Chaper 1

I was reborn on the exact night my guardian, Caleb, was consumed by a drug-induced rut.

This time, I didn't hesitate. I dialed his fated Luna directly. "Your Alpha is in rut. You have ten minutes to come collect him."

In my past life, I loved the Alpha who took me in. I gave him everything when he needed it most, throwing myself into the fire just to save him, even bearing his pup.

But that same night, his precious "white moon"—Selena—went out for a walk, only to be dragged away and slaughtered by rogues.

She had mind-linked him thirty-three times before she died. But he was with me, delivering our baby, and he blocked her out.

For that, my reward was a silver collar piercing my scent glands in the cold dungeons. I was forced to watch my baby die in agony, my last sight in this world being Caleb’s eyes, filled with pure, unadulterated disgust.

"If you hadn't refused to call Selena that night, if you hadn't been such a whore begging for my bed, she would never have died."

"You and this bastard pup... the world is cleaner with you both dead."

I blinked, and the nightmare shattered. I was back. Back to the exact night the aphrodisiac triggered his rut.

...

"Elara, call Selena! Now!"

The frenzied snarl shattered the heavy silence of the master bedroom.

My eyes snapped open. A splitting headache hit me, shadowed by the phantom agony of silver tearing through my scent glands.

I'm back.

The air in the room was thick, choked with Caleb’s suffocating Alpha pheromones—the raw, unhinged scent of an apex predator one breath away from completely losing his mind.

In my past life, on this exact night, I watched him writhe in drug-fueled agony and couldn't bear to make the call.

This time? My fingers didn't even tremble.

Ring. Ring. Click.

"Your Alpha is in rut," I said into the receiver, my voice dead flat. "You have ten minutes to come collect him." I hung up before she could speak.

Caleb’s sanity was hanging by a thread. His eyes, bleeding a feral crimson, locked onto me. He lunged. A scorching hand clamped down on my nape, dragging me violently against his hard chest.

"Don't hide from me, Elara," he rasped, his elongated canines grazing my pulse point. "Your scent... it's the only one in the pack that matches mine. You don't have the right to say no tonight."

He was my guardian. The undisputed Alpha of the Blood Moon Pack. He was used to owning every part of me, body and soul.

But right now? All he inspired was bile in my throat.

Ignoring the searing pain as his volatile pheromones burned against my vulnerable Omega glands, I shoved hard against his chest.

"I already called Selena. Your fated Luna is on her way."

Caleb’s pupils dilated into thin, dangerous slits.

"Are you defying me?" he snarled. A tidal wave of Alpha aura crashed down on me, designed to force a low-ranking Omega to her knees in instant submission. "A worthless stray I took in... deciding who I belong to?"

My knees buckled instinctively, trembling under the sheer weight of his command. But I bit the inside of my cheek until I tasted copper, forcing myself to stand tall.

"You don't get to order me around like a backup toy anymore." I yanked the door open and walked out without looking back.

The moment the door clicked shut, a deafening crash echoed from inside as a fist shattered the drywall.

Ten minutes later, Selena’s stilettos clicked frantically down the hallway.

When she saw me standing there, fully clothed and untouched, the flash of relief in her eyes was obvious. Then, the mask slipped back into place—the arrogant, mocking sneer of a Mean Girl.

"Elara, I know you have this pathetic little crush on Caleb," she purred condescendingly. "But know your place. An Omega's basic duty is to be obedient. Don't try to hog something that will never belong to you. It just makes you look... cheap."

Another agonized roar tore through the bedroom door.

Selena scoffed. "You can't even soothe him right. What value do you even have in the pack house? Do us all a favor and pack your bags."

I stared at her plastic, hypocritical face, not even mustering the energy to argue.

In my past life, I bled myself dry fighting her for Caleb’s love. My prize? A silver collar and a front-row seat to my newborn's murder.

"Have a lovely evening." I brushed past her, heading straight for the attic.

That night, the muffled sounds of their mating and mingling pheromones drifted up through the floorboards. I sat by the small attic window, listening with ice in my veins.

The phantom pains were vivid. The tearing of childbirth. The acidic burn of silver eating into my skin. And Caleb’s voice, colder than absolute zero: You and this bastard pup... the world is cleaner with you both dead.

In this life, I would never be anyone’s blood bag again.

The next morning, the tension in the dining room was thick enough to cut with a silver blade.

Selena was sitting blatantly in my usual seat—at Caleb’s right hand. He was buttering her toast, his movements sickeningly gentle.

He pitched his voice loud enough for every pack enforcer and Omega servant to hear. "From today onward, Selena is the future Luna of the Blood Moon Pack. Everyone will show her the absolute highest respect."

His cold, predatory gaze snapped to me.

"Especially you, Elara."

"Don't forget what you are. You're a stray I took in out of pity. You don't have the luxury of throwing tantrums. From now on, you will greet Selena every morning and evening, and you will personally attend to all her chores."

Muffled snickers rippled around the table. They were all waiting for the show. Waiting for me to burst into tears and beg for his affection like I always did.

Selena let out a perfectly timed, theatrical sigh. "Oh, Caleb, don't be so harsh on Elara. She's young. She just hasn't learned her place yet."

I calmly set my silverware down on the porcelain plate and stood up.

"I've lost my appetite."

The second I turned around, Selena’s eyes welled with crocodile tears. "Should I not have come down? If my presence makes Elara so miserable, I can just leave..."

"Halt!" Caleb roared.

A suffocating wave of Alpha command slammed into the room. A few low-ranking Betas went pale, gripping the edges of the mahogany table just to stay upright.

"Elara, I am giving you one last chance. Apologize to Selena. Now."

I stopped and looked over my shoulder at him.

The face I had once loved more than my own life now looked like a stranger's. A disgusting, pathetic stranger.

"I refuse," I said, holding his furious gaze dead-on.

Caleb’s expression darkened into something deadly. With a violent swipe of his hand, he knocked the steaming bowl of soup right off the table. The scalding liquid splashed across the back of my hand, sending a searing spike of pain up my arm.

"I fed you and housed you for years, and this is the ungrateful bitch I get in return?" he bellowed.

I looked down at the rapidly blistering red skin on my hand. I didn't even flinch to wipe it off.

Instead, I pulled my lips into a flawless, empty smile and offered them a shallow, mocking bow.

"Alpha. Future Luna. Excuse me."

I turned on my heel and marched out of the dining room, leaving their shock and whispers far behind me.

Half an hour later, I was standing at the tiny attic sink, running cold water over my burns.

CRASH!

The door was kicked open with enough force to splinter the wood.

Caleb stalked into the room, practically vibrating with leftover rut-aggression and pure rage. He slammed the door shut behind him. Click. The lock engaged.

His eyes were flashing between human brown and a feral, glowing gold. He backed me into the corner until the wall hit my spine.

He glanced down at my violently red hand, a cruel smirk twisting his lips.

"Can't even handle a little pain?" His hand shot out, his fingers digging brutally into my jawbone as he forced my face up to meet his. "Funny. You were a lot cheaper back when you were begging to climb into my bed."