When Destiny Brings A Second Chance Mate

Chapter 10

Zadekiah’s POV

I had told myself that in this life, Sovia was not my problem.

She was the reason I died.

My treacherous half-brother had always sought my downfall. And eventually, he won. Because of that woman.

My wolf—Zion—recoiled as the memory of our death pressed closer in our mind.

I had loved her for years, so many f*****g years, but not once had she ever considered me.

Despite everything…

Sovia said she wasn’t going to forget me, but in the end, she did.

The moment I met her gaze from the balcony, I knew this cursed heart of mine still belonged to her even if she didn’t know it.

I was hers.

It was sick. Twisted. Because everyone in Babel State knew she was already promised to my brother.

And in a few years, she would bring about my downfall.

Still, just the sparkle in her eyes was enough to break through my walls, and I let it happen.

For a moment.

When Sovia dropped the bombshell about wanting me to mark her,

Gods, I was tempted.

Tempted to claim what should have been mine in the first place.

But it wasn’t real. She was playing the same game she had played in the past.

And whatever this was, Janova was behind it.

This wasn’t the first time he had tried to use Sovia against me.

Because she was my damn weakness.

My nemesis.

“Prince Zadekiah…” Sovia shivered beside her sister, her face pale with fear. “Wh—what do you mean?”

Maybe I should have just let her die. Because that was the plan.

To seal off every atom of weakness. If I was going to be the Alpha King, no one was going to stand in my way—not even her.

“Someone wants you dead,” I said bluntly.

She flinched for a moment. My eyes flickered to her arms, noticing the trail of goosebumps forming there.

She was scared. She should be.

Whoever wanted her dead, it wasn’t my problem.

If she died, the reason for my own death would be avoided.

I would be free.

But the act was strange because, from the past, none of this was supposed to happen.

If this event had been altered, could it be that someone else was also reborn?

That would be the only explanation.

I stared at the woman my heart had yearned for.

All my life, I had stayed in the shadows watching her—helping her—because my feelings were forbidden.

A man shouldn’t fall for his brother’s wife. But I didn’t just fall… Sovia Henric had consumed my entire existence.

And it killed me that she belonged to him. That she smiled at him.

That she tried to bear his children.

That she lost her wolf because of him.

Even when he brought his mistress, she refused to leave him.

Now, her life was none of my business.

I lived for one purpose—vengeance.

“Sovia!” The low screams burned into my ear.

Zion howled inside my head at the sight of Sovia’s body slumped from exhaustion.

Her sister hugged her lifeless form, scanning the place desperately for help.

I should have gotten up—tried to help. Like I had always done.

“Help her…” Zion groaned, latching onto the thought, his claws lingering with the urge.

My jaw locked as I forced the champagne down my burning throat. Blood mingled with the taste.

“She doesn’t deserve us, Zion.”

I narrowed my eyes as Janova pushed through the crowd and scooped Sovia into his arms.

I downed the last drop.

The corners of my eyes pulled at their sockets.

I smiled.

Even as those words echoed inside my head, my heart twisted painfully in my chest.

It wasn’t the first time, but it still hurt when she chose others instead of the one who had been waiting for her.

I was done waiting.

****

As I stepped out from the Henric Estate, my Beta—Isaac—came up beside me.

His tall frame almost matched mine. His ash hair was tangled in a mess. His navy blue suit fitted perfectly over his body.

Taking in the sight of the blood dripping over my clothes, he only sighed.

Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a handkerchief and passed it to me.

“Are you alright, Your Highness?” he asked through our bonded mindlink, the one we had formed when he agreed to become my Beta.

“Hmm.” I nodded, taking the handkerchief and starting to wipe my fingers one by one.

Even as I stood there, I could feel the stares burning against my back.

“Demon wolf.”

“Monster.”

They whispered, moving back in fright.

In the past, I had acted aloof, but it pricked me.

But that was the truth. I was a monster, and I had made peace with my identity.

“Do you want me to kill them?” Isaac snarled, the words echoing back in my head.

I arched my brow. He was still the same—using his fists before his brain.

“Let’s go, Isaac. It’s obvious we are not welcome here.”

My strides were slow and steady, Isaac matching mine from the side.

I wasn’t welcome here. Neither was I welcome in the palace.

All the more reason to carve my way in this new life.

Isaac opened the door to the limousine…

“Brother!”

I froze halfway, recognizing the voice of that bastard.

Exhaling, I shoved my hands inside my pockets.

Refusing to look at him.

Zion might attempt to rip him to shreds, and I would not even try to stop him.

Sovia’s scent still lingered around him—soft lavender.

“Half-brother,” I corrected, annoyance baked into my tone.

“Whatever,” he snorted. His steps moved closer. I felt Isaac shift protectively to my side.

“What do you want, Janova? I’m bored.”

“You did something to Sovia, didn’t you?”

My eyes snapped up at the sound of that woman’s name.

My fingers gripped the fabric of my pants.

Remembering how she had collapsed in the hall. And how Janova had touched her.

It slammed into my lungs all at once.

Having these feelings was suicide—hell, they had already killed me once.

Still, it was so hard to resist wanting to know how she was.

I turned to meet his gaze, sharp and cutting. “Pardon?”

Janova groaned, clenching his fist. “My mate isn’t waking up—you had something to do with it, didn’t you?”

A low chuckle rumbled from my chest, my shoulders jerking slightly.

Past. Present. It was still the same—I was always the one to blame. Even when all I had ever wanted was to help.