Vengeance Reborn

Chapter 2 ~ Reborn

Below the Alpha floor; which is our floor, belongs exclusively to our Beta family.

Uncle Liam's wolf, Mick, has silver fur and brown eyes.

Years ago, Liam found his mate at an out-of-state gala.

Iris Windsor.

She's originally from Ireland, with beautiful blonde hair and warm brown eyes that remind me of a steaming cup of hot chocolate.

She's about as sweet as one too.

Her wolf, Sasha, has blonde fur and green eyes.

They have three pups, with another on the way.

Chase, the oldest, inherited his mother's blonde hair and his father's gray eyes and strong features. He's intelligent, muscular, obsessed with training, and destined to become an excellent Beta when Uncle Liam eventually retires.

The girls certainly seem to appreciate his commitment to fitness.

Irene inherited Liam's brown hair and Iris's warm brown eyes. She could have half the unmated males wrapped around her finger if she wanted, but thankfully she isn't spoiled. She loves helping in the kitchen and has a sweet tooth that could probably bankrupt a bakery.

Then there's John.

He's practically a miniature Uncle Liam.

Unfortunately, he's shy to a fault.

Everyone adores him.

I just hope no one ever mistakes his innocence for weakness.

Their fourth pup is a girl, and afterward Liam and Iris claim they're taking a break.

I'll believe that when I see it.

I wave as I pass their floor.

The next belongs to the Gamma family.

General Charles Benson absolutely worships his fiery mate, Myra.

Her long red hair is usually kept in a French braid down her back, and her purple eyes are beautiful right up until someone pisses her off.

Then?

Run.

Seriously.

Run.

Their son inherited his mother's purple eyes and his father's black hair and muscular build.

Unfortunately, he also inherited enough confidence for six people.

He's a complete playboy.

Girls practically line up hoping they'll turn out to be his mate, although his parents constantly remind him that the Moon Goddess has already chosen someone for him.

Hopefully he'll eventually take his future Gamma responsibilities as seriously as he takes flirting.

Maybe he should repeat a few academy courses while he's at it.

Charles and Myra have been trying for another child.

They desperately want a daughter.

Myra's next heat is coming soon, and I'm quietly praying the Goddess answers them this time. Every failed attempt puts another small strain behind their smiles.

As I pass their floor, they're so absorbed in conversation that they don't notice me.

Neither does their son.

He's too busy flirting with Ingrid.

Of course.

I suppress a groan and keep walking.

By the time I reach the third floor, I spot two of my favorite people.

Gabrielle Yellowstone.

Dominick Benedict.

I slap both of their raised palms as I pass.

“Morning!”

“Morning, Bestie!” Gabrielle calls.

“Looking rough, Leo,” Dominick says.

I turn around while still walking.

“Love you too, asshole.”

He grins.

Some things apparently survive time travel.

Gabrielle and Dominick have been my best friends since childhood.

Gabrielle has brown skin similar to mine, long blonde braids, and warm brown eyes. Her wolf, Dana, has rich brown fur and matching eyes.

Dominick is... Dominick.

Silver hair.

Silver eyes.

Cool.

Suave.

Infuriating.

A vampire who hates blood.

His clan decided that made him unworthy of life.

When Dominick was only five, his parents tried introducing him to blood like vampire families traditionally do with their young. The gradual exposure is supposed to prevent uncontrollable bloodlust when they mature.

But Dominick couldn't tolerate it.

Blood made him violently sick.

His father blamed his mother.

Power and prestige mattered more to the bastard than his own fated mate.

Eventually, he rejected her.

Then allowed her to be killed.

Dominick saw everything from behind a hidden panel where his mother had concealed him.

She'd cloaked his scent before hiding him.

Even at five years old, Dominick understood one thing.

No one was coming to protect him.

So he ran.

The scent masking eventually faded.

His clan found him.

They wounded him and left him to bleed out.

But they underestimated him.

Dominick made it halfway to our territory before collapsing.

Dad, Uncle Liam, and several warriors were returning from an annual meeting when they found him.

They approached cautiously at first.

Then Dad realized the supposed threat lying in the dirt was nothing more than a wounded little boy.

He checked Dominick's pulse, wrapped him inside his own jacket, and carried him back to our pack hospital.

Mom brought me to the hospital because she'd originally thought Dad was the one injured.

I was only about six weeks old.

I obviously don't remember it.

But Mom does.

She says the moment my eyes landed on Dominick's tiny body swallowed by that enormous hospital bed, I started crying.

Nothing could calm me.

Not food.

Not Mom.

Not Dad.

Nothing.

Then Dominick woke up.

I reached for him.

He took my tiny hand.

And apparently I immediately stopped crying.

We've been inseparable ever since.

He was eventually adopted by a family here who loves him completely.

Some people are still wary of him because of what he is.

I couldn't care less.

Dominick is the closest thing I've ever had to a brother.

I continue downstairs.

The remaining upper floors contain guest rooms and communal pack spaces, while most of the mansion's activity centers around the first floor.

Kitchens.

The massive dining hall.

Ballroom.

Offices.

Activity rooms.

Conference rooms.

Bathrooms.

Everything needed to keep an entire supernatural realm functioning.

Dad intentionally keeps his office on the first floor.

He says a leader shouldn't sit so high above his people that he forgets what they need.

His office is three doors down from the dining hall.

I stop outside.

My stomach twists.

I knock.

“Come in, Leona.”

I open the door.

Mom and Dad are sitting together on the loveseat beside the massive bay window overlooking the gardens.

“Lock the door and come have a seat, little one,” Dad says.

That doesn't make me nervous at all.

I lock it.

Then I cross the room and sit on the couch opposite them.

Mom hands me a cup.

The scent reaches me before I even look down.

Orange tea.

My favorite.

“Thanks, Mom.”

“Of course.”

I take a sip.

Dad's eyes glaze over.

He's mindlinking someone.

I wait.

A few seconds later, his eyes refocus.

He leans forward.

Clasps his hands.

Mom places one hand over his.

Something passes silently between them.

My stomach twists again.

Dad looks directly into my eyes.

And suddenly I don't see my father sitting before me.

I see a leader.

Not cold.

Not distant.

But serious.

Very serious.

“Leona,” he begins, “what you experienced wasn't a nightmare.”

The teacup freezes halfway to my lips.

My heart skips.

Dad continues.

“You remember August 12, 2026 because you were there.”

I slowly lower the cup.

“What?”

Mom's eyes fill with sadness.

Dad doesn't look away from me.

“You died during the Blue Eclipse.”

The room disappears.

The warehouse flashes before my eyes.

Blood.

Concrete.

My babies.

My last breath.

My fingers tighten around the cup.

“Then how am I here?”

Dad leans back.

“But... someone sent you back.”

My mouth goes dry.

“The Moon Goddess?”

Mom and Dad exchange another look.

“Partially,” Mom says.

Partially?

I stare at her.

“How can the Moon Goddess partially send someone back from the dead?”

Dad actually sighs.

Which somehow frightens me more.

“But... the Moon Goddess is not the only deity involved in your existence.”

My pulse begins racing.

Mom reaches across the space between us.

“Sweetheart, there are things about your birth we've kept from you.”

“What things?”

“Things we believed you weren't ready to know,” Dad says.

I stand.

My tea rattles against the saucer when I put it down.

“I think dying qualifies me as ready.”

Dad's eyebrow rises.

Mom's lips twitch despite herself.

“Alpha Sebastian,” she murmurs.

“I didn't say anything.”

“You were thinking it loudly.”

Normally I'd laugh.

I can't.

Not now.

“Please.”

My voice cracks.

“Tell me.”

Dad's expression softens.

He gestures toward the couch.

I sit again.

Mom takes my hand.

Dad takes the other.

And for some reason, that frightens me most of all.

“When you were born,” Dad begins, “the Moon Goddess appeared.”

My breath catches.

“She came here?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because your birth fulfilled the beginning of an ancient prophecy.”

I stare at him.

Prophecy?

Mom squeezes my hand.

“The crescent markings on Tempest and Snow aren't ordinary birthmarks.”

I stop breathing.

“They're seals.”

My eyes widen.

“Seals for what?”

Dad's golden eyes lock onto mine.

“Your power.”

The room goes completely silent.

I can hear the clock ticking across the office.

Tick.

Tick.

Tick.

“What power?”

Dad's expression darkens.

“Power capable of uniting the supernatural world...”

He pauses.

“...or destroying it.”

A chill travels down my spine.

Mom's fingers tighten around mine.

“The future you remember was never supposed to happen the way it did, Leona.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means someone interfered,” Dad says. “Someone altered the path the Goddess intended for you.”

The warehouse flashes through my mind again.

My rage.

My betrayal.

My death.

Dad leans closer.

“And when you died, the divine laws governing our world were broken.”

My heart pounds.

“So they brought me back?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

Neither answers immediately.

I look from one parent to the other.

“Why?”

Mom's ocean eyes shine.

“Because this time, sweetheart...”

Dad finishes for her.

“...you're supposed to remember.”

My entire body goes cold.

Everything I suffered.

Every betrayal.

Every mistake.

Every person I trusted.

I remember them all.

Dad releases my hand and sits back.

“Your future has been reset.”

Mom's gaze never leaves mine.

“You have been given another chance.”

Dad's golden eyes burn with an intensity that makes the hair along my arms rise.

“But understand this, Leona. Being sent back does not guarantee the future will improve.”

My stomach drops.

“What happens now?”

Dad looks toward the window.

Outside, sunlight spills across the gardens as though this is just another ordinary Monday morning.

Then he looks back at me.

“Now you learn the truth about our family's secret history with the Moon Goddess and her siblings.”

His gaze drops briefly toward the crescent-shaped necklace resting against my chest.

“You learn why you were truly born.”

Mom squeezes my hand.

“You learn what has been sleeping inside you.”

Dad's voice lowers.

“And then, little one...”

His golden eyes meet mine.

“...you decide what you're going to do with the second life the gods have given you.”

I stare at my parents.

Eight years.

I've been thrown eight years into the past.

Back before my mating.

Before my marriage.

Before my pregnancy.

Before the Blue Eclipse.

Before my children died.

Before I died.

My hands curl into fists.

Maybe this isn't a curse.

Maybe it isn't even a miracle.

Maybe it's an opportunity.

But... whoever destroyed me made one fatal mistake.

They killed the Leona who trusted them.

The girl sitting in this room?

She remembers everything.

And this time...

I'm not walking blindly toward my death.

This time, I'm changing the ending.