MY SECOND LIFE: The Rejected Luna's Revenge

CHAPTER 1: THE CONTRACT I died on a Friday. My blood on the sacred stones. My husband’s hands around my throat. The Moon Goddess gave me 3 days. 3 days to go back. 3 days to fix it. 3 days before the Wolfing Ceremony where I was supposed to shift, fail, and die. This time, I won’t be wolf-less. This time, I won’t be weak. This time, I won’t love him. I woke up gasping in Dorm 4C. Same cheap mattress. Same cracked ceiling. Same 6:03 AM on my phone. March 14th. Three days before my wedding. Three days before my murder. The old Lyra would have cried. The new Lyra got up. My reflection in the mirror looked the same. Black hair. Gray eyes. 18 and already tired. But behind my eyes was something different now. Memory. Rage. I remembered everything. Celia’s smile as Damien held me down. Alpha Marcus announcing I was "unfit to be a Blackwood." The way my wolf never came. The way they all called me a disgrace right before I stopped breathing. Not this time. My phone buzzed. Unknown number. _24 hours. Blackwood Law Office. Be there or the offer expires._ _-D.B._ Damien Blackwood. Disowned Alpha. Branch family. The only man desperate enough to marry me in 24 hours. Good. I showered fast. No makeup. Jeans. Black hoodie. The old Lyra wore pink to look soft. To look liked. The new Lyra wore armor. The Blackwood Law Office was all glass and steel. Cold. Like him. He was already there when I walked in. Leaning against the window, hands in pockets. Black hoodie. Dark jeans. Damien Blackwood looked exactly like I remembered. Except this time, he wasn’t looking at me like I was trash. He was looking at me like I was a problem. "Lyra Hale," he said. No greeting. "You’re late." "By two minutes." "Two minutes is late." He pushed off the window. Up close, he was worse. Taller. Sharper jaw. Eyes so dark they looked black. And a burn mark on his wrist. Faint. Silver. In my past life, I never noticed it. "Did you read it?" He slid a folder across the marble table. *MARRIAGE AGREEMENT* _Between Damien Blackwood and Lyra Hale_ _Duration: 1 year_ _Terms: Separate residences. No emotional attachment. No intimacy._ _Financial Support: $50,000 monthly stipend_ _Purpose: Mutual protection against pack politics._ I flipped through it. Standard. Protect him from his father cutting him off. Protect me from Celia and Alpha Marcus. "Why me?" I asked. "You could have any she-wolf." His mouth twitched. Not a smile. "Any she-wolf comes with pack expectations. You don’t." Because I was wolf-less. Because I was nothing. Perfect. "Sign it," he said. "Then we’re done." I picked up the pen. The old Lyra would have asked if he could love her. The new Lyra signed. _Lyra Hale._ Clean. Sharp. I slid it back. "One year," I said. "Then we walk away. No strings." His eyes flickered. Gold, for half a second. Then gone. "Fine," he said. "Don’t get attached, Hale." Too late. I was already attached. To surviving. He signed his name next. _Damien Blackwood._ The moment the ink dried, something cold touched my skin. Not a bond. Not yet. Just a contract. And the weight of fate clicking into place. "Dean’s office in an hour," he said, standing. "To register it. After that, you go back to your dorm. I go back to mine." "Deal." He walked out without looking back. I stared at the contract in my hands. One year. That’s all I needed. --- The announcement came during last period. "Attention students," the Dean’s voice crackled over the speakers. "Effective immediately, Lyra Hale is now Lyra Blackwood. Contract marriage to Damien Blackwood of the Blackwood pack." Silence. Then chaos. My phone exploded. _Did you really marry the disowned one???_ _OMG is this a joke_ _Meet me at the fountain. NOW. -Celia_ Celia. My sister. My replacement in the past life. I found her at the fountain with her friends. All of them staring. She was wearing white. Always white. Like she was already Luna. "Well well," she said when she saw me. "Married to a nobody. Couldn’t be me, sis." Her friends giggled. The old Lyra would have apologized. The new Lyra stopped in front of her. "Congratulations," I said sweetly. "You get to keep Damien Vance. The main family heir." I tilted my head. "Oh wait. You already had him in my last life too." Her smile cracked. "What did you say?" "Nothing." I walked past her. "Just glad we’re not fighting over men anymore." Behind me, I heard her whisper: "She’s acting weird." Good. Let her wonder. That night, I didn’t sleep. I packed. I trained in the mirror. I remembered the way the knife felt. At 2 AM, my phone buzzed again. _D.B: Pack trip tomorrow. Blackwood Territory. Mandatory._ _D.B: Bus leaves 6 AM. Don’t be late._ Territory trip. In my past life, that’s where Alpha Marcus first publicly called me wolf-less. That’s where Celia "accidentally" pushed me into the lake. That’s where Damien Vance started flirting with me to make Damien jealous. Not this time. I typed back. _Me: Understood._ No "thank you." No "sir." Just understood. At 5:55 AM I was at the bus. Everyone was already there. Celia in the front. Damien Vance next to her. And in the very back, alone, Damien Blackwood. Hoodie up. Eyes closed. Like he didn’t care that the whole pack was staring at his new wife. I slid into the seat next to him. He didn’t open his eyes. But I smelled it. Pine. Rain. And something else. Something that made my chest ache. "Morning, husband," I said quietly. He cracked one eye open. Gold again. Just for a second. "Don’t," he said. Low. "Don’t call me that." "Contract says we’re married." "Contract says separate." I leaned back. "Then we’ll be separately married." His mouth twitched. For a second, I thought he might almost smile. Then the bus started moving. And I realized something. In my past life, I died alone. This time, I had an Alpha at my side. A fake one. But an Alpha, nonetheless. As we drove into Blackwood Territory, my skin prickled. The phantom pain in my chest was gone. In its place was heat. Something was waking up. The Moon Goddess didn’t just give me a second chance. She gave me a weapon. And his name was Damien Blackwood.