At the Full Moon Ceremony of my twentieth birthday, the old Alpha of the Silver Moon Pack placed six silver plates engraved with names in front of me.
He told me I could choose any of his six heirs to form a mate bond with.
The man I chose would not only become my husband, but the next Alpha.
In my past life, I chose his grandson, Adrian. The entire Northern territory knew I was madly in love with him.
But after we married, he stayed entangled with my adopted sister, Chloe.
When my parents sent Chloe away to a Southern pack, he blamed me and hated me to his core.
Later, my wolf spirit began to wither from severe Lunar Fading Syndrome.
He secretly swapped the medicine the healer gave me, and I died alone in the Silver Moon Temple.
When I opened my eyes again, I was back at age twenty.
This time, I chose the most overlooked sixth son, Lucian.
I just didn't expect that Adrian had been reborn, too.
~~~~~
Stepping out of old Alpha Edmund's study, I ran straight into Adrian and a few of his brothers.
Seeing me, the group immediately exchanged knowing smirks.
"Look who's back for her daily dose of Adrian."
"Hasn't she chased him long enough?"
"Her grandfather was a legendary Alpha in the North. If he knew his granddaughter was acting like this, he'd crawl right out of the Cave of Ancestors."
They burst into laughter. To me, the scene was so familiar it made my stomach churn.
It was exactly like this in my past life.
Because I loved Adrian, I had thrown away every ounce of my dignity.
The whole North knew I was the Whitmore heiress who shamelessly threw herself at a man who didn't want her.
Leaning against the end of the corridor, Adrian shot me a cold, dismissive look.
As the most outstanding young wolf of the Blackwood family's current generation, he had mastered shifting at an early age. Everyone believed that once the old Alpha stepped down, Adrian would inevitably become the next leader of the Silver Moon Pack.
"What did you whine to my grandfather about this time, Selena?" he demanded, his brow furrowed in annoyance. "Are you trying to use the fact that your grandfather saved his life in the pack wars to force my hand again?"
He scoffed. "Your family has been playing this 'debt of gratitude' game for twenty years. Drop the act."
I stopped in my tracks.
He was exactly the same as in my past life. Even that tone of absolute disgust hadn't changed.
"And another thing." He closed the distance between us, lowering his voice into a warning. "Tomorrow is your coming-of-age banquet. I know Grandfather plans to announce the Blood Oath."
"But before we complete the mating bond, let's get a few things straight."
I stared at him as he tilted his chin up, radiating pure arrogance.
"I'll take the mate bond, but don't expect me to be faithful only to you. And you are not to interfere with my relationships with other women. Especially Chloe."
My heart gave a violent jolt—not out of sorrow, but out of shock.
Those were the exact words he had said to me years into our marriage in my past life.
The twenty-year-old Adrian of my previous life disliked me, but he hadn't been this brazen yet.
Unless... he remembered, too.
Keeping my face perfectly blank, I asked, "Who said I was picking you?"
He froze for a second, then let out a sharp, mocking laugh.
"Selena, who in the North doesn't know you're obsessed with me? When you first shifted at fourteen, you chased me halfway up the mountain in your wolf form."
The brothers behind him erupted into fresh laughter.
The smugness in Adrian's eyes deepened. "Who else could you possibly choose?"
Right then, a soft, fragile voice drifted up from the staircase.
"Sister." Chloe approached, wearing a pristine white dress.
She was the girl my parents had adopted over a decade ago. To outsiders, she was sweet, delicate, and so tender-hearted she'd cry over an injured bird.
Only I knew how sharp her claws really were.
The moment Adrian saw her, his entire demeanor softened. "You haven't recovered yet. Why are you out of bed?"
Chloe let out two delicate little coughs. "Dad asked me to accompany my sister. He said it wasn't safe for her to come to the Silver Moon Estate all alone."
Adrian immediately glared at me. "Are you entirely incapable of doing anything yourself? You need a babysitter? Can't you see Chloe has been having trouble shifting lately?"
Without missing a beat, he reached out and took Chloe's hand. Their scents were completely mingled.
In my past life, catching that scent would have driven me insane with jealousy.
Now? I just found it pathetic.
Before leading her away, Adrian threw one last cold warning over his shoulder. "Selena, if you keep acting this spoiled, I might not even accept your choice."
I smiled. Good. I'd rather you didn't.
Because this time, I wasn't choosing him anyway.