carried her out of the ballroom, making the ladies around cover their faces and giggle. The other men invited their chosen partners to dance. Only I remained beneath the crystal chandelier, the one person everyone pretended not to see.