Chapter 3: The First Change
1926 Words
I didn't look back at Adrian.
Not once.
I could feel his eyes following me as I crossed the hall, but I refused to give him the satisfaction of knowing he had affected me.
My father led the delegation toward the sitting room.
Alpha Darius walked beside him, speaking about the northern border.
Adrian followed.
And I followed him.
Not because I wanted to.
Because I knew exactly what was about to happen.
In my first life, this meeting had lasted less than an hour.
The northern territory had been the subject of a dispute between the Valerian family and the Blackwood Pack for nearly two years.
The council wanted my father to surrender a portion of our land.
My father refused.
Naturally.
The land contained several rare silver mines.
Silver that was worth a fortune.
Silver that would eventually become one of the reasons Adrian targeted my family.
But there was something else.
Something I hadn't understood until now.
Adrian had never really wanted the territory.
He wanted access to the mines.
And once he became Alpha, he had used my family's political influence to secure exclusive mining rights.
Rights that had made him extraordinarily wealthy.
I looked at him.
He was speaking quietly to his father.
So calm.
So composed.
I wondered how many people had died to create that calm.
“Lady Seraphina.”
I looked up.
Alpha Darius was speaking to me.
“My apologies. I was told you were recovering.”
I smiled.
“I was.”
“Are you feeling better?”
“Much.”
His gaze lingered on me.
“Good.”
We entered the sitting room.
My mother was already there.
Alive.
Beautiful.
She rose immediately when she saw me.
“Darling.”
I walked straight into her arms.
She laughed softly.
“What has gotten into you today?”
“Nothing.”
I held her tighter.
She stroked my hair.
“You've become unusually affectionate.”
I closed my eyes.
If only she knew.
If only she knew how many nights I had dreamed of this moment.
How many times I had wished I could hear her voice again.
My mother pulled away.
“You're trembling.”
“I'm fine.”
She studied me.
Then glanced at my father.
Neither of them believed me.
Adrian entered the room.
His gaze immediately found my mother.
Something flashed across his face.
Recognition.
Not of her.
Of the opportunity.
I remembered that look.
It had been subtle.
So subtle that I had never noticed it.
My mother was one of the most politically connected women in the eastern territories.
She had relationships with nearly every influential family.
Adrian had used her connections too.
I stepped between them.
“Mother, could I speak with you privately?”
She looked surprised.
“Of course.”
I took her arm.
Before we left, I glanced toward Adrian.
He was watching me.
I smiled.
Then walked away.
---
“What is going on with you?”
My mother closed the door behind us.
I turned.
“Mother.”
“Yes?”
“Do you trust Alpha Darius?”
She frowned.
“Of course.”
“Do you trust his son?”
Her expression changed.
“Adrian?”
“Yes.”
She thought for a moment.
“I barely know him.”
“Good.”
She raised an eyebrow.
“Why?”
“Because I don't like him.”
My mother laughed.
“You met him five minutes ago.”
“I know.”
“And you've already decided you don't like him?”
“Yes.”
She smiled.
“That's my girl.”
I almost laughed.
In my first life, she had loved Adrian.
She had defended him.
She had told me I was lucky to have found such a devoted mate.
If she had only known.
“Mother.”
Her smile faded.
“What?”
“Promise me something.”
“Anything.”
“Don't ever sign anything without Father reading it first.”
She stared at me.
“What?”
“Anything financial. Anything involving the council. Any transfer of property. Any business agreement.”
She looked genuinely confused.
“Seraphina, your father handles most of our affairs.”
“I know.”
“Then why are you worried?”
“Because I had a bad feeling.”
It was the truth.
Just not the whole truth.
She touched my cheek.
“You really did have a terrible nightmare.”
I smiled faintly.
“Yes.”
“Was it about us?”
I hesitated.
“Yes.”
She sighed.
“Come here.”
She pulled me into another hug.
“You're not going to lose us.”
My eyes closed.
I desperately wanted to believe her.
But I had learned one thing in my previous life.
Promises weren't protection.
Preparation was.
---
The meeting lasted two hours.
I stayed.
My father repeatedly looked at me as if wondering why I was suddenly interested in politics.
I didn't care.
I listened carefully.
And eventually, the conversation reached the part I had been waiting for.
“The council believes the silver mines should be placed under joint administration,” Alpha Darius said.
My father leaned back.
“No.”
Adrian finally spoke.
“My lord, perhaps we could consider—”
“No.”
His father's expression hardened.
“You haven't even heard the proposal.”
“I don't need to.”
My father tapped the table.
“The Valerian family owns the mines. They have belonged to us for generations. There is no reason for the council to interfere.”
Adrian looked at me.
Then back at my father.
“Because the council believes the mines are becoming a political concern.”
I smiled.
“A political concern?”
He nodded.
“Yes.”
“How interesting.”
His eyes narrowed slightly.
“Why?”
“Because the only political concern I see is why the council suddenly cares about something it has ignored for decades.”
Silence.
My father slowly looked at me.
Adrian's jaw tightened.
Alpha Darius cleared his throat.
“The council is concerned about stability.”
“Then perhaps they should focus on the territories actually experiencing instability.”
Adrian leaned forward.
“Lady Seraphina, you seem unusually passionate about this.”
“I am.”
“Why?”
“Because it's my family's land.”
Something changed in his expression.
I could almost see him recalculating.
In my first life, I had barely spoken during this meeting.
I had been shy.
Polite.
Uninterested in politics.
Adrian had seen me as harmless.
This time, he was seeing something different.
Good.
Let him.
My father smiled.
“The matter is settled.”
Alpha Darius looked displeased.
Adrian said nothing.
But his eyes remained on me.
I knew that look.
He was curious.
And curious people asked questions.
I needed him distracted.
Fortunately, I knew exactly how.
---
After the meeting, I walked into the gardens.
I needed air.
The moment I was alone, I closed my eyes.
“Are you there?”
Nothing.
I waited.
Then—
Yes.
My wolf's voice was clearer than before.
Who are you?
You know who I am.
“No.”
I whispered the words aloud.
“I don't.”
You knew me before they silenced me.
“Who are they?”
Silence.
“Was it Adrian?”
No.
The answer came immediately.
“Then who?”
My wolf didn't answer.
I sighed.
Fine.
One mystery at a time.
I opened my eyes.
A rustling came from behind me.
I turned.
Adrian stood several feet away.
My heart stopped.
He smiled.
“Enjoying the garden?”
I stared at him.
“Very much.”
“You seemed interested in the meeting.”
“I was.”
“You weren't like this when we first met.”
I almost smiled.
“You're assuming we met for the first time today.”
His expression froze.
I stepped closer.
“You've been visiting my family for years, Adrian.”
“Yes.”
“And yet you barely knew me.”
“That's true.”
“Perhaps you should have paid more attention.”
His eyes searched mine.
“What happened to you?”
There it was.
The question.
I smiled.
“I had a nightmare.”
“A nightmare?”
“Yes.”
“About what?”
“You.”
His expression hardened.
I walked past him.
“Don't worry.”
I stopped beside him.
“It was only a dream.”
Then I continued toward the house.
I had taken three steps when his voice stopped me.
“Seraphina.”
I turned.
He was no longer smiling.
“Have we met somewhere before?”
My blood ran cold.
For one terrifying second, I wondered whether he remembered.
Then my wolf whispered.
He feels it.
Feels what?
The mate bond.
I stared at Adrian.
His eyes were fixed on me.
There was confusion in them.
But beneath it—
Something else.
Recognition.
No.
Not recognition of me.
Recognition of something inside me.
I forced myself to smile.
“No.”
He watched me for a long moment.
Then nodded.
“Of course.”
I turned away.
But my hands were shaking.
Because if Adrian could sense something different about me already, then I had underestimated how powerful my wolf had become.
And there was another problem.
One I hadn't considered.
If my wolf was awake now...
Would the mate bond awaken too?
I didn't know.
But I knew one thing.
I didn't want it.
Not with him.
Never with him.
---
That evening, my father called me into his study.
He was holding a document.
My stomach dropped.
“What is that?”
He placed it on the desk.
“A business proposal.”
I approached cautiously.
“From whom?”
He looked at me.
“The Blackwood Pack.”
My heart stopped.
Blackwood.
Adrian's future allies.
The same family that had helped him seize control of my family's silver mines.
I picked up the document.
My eyes scanned the first page.
Then I stopped.
There it was.
The same clause.
The exact same wording.
The clause that, in my first life, had eventually allowed Adrian to gain control of our mining rights.
Except this time, the document wasn't from Adrian.
It was from the Blackwoods.
And it wasn't ten years later.
It was happening now.
I looked at my father.
“Don't sign this.”
He frowned.
“Why?”
“Because they're trying to take the mines.”
His expression darkened.
“That's quite an accusation.”
“Then let me prove it.”
I placed the document back on the desk.
“Give me three days.”
“For what?”
“To find out who is really behind this.”
My father stared at me.
Then, slowly, he nodded.
“Three days.”
I smiled.
“Thank you.”
As I turned toward the door, my wolf whispered.
They're moving faster.
I stopped.
Who?
But she didn't answer.
Instead, I felt something else.
A pull.
Faint.
Almost imperceptible.
Coming from somewhere beyond the estate.
Someone was there.
Watching.
I walked to the window.
The forest was dark.
Empty.
Or so it appeared.
Then I saw it.
Two golden eyes between the trees.
Watching me.
I froze.
The eyes disappeared.
And my wolf whispered one word.
Mate.
I stopped breathing.
No.
Impossible.
Adrian was my mate.
He had been my mate in my first life.
So why was my wolf calling someone else—
Mate?
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