Chapter 1

Selene

I had died nine times. And every single time, it had been by his hand.

Alpha Damien of the Crimson Pack. The most dangerous man I had ever laid eyes on.

The scene had always begun the same way, his sword pressed to my throat, his cold blue eyes pinning me where I knelt. The final strike had always come, his blade slicing through flesh, blood spilling down my chest as I drew my last breath.

You might have wondered why, if I had gone back nine times, I couldn’t stop it. Why I couldn’t change the ending. The truth was cruel. I remembered nothing of my past lives until that very moment, until I saw Damien’s blade at my throat. That was when it all crashed back, the nine deaths, my life flashing before my eyes, again and again.

My chest heaved. My hand clamped over the wound in my stomach, trying to hold in what was already spilling out. Around me, the battlefield was silent except for the groans of the dying. All my men were gone.

Damien towered over me, tall and merciless, his armor slick with blood. There wasn’t a scratch on him. His face was blank and emotionless as always, those cold blue eyes slicing into me without a hint of pity. He looked at me the way one looks at a wounded animal, seconds before delivering the final blow. The cold-blooded monster was about to end my life.

“Aww,” someone jeered behind him, a faceless soldier who had watched me die too many times. “She is still fighting to live. How sad.”

Another soldier laughed. “Hahaha. Sad indeed. The mighty Luna, leading her people into war, while her mate sits in his castle, drinking and fucking his pleasures. How dumb is she?”

A third voice chimed in. “Do we even need to kill her? Look at her. She’s beautiful. We could take her back, keep her as our slave. Imagine that, the Luna of Mooncrest on her knees for us.”

Dirty words were thrown at me. My fists trembled against the dirt, nails digging into my palms. My throat ached, my breath ragged, but I stayed silent. On any other day, I would have spat blood in their faces, and cursed them. I was the Luna. I would not allow anyone to insult me. But I’d learned.

Every time I rose to defend my honor, Damien cut me down. That was one of the ways I died. And Gods, I was so tired.

So I let them speak. Let them drag my name through the filth. I didn’t raise my eyes, or waste my strength.

My silence enraged one of them. Boots crunched against the blood-soaked ground as he stormed closer. “Who the fuck are you to ignore me, you whore?” His hand lifted, ready to strike me across the face. But before his palm could fall, Damien turned his head and fixed his gaze on him.

The soldier froze immediately. His hand dropped at once.

Not even his own men defied him.

I lifted my gaze just enough to look at them, then lowered it again. My voice came out quiet. “Kill me.”

Silence.

They all paused, eyes widening. One muttered in disbelief, “Did she just… ask us to kill her?”

Another scoffed, uneasy. “She was fighting like a demon moments ago. Why the sudden change?”

Damien’s sword never moved from my throat. His head tilted, curiosity glinting in his icy stare as he studied me. “You wish for death?” His voice was calm, almost amused. “Why?”

I didn’t answer. My gaze stayed fixed on the ground, the blood pooling at my knees.

“Why, Luna of the Mooncrest Pack?” he pressed again.

Why?

Because I was tired. Because every life, every struggle, every desperate fight had always led me here. I was weary of struggling against fate only to meet the same end.

I swallowed. My lips trembled, but the truth slipped out anyway.

“Because I’m tired of fighting,” I whispered, my voice breaking. “You’re going to end it, no matter what I do… so just be quick with it.”

I felt his gaze burn into me. I didn’t dare look up. If I saw his eyes now, if I faced him in this state, I would despise myself for being so weak.

The blade pressed closer to my throat. I swallowed hard, my pulse racing. Gods, I was terrified. I didn’t want to die again. But what choice did I have?

I closed my eyes. Please, let it be quick this time. Every other time had hurt too much.

The weight of the sword shifted. I braced myself for the cut, but instead, I heard the sound of the blade lowering.

My eyes flew open. I froze. Huh?

Around me, everyone was silent. Damien’s soldiers were also confused as they stared at their alpha. He stood there, blade resting at his side, his face as cold and unreadable as ever.

“W-what are you…?” My voice shook as I looked up at him in disbelief.

His eyes narrowed. “You want to die?” His lips curled, but it wasn’t a smile. “That is rather amusing. The look in your eyes… you’re terrified of death, yet you beg for it. I’ve never seen anyone like you before.”

I swallowed, my throat dry.

Damien tilted his head, studying me like a puzzle. Then, he said, “Very well. I’ll give you a chance to live. If you can survive today, you’ll keep your life.”

My heart stuttered. I wasn’t sure I’d heard him right.

“Jason,” Damien called.

“Yes, Alpha,” replied a striking man with blonde hair, his beta.

“Hand me my bow.”

Jason obeyed swiftly, placing the weapon in Damien’s hands. The Alpha strung an arrow, then leveled it at me.

“I’ll give you one minute to run,” he said. “Then my men and I will fire. If you can escape, we won’t hunt you down.”

The soldiers laughed. Their eyes lit with delight. To them, I wasn’t a Luna anymore. I was their prey.

My chest tightened. Every instinct screamed at me to stay down, to let it end here before they could play their cruel game. But this had never happened before. Not once in my nine lives had he ever spared me, let alone offered me a way out.

My body shook. My mind told me to give up. But somewhere deep inside, I still had hope. I didn’t want to die.

I wanted to live.

Damien’s head tilted slightly, his blue eyes glinting. “If I were you,” he said. “I’d be running.”

My teeth sank into my lip. My legs felt heavy, but I forced them to move. Then I turned and ran.

Behind me, his voice counted down. When the first arrows whistled through the air, I didn’t stop. Even as they tore into my flesh, even as pain seared through me, I kept running.

I ran because for the first time in all my lives, I had a chance.