The Alpha Who Begged Too Late

Aria's POV I opened my eyes with a scream stuck in my throat. For one terrible second, I still felt the silver blade buried in my chest. I still heard the crowd chanting for my death. I still saw Rowan Black, my mate, standing above me with cold golden eyes while my blood ran over the execution stone. "She is no Luna of mine." His voice had been calm when he said it. That was the part I hated most. Not the chains. Not the silver. Not the pack members who spat at my feet as I was dragged before them. It was his calmness. Then I blinked. The execution stone was gone. The snow was gone. The smell of blood was gone. I was in my bedroom. My old bedroom. Pale blue curtains moved gently beside the open window. Morning light spilled across the wooden floor. The cracked mirror near my closet reflected a girl with tangled black hair, wide amber eyes, and skin that had not yet been ruined by silver burns. My hands shook as I touched my throat. No rejection scar. No traitor brand. No blood. I stumbled toward the mirror and grabbed the edge of the vanity. The girl staring back at me was eighteen. Not twenty-one. Not broken. Not starved from the dungeon. Not marked as a criminal for crimes she never committed. Eighteen. Today was my birthday. Today was the day I met Alpha Rowan Black. Today was the day my life began to end. My knees weakened, and I almost laughed. The Moon Goddess had a cruel sense of humor. She had let me die, then sent me back to the beginning. "Aria?" A soft knock sounded at the door. "Baby, are you awake?" My entire body froze. That voice. The door opened, and my mother stepped inside with a white dress folded over one arm. Her dark hair was braided over her shoulder, and her warm amber eyes softened the moment she saw me. She was alive. I crossed the room before I realized I had moved. I crashed into her arms and held on so tightly she gasped. "Mom," I choked. "You're here." She laughed gently, one hand stroking my hair. "Of course I'm here. Where else would I be on my daughter's eighteenth birthday?" Dead, I wanted to say. Buried in the frozen ground because she tried to save me. In my last life, Celeste framed me for poisoning the Alpha King's envoy. Rowan believed her. My father looked away. My pack turned on me. And my mother died trying to prove my innocence. I could still see her body in the snow. I could still hear Celeste whispering that it was my fault. "Aria?" Mother pulled back and cupped my face. "You're shaking." I forced air into my lungs. "I had a nightmare." It was not a lie. It had just lasted three years. Mother's eyes softened. "Then forget it. Today is important. You will be presented before the ranked families tonight. If the Goddess is kind, you may even meet your mate." My blood turned cold. Mate. Once, that word had made me dream. Now it tasted like poison. Before I could answer, my bedroom door opened without permission. Celeste walked in wearing a soft pink dress and the innocent smile she used before ruining lives. Her blond curls framed her face like a halo. She always looked sweet when she was about to do something cruel. "Aria, Father says not to embarrass him tonight." Her gaze slid over the white dress in Mother's arms. "That color is a little bold, don't you think? Rowan Black will be there." There it was. Rowan. She said his name like it belonged to her. In my last life, I thought Celeste was only jealous. I thought she wanted attention. I had no idea she wanted my mate, my title, and eventually my death. I looked at her hands. Her right hand was curled too tightly around a small silver vial. My wolf stirred. Last time, I drank the wine Celeste gave me before the ceremony. I became dizzy. My wolf clawed against my skin. During the blood trial, I lost control and struck one of the elders. Celeste cried that she had tried to stop me. Everyone believed her. The memory settled over me like ice. I smiled. "Is that for me?" Celeste blinked. "What?" "The vial in your hand." Her face paled for half a second. That was all I needed. I stepped forward and caught her wrist. She tried to pull away, but I squeezed until the tiny bones shifted under my fingers. "Aria!" she cried. "You're hurting me!" "And you were going to drug me." Mother went still behind me. Celeste's sweet mask cracked. "I don't know what you're talking about." "Lie better." Her eyes widened. I leaned close to her ear, keeping my voice low and pleasant. "Listen carefully. If you put anything in my drink tonight, I will make sure every ranked wolf in the North watches you swallow it first." Celeste stared at me like she had never seen me before. Maybe she hadn't. The old Aria had begged. Cried. Forgiven. That Aria died on an execution stone. This Aria remembered the way betrayal smelled. I let go of her wrist. She stumbled back, cradling her hand against her chest. "You're crazy," she whispered. Mother's brows drew together. "Celeste, what is in your hand?" Celeste hid the vial behind her skirt. "Nothing. I only came to help." "Then leave," I said. Her head snapped toward me. I had never ordered her out before. Not once. I picked up the white dress from Mother's arms and held it against my body. "I need to get ready." Celeste's lips parted, but no words came out. She glanced at Mother, then at me, then turned and walked out of the room. The moment the door closed, Mother looked at me. "Aria, what is happening?" I wanted to tell her everything. I wanted to say that Celeste would kill her. That Father would fail us. That Rowan would choose a liar over his own mate. That if we stayed on the path the Moon Goddess had written for us, we would both end up buried. But I had no proof yet. And if I sounded mad, they would lock me away before sunset. So I swallowed the truth. "I don't trust Celeste." Mother searched my face. "Did she threaten you?" "Not yet." Mother's eyes sharpened. Good. In my last life, I had hidden too much from her. This time, I would not make the same mistake. Mother crossed the room and locked the door. That small click almost broke me. In my last life, no one had ever locked a door to keep danger out for me. Doors were locked to keep me in. In the dungeon. In the silver room. In the chamber where Rowan came only once, not to ask if I was alive, but to tell me Celeste was too frightened to sleep because of what I had done. What I had done. I had loved him. That was my crime. "Aria," Mother said carefully, "if Celeste has threatened you, I need to know." I looked down at the white dress in my hands. The fabric was soft, expensive, and almost painfully innocent. I had worn it once with shaking hope, thinking maybe a beautiful dress would make my mate look at me like I mattered. Tonight, I would wear it like armor. "She wants Rowan," I said. Mother sighed. "A lot of girls want Rowan Black. He is the future Alpha of Blackthorn." "No. She wants what comes with him." Mother went silent. She understood ambition. She had been raised among ranked wolves too. She knew sweet smiles could hide sharper claws than any wolf form. "And what do you want?" she asked. The answer came easier than breathing. "To survive." Her expression changed. Not fear. Recognition. As if some part of her had always known our house was not safe, but she had taught herself not to see it too clearly. I stepped closer and took her hand. "If anything happens tonight, do not stand between me and Celeste. Promise me." "Aria-" "Promise me." Mother's eyes shone. "I am your mother. Standing between you and danger is my job." Pain twisted through my chest. That was exactly how she died. I forced a smile. "Then stand beside me instead." For a moment, she only stared. Then she nodded. It was not enough to save her yet. But it was a beginning. Downstairs, the first ceremonial bell rang. The sound rolled through the house like a warning. Rowan Black was waiting. My mate. My murderer. And tonight, I would meet him again. But this time, I would not be the girl who walked into his arms. This time, I would be the girl who watched him fall.