Chapter 1

In my previous life, on the day my sister, Ella Hartwell, and I, Lila, attended the witches' Soul-Mate Rite, I came across a vampire prince named Alex Thornfield and saved his life.

Grateful for my help, Alex declared me his future bride after he returned to his clan.

A year later, I gave birth to a Pureblood Heir, the sole successor to the vampire throne.

Alex was overjoyed. On his coronation day, he bound me to him with the Blood Oath, his queen and eternal mate. From that moment on, I was revered by all the races.

Ella, however, chose to marry a powerful werewolf alpha, only to become just another face in his endless string of lovers. She was barely noticed, easily forgotten.

Driven mad by jealousy, she pushed me from a cliff during the witches' full moon ceremony, and I plunged to my death.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day of the Soul-Mate Rite. Ella was already running toward the spot where Alex was destined to appear. I knew then she had come back, too.

But what she failed to realize was that becoming the prince's betrothed was the easy part.

Winning his heart and bearing his child? That was a mountain she'd never climb.

*****

A witch's power sprang from desire. It was an ancient law, a truth etched into the very core of our bloodline.

When a witch came of age, her magic would begin to stir. It grew restless and wild, craving a powerful mate to anchor it. If that balance wasn't found, the long nights would descend into a living nightmare, as her own power turned against her.

Fearing we might grow reckless and cause trouble, the elders established a rule: once we came of age, we had to choose a partner, using marriage as a means to forge alliances with other supernatural clans.

I had scarcely arrived at the ceremonial grounds and hadn't even had a moment to size up the gathered crowd when a girl beside me gave me a gentle nudge.

"Hey, I saw your sister, Ella, on my way here. She was heading straight into Gloomwood Forest, and no one could stop her. Is she just skipping the ceremony?" she said.

The moment she said it, it all became clear.

So I wasn't the only one who had come back. Ella had apparently returned, too.

She was rushing off to Gloomwood Forest, desperate to chase her dream of being queen and all the riches that came with it.

Before I could even speak, a chilling wind swept through the grounds, and the sky was swallowed by brooding storm clouds.

In an instant, the world went dark. Several opulent carriages, black and gold, pulled by nightmare steeds, descended from the heavens. Vampire messengers then materialized before us, their purpose clear: to deliver the prince's decree.

My heart lurched. Having lived through it all before, I knew exactly what this meant. Alex had arrived to claim his "savior" as his bride.

*****

In my previous life, Ella had made a point of making things difficult for me. She sent me into the Gloomwood Forest to pick flowers for her.

But fate had other plans. Instead, I stumbled upon Alex, ambushed and left for dead, lying unconscious in the forest.

To be honest, my only thought was to use my witch's life force to revive him. And maybe, once he was awake, indulge some of my own more primal urges.

But when he came to, he pressed the vampire prince's signet ring into my palm.

Not only did he reveal his true identity, but he also sent a bloodline message on the spot, declaring me his chosen mate.

We witches were never considered anything special. Such an honor was something we never even dared to dream of.

Not that I was ever given a choice. In the span of a few words, my entire fate was sealed.

For all their power as rulers of the night, the vampires harbored a secret, hidden from the world.

To bring a vampire child into the world, the mother had to nourish the unborn with her own life force, slowly draining her from within.

The vampire bloodline was so potent that women from ordinary races simply could not endure the pregnancy.

Most withered away within months, perishing alongside their unborn child. Yet, by some miracle, I survived.

I gave birth to the one and only Pureblood Heir of that generation. The prince was overjoyed. He bound me to him with an eternal Blood Oath.

Decades later, when Alex ascended to the throne as Vampire King, it was only natural that I became his one and only queen, enjoying unimaginable glory and riches.

My sister, on the other hand, chose the werewolf alpha, only to discover he was a notorious womanizer with lovers everywhere. She never became his one and true mate.

He visited her barely once a month, which was nowhere near enough to satisfy a witch's needs.

She ended up crying herself to sleep every night, trapped in a life of unending misery.

When the witches' full moon ceremony finally arrived, she tricked me into going to the cliff's edge. With one ruthless shove, she sent me plummeting into the abyss.

The terror and despair of that fall, of plummeting to my death, were forever etched into my soul.

*****

Suddenly, surrounded by the witches' elders, Alex appeared before the assembly, leading Ella by the hand, his face radiant with what could only be described as adoration.

"Ella has a good heart," Alex announced. "She saved me in the forest. From now on, she is the one I have chosen as my bride."

I curtseyed deeply while Ella cast a triumphant glance over the crowd below, barely able to conceal her smug satisfaction.

But out of her sight, a slow, knowing smile crept across my lips.

Well, Ella, if you were so eager to meet your end, I would make sure you got exactly what you were wishing for.