The Cursed Lycan's Reborn Mate

Chapter 2 – Reborn

Elara

"I'm so sorry for this embarrassment, my love," she said. "But nothing will stop us from being together now."

As the guards dragged me away, I heard the elderly Alpha King cough violently. Through the blur of my tears, I saw him clutch his chest before collapsing to the ground.

Chaos erupted in the ceremonial hall, but above the shouting and confusion, I heard Isabella's voice, clear as crystal:

"The King! Someone help the King!"

The last thing I saw before being pulled from the hall was Isabella's triumphant smile as she knelt beside the fallen monarch, playing the part of the concerned future luna perfectly.

And now, with perfect timing, the old Alpha was dying, Dominic would take the throne, and Isabella would be his Luna. Just as she dreamed while I faced treason charges for a crime my own twin sister had planed.

..

The guards' grip on my arms tightened as they dragged me through the stone corridors of the pack house. My wedding gown Isabella's wedding gown caught on the rough floor, tearing the delicate fabric that had cost a fortune. Not that it mattered anymore.

"Please, listen to me," I begged, my voice breaking. "Isabella planned this! She asked me to take her place."

The two burly guards exchanged glances but remained silent. Their faces were impassive, trained not to show emotion while carrying out orders. I recognized one of them Max, who used to smile at me when I walked through the pack grounds. Now his eyes wouldn't meet mine.

They threw me into a cold, damp cell beneath the pack house. The iron door clanged shut behind me, the sound echoing like a death knell.

"The Alpha heir will decide your fate," Max muttered before turning away.

I sank to the floor, the beautiful white gown pooling around me like spilled milk. How quickly everything had changed. This morning, I had been Elara Frost, the forgotten twin, the wolfless disappointment who lived in her sister's shadow. And now? A traitor awaiting punishment.

My mind raced back to Isabella's face in the ceremonial hall—that small, satisfied smile when the Alpha King collapsed. Had she planned that too? No, even Isabella couldn't have timed something so perfect.

The next morning, they came for me. Four guards, solemn-faced, led me to the pack grounds where a large wooden tub had been prepared. The acrid smell hit me immediately wolfsbane. The purple flowers floated on the surface of the liquid, beautiful but deadly.

A crowd had gathered. Pack members watched with a mixture of horror and morbid fascination. Some looked away, unable to bear the sight of an execution. Others whispered behind their hands, no doubt discussing how the plain, wolfless twin had tried to steal her sister's place.

And there, at the front, stood Isabella and Dominic. Isabella wore black, playing the part of the grieving bride whose special day had been ruined. Dominic's face was a mask of authority, but I could see the conflict in his eyes.

Isabella stepped forward as I was led to the tub. "Sister," she said, loud enough for everyone to hear. "I forgive you for what you tried to do."

The audacity of her false mercy made my blood boil. "Tell them the truth, Isabella. Tell them you begged me to take your place."

She smiled sweetly, placing a hand on my cheek. "Your jealousy has driven you to delusion, sister. I pray the Moon Goddess grants you peace."

"As acting Alpha," Dominic announced, his voice carrying across the grounds, "I hereby sentence Elara Frost to death by wolfsbane for the crime of treason against the pack and attempting to fraudulently enter a sacred mating bond."

The guards moved to place me in the tub.

"Wait!" I cried out. "Dominic, please, give me a chance to prove what I'm saying. Check the bridal room. There must be evidence of what happened!"

Dominic hesitated, but Isabella touched his arm. "My love, she's desperate. Don't let her manipulate you as she tried to manipulate me."

His face hardened again. "Proceed."

They lowered me into the tub. The wolfsbane solution soaked through the wedding dress, burning my skin like acid. I screamed in pain, thrashing against their hold.

"Hold her down," someone ordered.

The pain was unbearable, like my blood was turning to fire in my veins. Wolfless as I was, the poison worked slower on me than it would on a full werewolf, but it was no less excruciating.

Through the haze of agony, I saw the crowd dispersing. No one wanted to watch a slow death. Eventually, even the guards left, leaving me to die alone.

As darkness began to creep into the edges of my vision, I heard footsteps approaching. With tremendous effort, I opened my eyes.

Isabella stood over the tub, watching me suffer with cold calculation.

"Why?" I managed to gasp through the pain.

"Why?" she repeated, kneeling beside the tub. "I'll tell you why, dear sister. I overheard the Elder referring to the Alpha's son's future mate as Luna. Luna! Can you imagine? All this time, I thought I was settling for a beta's son, only to discover he's the Alpha heir."

"You... knew?" I choked out.

"Not until yesterday." She smiled, twirling one of the wolfsbane flowers between her fingers. "I couldn't just stand by and watch someone else become Luna. Especially not you, my pathetic, wolfless sister."

The truth hit me harder than the poison. "You... planned this. All of it."

"Not all of it." Isabella shrugged. "I didn't plan for the old Alpha to drop dead so conveniently. That was just luck."

She let a cold smile.

"The pack will need a strong Luna now, with Dominic taking over so suddenly. And I'll be there for him, the perfect, supportive mate."

I gathered the last of my strength. "I did everything you asked! I took your place because you begged me to! And this is how you repay me? By sentencing me to death?"

Isabella laughed, the sound like ice breaking. "Oh, Elara. Always so naive, so trusting. Did you really think I would give up being Luna? Being the most powerful female in the pack? For what? So you could have your pathetic crush on Dominic?"

She stood, brushing imaginary dust from her black dress. "Goodbye, sister. May the Moon Goddess have mercy on your soul."

As she walked away, contempt and betrayal burned hotter in my veins than the wolfsbane. With my last breath, I looked up at the daylight sky, knowing the moon goddess was there somewhere, hidden but present.

"Moon Goddess," I whispered, "grant me another chance. Let me correct my mistake. Let me have my revenge."

The wolfsbane took its final toll. The world faded to black, and my heart beat its last.

...

Light. Blinding, pulsing light behind my eyelids.

Am I dead? Is this what comes after?

I forced my eyes open and immediately squinted against the brightness. A ceiling came into focus not the open sky I had last seen, but a plain white ceiling with a slowly turning fan.

"She's awake!" a young male voice exclaimed.

I turned my head with effort. A young man sat beside what I now realized was a bed. My bed? I didn't recognize it or him.

"Where am I?" My voice sounded strange to my own ears higher, smoother.

The young man's face broke into a relieved smile. "You're home, of course. You gave us quite a scare, Seraphina. The doctor said the fever nearly took you."

Seraphina? Who was Seraphina?

I tried to sit up, but my body felt wrong—smaller, different. I looked down at my hands. They weren't my hands. They were more delicate, with longer fingers and skin a shade darker than my own.

"What's happening?" I whispered, panic rising in my throat.

The young man a boy really, maybe sixteen or seventeen frowned with concern. "Are you alright, Seraphina? Should I call Mother?"

I stared at him, at the unfamiliar room, at the unfamiliar body I seemed to inhabit. The memories of my death were crystal clear the wolfsbane, Isabella's confession, my final prayer to the Moon Goddess.

Had she answered? Had I truly been reborn?

"Seraphina?" the boy prompted, looking increasingly worried.

I swallowed hard, mind racing. If this was my second chance, I wouldn't waste it.

"I'm fine," I said carefully. "Just... disoriented from the fever."

The boy nodded, seemingly relieved. "Well, you should rest. But I'm glad you're back with us. Your fiance has been asking about you every day."

"My fiance?" The words slipped out before I could stop them.

"Yes," the boy laughed. "Your arranged mating ceremony is in two weeks, remember? Well, i guess you forgot since its been a year." He boy continued.

What? A year already?

"Father says the alliance with the Blackwood Pack is more important than ever now." He finished.

Blackwood. The name hit me like a physical blow.

My old pack, Dominic and Isabella's pack.

Was this the Moon Goddess's idea of a cruel joke? Or the perfect opportunity for revenge?

But what worries me was ....

Who Is the fiance?