Chapter 1: Reborn
1155 Words
"Kill her."
The words shattered what remained of my heart.
I stared at my mate in disbelief.
No.
Not just my mate.
My husband.
My Alpha.
The man I had loved for three years.
The man I had sacrificed everything for.
The man who was now sentencing me to death.
The grand hall of the Blood Moon Pack fell silent.
Hundreds of wolves watched from the shadows.
No one spoke.
No one moved.
No one came to my defense.
Not a single person.
I stood in the center of the hall, my wrists bound by silver chains that burned my skin.
The pain was unbearable.
But it was nothing compared to the agony tearing through my chest.
"Kael..." My voice trembled. "You can't possibly believe I did it."
Alpha Kael sat upon the Alpha throne.
Cold.
Powerful.
Untouchable.
The mate bond should have allowed me to feel something from him.
Anything.
Anger.
Regret.
Pain.
But there was nothing.
His expression remained unreadable.
"You poisoned Vanessa," he said.
The accusation struck me harder than any blade.
Vanessa.
Of course.
Everything always came back to Vanessa.
The Alpha King's daughter.
The most admired woman in the kingdom.
The woman standing beside my husband.
The woman who had spent years trying to destroy me.
"I didn't poison her!" I cried.
My voice echoed across the hall.
"I swear on the Moon Goddess, I didn't!"
A murmur swept through the crowd.
But Vanessa suddenly stepped forward.
Her beautiful face looked pale.
Fragile.
Innocent.
A perfect performance.
Tears shimmered in her eyes.
"Aria..." she whispered softly. "I never thought you hated me this much."
I wanted to scream.
I wanted to tell everyone the truth.
That she was lying.
That she had manipulated everyone from the beginning.
That she was the reason my life had become a nightmare.
But no one would believe me.
They never did.
Kael's jaw tightened.
"You were found in possession of the poison."
"I was framed!"
"You threatened Vanessa two days ago."
"Because she accused me of stealing!"
"You had a motive."
"I had a reason to defend myself!"
My voice cracked.
I was losing.
I could see it in their eyes.
The council.
The warriors.
The servants.
They had already decided my fate.
No one cared about the truth.
Vanessa lowered her head and pretended to cry.
Kael immediately placed a protective hand on her shoulder.
The sight nearly destroyed me.
Three years.
Three years of marriage.
Three years of trying to earn his love.
Three years of being compared to another woman.
And in the end...
He still chose her.
A bitter laugh escaped my lips.
The hall fell silent.
Kael frowned.
"What is funny?"
I lifted my eyes to his.
For the first time, I stopped begging.
Stopped pleading.
Stopped hoping.
"Do you know what hurts the most?"
His expression darkened.
I continued.
"Not the fact that I'm dying."
The chains rattled as I straightened.
"Not the humiliation."
"Not even the betrayal."
A tear rolled down my cheek.
"The thing that hurts the most is that I spent three years loving a man who never loved me back."
Something flickered in Kael's eyes.
Just for a second.
But it vanished before I could identify it.
Vanessa immediately grabbed his arm.
"Kael..."
The way she said his name made my stomach turn.
As though she already owned him.
As though I were already dead.
Maybe I was.
Because the mate bond inside me was breaking.
Cracking.
Shattering.
My wolf whimpered in agony.
She was dying.
And I could do nothing to save her.
The head warrior stepped forward carrying a silver dagger.
Gasps spread throughout the hall.
Execution by silver.
The most painful death a werewolf could suffer.
I stared at the weapon.
Then at Kael.
One final chance.
One final opportunity for him to stop this madness.
To choose me.
To remember I was his mate.
Instead, he looked away.
My heart died before the dagger ever touched me.
The warrior approached.
The silver blade gleamed beneath the moonlight.
The room seemed to spin.
Fear finally settled in.
I didn't want to die.
I wasn't ready.
I wanted to live.
I wanted another chance.
I wanted justice.
I wanted revenge.
The warrior raised the dagger.
"Any final words?" he asked.
The entire hall watched.
Waiting.
I slowly turned toward Kael.
Our eyes met.
For the first time all night, I saw uncertainty there.
The smallest hint of doubt.
Too late.
Far too late.
I smiled through my tears.
And I made a promise.
"If there is another life..."
My voice echoed through the hall.
"I will never love you again."
The dagger plunged into my chest.
Agony exploded through my body.
A scream tore from my throat.
Silver burned through my veins.
My wolf howled.
The mate bond snapped.
The entire hall shook with the force of it.
Some wolves cried out.
Others collapsed.
A severed mate bond was one of the rarest and most painful supernatural events in existence.
I fell to my knees.
Blood pooled beneath me.
The world blurred.
Darkness crept into my vision.
The last thing I saw was Kael rising from his throne.
For the first time all night...
He looked terrified.
"Aria!"
His voice echoed across the hall.
Strange.
Why did he sound afraid now?
I laughed weakly.
Then everything went black.
---
"Lady Aria!"
A voice pierced the darkness.
"Lady Aria, wake up!"
I frowned.
Why could I hear someone?
Wasn't I dead?
"Lady Aria!"
My eyes snapped open.
I sat upright.
Breathing hard.
Sweat covered my skin.
For several seconds, I couldn't move.
Couldn't think.
Couldn't understand what was happening.
Then I looked around.
And my blood froze.
I knew this room.
I knew these walls.
The cream curtains.
The wooden dresser.
The silver-framed mirror.
No.
Impossible.
My heart pounded violently.
This wasn't possible.
I had died.
I remembered dying.
I remembered the dagger.
The pain.
The darkness.
A knock sounded at the door.
"Lady Aria?" a familiar voice called. "The future Alpha of the Blood Moon Pack has arrived."
The world stopped.
My hands began shaking.
Because I knew exactly what day it was.
The day before I met my mate.
The day before my nightmare began.
Slowly, I turned toward the mirror.
A nineteen-year-old girl stared back at me.
Not twenty-four.
Not the Luna who had been executed.
Nineteen.
Alive.
Young.
And standing at the beginning of everything.
A chill ran down my spine.
I wasn't dead.
The Moon Goddess had sent me back.
Five years into the past.
A second chance.
A chance for revenge.
A chance to rewrite my fate.
Outside, the maid knocked again.
"Lady Aria? Alpha Kael is waiting to meet everyone."
Hatred surged through me.
Hot.
Violent.
Unforgiving.
I stared at my reflection.
Then smiled.
A cold smile.
A dangerous smile.
"Wait for me, Alpha."
My eyes darkened.
"This time..."
I'll be the one who destroys you.
- Writer
