The Luna He Couldn’t Shed

MAEVA POV Someone was going to murder me tonight, and I didn’t even know their face. The smell reached me first in the moon garden. Cold metal and old dust. Then a wire wrapped around my throat, cutting off my air. It bit into my flesh as I crashed onto the frozen mud, staring up at the dark sky. My wolf, who had been completely dormant since the day I was born, howled in agony inside my skull. A voice breathed against my ear, low and almost gentle, as if this were mercy instead of murder. “He knew this day would come. He’s known for years.” My wolf went dead silent. As my vision began to blur into darkness, my final thoughts weren't about the Goddess. They were of him. Ansel Morvane. The ruthless Alpha King of the North. My husband. Tomorrow was supposed to be the day of the Sevening. The sacred, cruel law that forced every Alpha to sever his mate bond after seven years. Tomorrow, Ansel was going to reject me in front of every pack in the continent, strip me of my title and hand it to his new chosen Luna. Would he even care that I died? I wondered bitterly as the darkness claimed me. Or would he seemly see it as one less burden to deal with? Suddenly, a booming, ethereal voice echoed directly into my breaking bones. *"You were never meant to be discarded, daughter of the buried line. I will send you back to the first night of this year. But magic demands a price. I will take the memory you want most."* Yes, I thought. I’d have agreed to anything to live. The entity took my memory of my killer's face. Then, everything exploded into a blinding white light. I woke up screaming. My hands flew to my throat, clawing at my skin. No wire. No blood. Just slick sweat and a pulse hammering violently against my teeth. "This isn't real," I gasped. "I'm still dying in the garden." I gripped the heavy blankets, squeezing until my knuckles turned white. I forced my eyes open. The grand fireplace crackled. My silver hairbrush sat where I’d always left it. Frost crept across the windowpane. Then I saw the black wax candle on the bedside table. I only lit that candle on New Year's Day. Oh Goddess. It’s the first day of my seventh year. I had been sent back in time. I had exactly twelve months before my murder. A cold laugh escaped my lips, turning into a bitter sob. I tried to recall the face of the person who choked me in the garden, but there was only a terrifying, empty blank space in my mind. The entity had stolen the identity of my killer. "Fine," I whispered, voice rough but hardening. "I'll find you anyway." I had one year to survive. One year in a pack house full of enemies who wanted me gone. It could be the Bone Chancellor who enforced the Sevening law. It could be my own greedy father. It could be the girl waiting to take my place. Or worse... it could be Ansel himself, eager to clear the path for his new woman. SLAM! The bedroom door flew open without a knock. "You screamed so loud you woke the entire east wing, Luna," Tilly said, kicking the door shut with her heel while balancing a pile of fresh linens. "Cook thinks you're being murdered. The guards are taking bets on which castle ghost finally caught you." Seeing her alive and normal made the icy knot in my chest loosen slightly. Tilly was the only person in this pack who didn't look at me like an expired political business deal. "I'm fine, Tilly. Just a nightmare." Before she could answer, the air tightened. The scent of frost and pine flooded the room. The door swung open again and Ansel Morvane filled the doorway. He looked carved from winter itself. Piercing blue eyes. Raven-black hair. Broad shoulders that made the doorway seem smaller. His gaze settled on me, cold and unreadable as ever. In my past life, I would have run to him, begging for his comfort, only to be rejected. Not this time. "You screamed," Ansel said, his deep voice low and even. His eyes narrowed, tracking the sweat on my collarbone. “Did I?” I said. “Don’t remember.” First lie of my second life, and it definitely wouldn’t be the last. His eyes narrowed further. Just enough that I knew he didn’t believe me. He took a heavy step into my room, his powerful Alpha presence instantly locking me in place. But as he stepped forward, my breath completely caught. Behind him, out in the hallway, something moved slowly past the open door. It was moving too slowly for someone just casually walking by. I caught a fleeting flash of a silver robe, but it was the scent that made my blood instantly run cold. It was that exact same smell. Cold metal and old, closed-up dust. The killer was standing right outside my door. My chest tightened as the shadow shifted and sprinted away. The soft rustle of robes echoed down the corridor. I lunged to follow. Ansel’s hands closed around my upper arms, grip bruisingly tight. His eyes flared with dark, possessive fury. “Where do you think you’re going, Maeva? What are you hiding from me?” I looked into my husband's freezing eyes, trapped. The murderer was escaping down the hall, and the man I suspected ordered my death was the only thing stopping me from catching them.