HER SECOND CHANCE MATE

--- The wind carried the scent of pine, frost, and betrayal. Selene stood just beyond the firelit courtyard of Silvermist Pack, her hand curled tightly around the edge of her shawl. The scent of roasted meats and honey wine filled the air as the pack celebrated—but not for her. Tonight was the Blood Moon Celebration. A sacred event. A mating announcement. Her mate would stand in front of the entire pack and claim his Luna. Selene had imagined this night a hundred times. In her dreams, he always chose her. But dreams are cruel things. She watched him from the shadows. Damon. The Alpha’s son. Her fated mate. The man the Moon Goddess had written into her soul. He stood tall in his ceremonial uniform, golden eyes glowing like twin embers. But those eyes never sought her. Instead, he held the hand of Lia—the picture of gentle grace, clothed in pale blue silk that shimmered under the moonlight. Selene’s heart pounded. Don’t say it. Don’t— “I choose Lia as my mate, and my future Luna,” Damon declared, his voice confident and final. The crowd erupted into applause. Selene didn’t move. It felt like the air had been sucked from her lungs. Her wolf whimpered inside her, clawing at her chest. A severing pain split through her soul like lightning. The mate bond… cracked. Damon had rejected her. But he hadn’t even looked at her to do it. He didn’t need to. --- Two Months Earlier Selene was the daughter of Beta Darius—a warrior bred in blood and honor. She was fierce, proud, loyal to the pack, and deeply in love with Damon. And he was hers. At least… she thought he was. But then came Lia. The sweet-smiling, soft-voiced omega with sad eyes and trembling fingers. She had arrived after the Red Ash war wiped out her family—or so she claimed. She was assigned to Selene as a handmaiden, but she was far more skilled with lies than she ever was with linen. Lia dropped things in front of Damon so he would catch them. She spoke softly of nightmares and trembled when she spoke always behaving as if she was abused by Selene. She called Selene "big sister" in public, and slanders her name in private. “Selene says you’re too soft to lead,” she told Damon one night. He asked Selene the next day, and when she laughed it off thinking he was funny because she had a tie with him in a sparing match so she thought he was just annoyed, he frowned. Another time: “She… threw a vase at me.” “I didn’t!” Selene had shouted, hurt and angry. But the vase was in pieces on the floor. Lia had already started crying before Damon could ask again. And then came the fire. --- Selene had been on patrol duty the night her house was set on fire. By the time she arrived, the flames had swallowed the west wing. Warriors fought to contain it, but it was too late. Her mother and younger brother were trapped in the collapsing kitchen. Her father tried to break through the blaze—but never came back out. They buried three caskets. And one ghost—Selene herself. She told Damon that Lia had visited the house that evening, uninvited. That her brother had said something about hearing footsteps behind the hall. “She was crying. Said you threatened her again,” Damon replied, his tone like a stranger’s. “She set the fire.” “Selene…” “Look me in the eyes, Damon!” she screamed, shoving him. “You know I’d never hurt my family. But Lia—she had every reason to—” “Stop it!” he shouted back. “You sound insane. The elders ruled it an accident. You’re blaming her for everything that’s gone wrong in your life.” She went still. “Maybe,” he said after a pause, quieter, crueler, “this is why the Goddess made a mistake.” Selene’s breath caught. He stared at her. “I reject you as my mate.” --- Present Selene didn’t know how she got back to the cabin ruins that night. She didn’t remember walking. Only the pounding in her ears, the throb of her heart, the crushing silence in her mind where her wolf had once howled. Everything was gone. Her family. Her title. Her mate.Her wolf. The ground was still blackened with soot. Her mother’s sewing needle lay rusted in the dirt. Selene picked it up with trembling fingers. She had nothing left, everyone isolated her even her friends believed she was evil. she couldn't shed tears, she couldn't leave the park so not to be seen as a rogue. That’s when the footsteps came. She turned slowly. Lia. Draped in another expensive gown, her dark curls tied with silver lace. She looked like a picture of peace. But her smile… “Are you here to beg?” Selene asked, voice hoarse. Lia laughed softly. “Why would I beg? I have everything now. Damon. The pack’s love. The future.” Selene’s fingers curled around the needle. “You killed them,” she said. Lia’s smile didn’t fade. “Do you have proof?” “I don’t need proof. I remember.” “Well, unfortunately for you…” She stepped closer, pulling something from her sleeve. A curved dagger. Silver-tipped. “…memories won’t help you now.” Selene lunged. Too slow. Pain bloomed in her side as the dagger slid between her ribs. She gasped, clutching at her wound. Blood seeped through her fingers, warm and thick. “You talk too much, Selene,” Lia whispered. “You never knew when to let go.” Selene collapsed to her knees, gasping. “You always thought you were so special. Beta’s daughter. Fated mate. Strong. But you never realized you were just in the way. Damon was mine the moment he laid eyes on me. And now, so is everything else.” Selene blinked rapidly as her vision blurred. Stars spun above her. “You don’t deserve him,” she whispered. Lia knelt beside her. “And yet… I have him.” She stood and walked away, humming a soft tune. Selene lay there, blood soaking the earth, the moon above burning white. Her wolf whimpered weakly inside her. Then fell silent. Is this how I die? The cold reached her bones. Not like this. Not broken. Her lips moved. “Moon Goddess… if you’re still watching… give me another life.” Her hand reached toward the sky. “And I swear, I’ll never beg again.” ---