REBORN FOR THE LYCAN KING

My Wedding Day Pov: Diana They said every bride remembers her wedding day forever, and they were right. Mine became the day I died. (A few hours earlier) I smoothed the lace along my wedding dress and studied my reflection in the mirror. This was it—the happiest day of my life, or so I told myself. Outside the palace, laughter rippled through the courtyard. Hundreds of pack members had gathered to watch me become Jax Fenric's Luna. Music drifted over the tables while servants hurried between them with trays of wine, and for a moment everything felt so perfect that I couldn't stop smiling. Three years of loving Jax, three years of believing he loved me just as much, all of it leading to this single afternoon. I picked up my bouquet and took a deep breath. In ten minutes I would be his wife. But the moment I stepped into the hallway, something felt wrong—a vague unease I couldn't name, the kind that prickles at the back of your neck before you understand why. The ceremony was about to begin. So where was Jax? I frowned, glancing around the empty corridor. “He was here a minute ago,” one of the servants whispered, not quite meeting my eyes. “Maybe he's just nervous,” I told myself, forcing a small smile. Still, I went looking for him anyway, my heels clicking against the marble. I checked the library first—empty. Then the dining room—empty too. The house had gone strangely quiet except for the noise drifting in from the main hall. I was about to give up and try the private study when I heard it: a laugh, low and familiar, coming from the room just ahead. I froze. I knew that laugh. I'd know it anywhere. Could it be Ivy? My stepsister? My heart began to race. Why would she be in there with Jax, today of all days? Before I could stop myself, I pushed the door open. Everything inside me shattered at once. Jax stood between Ivy's legs as she sat on the edge of the desk, his hands buried in her hair, their mouths locked together like I didn't exist. His jacket lay discarded on the floor. Her dress had ridden up her thighs. Neither of them so much as glanced my way—not until the bouquet slipped from my fingers and the roses scattered across the floor. Only then did they turn. No shame. No shred of remorse. Jax calmly buttoned his shirt as if I'd caught him doing nothing at all. “Diana,” he said. “You came early.” My mouth went dry. “What?” The word barely made it out. “What are you doing here?” he asked, as though I were the one who'd done something wrong. Ivy slid off the desk and curled her arm around him, flashing me a bright, satisfied smile. “What does it look like, girlfriend?” she said, unbothered. “He's kissing me.” “No.” I grabbed my head, willing this to be some cruel dream. “No—Jax, tell her to leave. Now.” I took a step toward him, my whole body trembling. “For God's sake, Diana, this is our wedding day. We're getting married today, babe.” For one second I actually believed him—that this was some sick joke, one of his usual pranks, and any moment he'd apologize and take it all back. Instead he laughed, cold and mocking, a sound I had never heard from him before. “We're not getting married, baby girl. I don't love you, Diana. I never did.” My world tilted. “What?” “I never loved you,” he repeated, flat and unbothered, and the room began to spin. “Babe?” My voice cracked. “You mean—after everything we've been through? Just... just tell me you're joking.” Tears spilled hot down my cheeks, dripping onto the bodice of my wedding gown. “You really are stupid,” Ivy sneered, closing the distance between us until we stood face-to-face. “Did you really think Jax wanted you?” She laughed. “He only wanted your inheritance, baby girl.” My breath caught. “What?” “Your father left everything to you—the land, the businesses, even the pack's fortune.” Her grin widened. “And yesterday, you signed it all over to Jax.” My knees nearly buckled. I turned to him, desperate. “Tell me she's lying, Jax.” He didn't even flinch. “It's true,” he said coldly. “I have everything now. I don't need you anymore.” Something in me broke for good—the flowers, the promises, the ring, every “I love you” and every dream we'd built. All of it fake, from the very first day. More tears blurred my vision, but I refused to let them fall this time. “You used me.” “We outsmarted you,” Ivy corrected, almost gently. “You've always been too easy to fool.” She said it like a kindness, and something in me finally snapped. I turned and ran, my dress dragging across the marble floor as I made for the grand hall. The elders needed to hear this. The whole pack needed to know exactly what kind of man they were about to bow to. I shoved the huge doors open and the music died instantly. Hundreds of eyes turned toward me. Holding up the ruin of my expensive gown, I shouted with everything I had. “Everyone, hear me out! My wedding is a lie! Jax and Ivy have been sleeping together—they stole my inheritance, they deceived me!” The hall gasped. Whispers rippled through the crowd like wind through wheat. Then the doors opened again, and Jax walked in, calm, composed, flawless—as if none of this had touched him. Ivy trailed behind with tears streaming down her face. “Diana.” Jax sighed, the picture of sorrow. “I'm sorry everyone had to witness this.” He lowered his head. “She's been under so much stress lately.” My eyes went wide. “What?” “She made the whole thing up,” he said, giving me a look of practiced sympathy. “I told her to calm down, but she wouldn't listen. She just ran.” “That's not true!” I shouted, pointing straight at Ivy. “He's lying! The two of them were together!” Ivy pressed a hand to her mouth and began to sob. “Diana attacked us out of nowhere,” she wept. “I don't know why she's saying such horrible things. I suppose it's my fault, somehow, for making her feel this way.” The Head Elder rose slowly, his gaze settling on me with open disappointment. “Diana. This isn't how a future Luna behaves. You've made a fool of yourself.” My stomach dropped. I looked around the hall and found no one—not a single face that believed me. Only pity, or disgust, or both. I was completely alone, standing in a room full of people I had known my entire life. Ivy approached, her voice suddenly soft. “You should come with me. You clearly need a healer.” She reached for my arm and I slapped her hand away. “Don't touch me.” For a moment the room went silent. No one in the hall moved, not even to breathe. Then Ivy smiled—a small, cruel thing that didn't reach her eyes—and slid a silver dagger from the folds of her dress, the blade catching the candlelight like it had been waiting all along for this exact moment.