Too Late, Alpha. She's Already Someone Else's

Death was closing in. I could feel it. This wasn't a sudden rush of fear. It was the slow, unmistakable sensation of my body shutting down, organ by organ, until even breathing took effort. I was Morwen Bennett, Luna of Black Pine Pack, Jude Hawthorne's fated mate, and his wife of 26 years. My wolf had been dormant for so long that I had almost forgotten what it felt like to shift and run beneath the moon. I had first awakened her at 18, and we had been together for nearly 30 years. Now, no matter how many times I called for her, she could no longer answer. As darkness closed around me, I heard two voices. One belonged to Jude, my Alpha husband. The other belonged to our daughter, Elowen, the child I had treasured since the day she was born. Elowen didn't sound sad at all. If anything, she sounded almost excited. "Dad, once Mom is really gone, can we bring Clarice into the Pack House? I want everyone to know she's the one who's truly right for you. And we'll give you a wedding even grander than the one you had with Mom." Clarice Mercer was Jude's Beta and his secret lover of 6 years. The Alpha of the pack had been sleeping with his own Beta. I waited for Jude to object, even if it was only for show. Instead, he said, "All right. Whatever you want." That was it. After 26 years, that was all I got. My daughter said brightly, "Clarice has suffered so much all these years. Once Mom is gone, the three of us can finally be a real family." My wolf whimpered weakly in the back of my mind. I tried to open my eyes and say something, but I was too weak. I had spent my life trying to be the best Luna this pack could ask for. I gave up the violin, gave up my place at business school, and gave up everything that once made me happy. Everyone in Black Pine Pack praised me for being gracious and devoted. They called me the finest Luna the pack had seen in decades. I had believed that if I gave enough for long enough, surely something would come back to me. I had been wrong. My mate and my own daughter had done this to me. Before consciousness slipped away completely, I heard my bones shifting out of place. My jaw went slack, my once-sharp senses dimmed one by one, and one last ragged growl of protest scraped from my throat. Then, in the next instant, I was lying in soft bedding. When I opened my eyes again, sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows and fell across my face. The mattress was soft, and my heart beat strong inside my chest. I shot upright, gasping for air. I was alive. More than that, I was no longer trapped in the frail body that had been moments from death. I was 26 again. My wolf jolted awake. A sharp rush shot up my spine, raising the hair on my arms and sending tingles across my skin. She seemed just as stunned as I was that we were alive again. Jude's final words from my previous life still echoed in my ears. "All right. Whatever you want." I pressed a hand to my chest and waited for my heartbeat to settle. Outside, the morning air in Black Pine Territory smelled of pine resin and damp earth. In the distance, I could hear the patrol unit speaking quietly as shifts changed. Everything felt so real that tears nearly came to my eyes. My wolf was slowly settling into this younger body. I hadn't felt this grounded in years. During the final years of my previous life, I had barely been able to sense her at all. It had felt as though even she had given up fighting. This time, I would never let anyone walk all over me again. A shrill tantrum erupted downstairs. It was Elowen. At this age in my previous life, I had spoiled her beyond reason. She ordered everyone around, and I always rushed downstairs the moment she cried. This time, I stayed where I was. By the time I went downstairs, 6-year-old Elowen stood with her hands on her hips, screaming at the head steward. "Are you deaf? I want the seasonal berry dessert right now! Go buy it! If you're even a second late, I'll have Dad throw you out of the pack!" The head steward was an elderly werewolf who had served the Hawthorne family for three generations. He was usually the picture of composure, yet even he looked helpless in the face of Elowen's temper. He lowered his gaze and said nothing. "That's enough." I didn't raise my voice, but the living room fell silent. I straightened, and the authority in those two words was enough to stop everyone cold. Elowen jerked her head up and stared at me as if she had never seen me before. "You're a child of Black Pine Pack. Disrespecting your elders and bullying members of your own pack isn't being spoiled. It's being rude," I said. "Starting today, no one is going to indulge that behavior anymore." She froze for 2 seconds before tears spilled down her cheeks. She stared at me in shock, too stunned to even ask why I was being mean to her. I turned away, sat on the couch, and didn't look at her again. Pine and morning dew drifted in from outside, the familiar scent of Black Pine Territory. After 26 years as Luna, I should have stopped noticing it. Yet in this second life, even that familiar smell seemed new. The house steward eventually coaxed Elowen away. I stayed alone in the living room and took stock of my previous life. For 26 years, I had given this family all my time and abandoned the life that should have been mine. In the end, the mate bond had been nothing more than a leash that kept me trapped. The bond supposedly blessed by the Moon Goddess had never protected me. It had only kept me tied to a role I should never have sacrificed myself for. I called for the house steward. "Hire a housekeeping service. From now on, they can handle the cleaning, meals, and day-to-day upkeep of the Pack House." He blinked, clearly caught off guard, then nodded and left to carry out my orders. I pulled out my phone and reenrolled in the violin program I had abandoned 10 years earlier. I also resumed the business courses I had put on hold. Then I took an unworn dress from the back of my closet, changed out of the loungewear I had lived in for 6 years, and took my time with my hair and makeup. That evening, I heard Jude's footsteps in the entryway. In the past, I would have met him at the door in an apron, with dinner waiting on the table. Today, I remained seated. He stepped inside and stopped the moment he saw me. Surprise crossed his dark eyes, and his nostrils flared as he registered the change in my scent. I didn't greet him. I simply stood, went upstairs, and closed the bedroom door behind me. Not long afterward, I heard someone else downstairs. Beneath Jude's familiar scent was another I never wanted to smell again, growing stronger as its owner moved farther into the Pack House. It was Clarice.