Chapter 1

At my engagement party to Gavin Blackwood, my cousin Chloe Miller secretly shot up a full dose of an illegal heat inducer.

Her cheeks flushed red. Her legs gave out, and she collapsed at my feet. Glazed eyes locked onto my fiancé. "Elena, please... let Gavin help me. I'm dying..."

In my previous life, I took pity on her. I tracked down Liam Logan, heir to the Silver Moon Pack. He had harbored a secret crush on her for years, so I begged him to help Chloe survive her dangerous heat.

But when Chloe woke up and realized Gavin wasn't the one who marked her, she killed herself in a fit of shame and rage.

Gavin never blamed me. He stayed just as gentle and devoted.

Riddled with guilt over my cousin's death, I bent over backwards to take care of her family.

Yet, on the very day Gavin and I were supposed to hold our official mating ceremony, he spiked my champagne with liquid silver.

He tossed my poisoned body into a rogue den like a piece of trash.

"Chloe died in agony just like this," he sneered. "Now pay for it with your life, bitch!"

Frenzied rogues tore me apart on my wedding night. The unborn pup in my womb suffered the exact same fate.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back at the exact moment Chloe injected herself at my engagement party.

*****

The grand banquet was in full swing at the estate of my father, John Valen, Alpha of the River Valley Pack.

Chloe wore a stunning backless red gown. Her makeup was flawless, but she was playing drunk. In reality, she had just been in the restroom, shooting up a black-market serum.

She stumbled over and suddenly dropped to her knees, clawing at my hand. "Elena, you're my favorite cousin... please help me..."

Her scent began to leak uncontrollably. It was the classic symptom of an Omega forced into heat, a sickeningly sweet vanilla laced with sheer desperation.

The entire banquet hall turned to stare.

I looked down at her, laughing coldly on the inside.

The tragedy of old life was still fresh in my mind. This treacherous pair conspired to murder me and my pup. This time, I was going to make them pay a hundred times over.

"Chloe, you know that's impossible." I sighed, playing the helpless victim. "Gavin is my fiancé. We're completing our mating mark next month. If he marks you now, it'll ruin your reputation.

"How could you ever show your face in the pack again?"

Standing nearby in his tailored suit, Gavin looked downright disgusted. "Chloe, I'm your cousin's fiancé. Sober up and stop making a scene."

With that, he grabbed my hand and turned to leave the hall.

As I watched my cousin writhe in agony on the floor, a cold smirk crept onto my lips.

In my previous life, I begged Liam for help because I wanted to protect Chloe.

This time?

I turned to my bodyguard and lowered my voice. "Go lock the doors. Don't let anyone in or out of the second-floor suite.

"Also, in thirty minutes, bring all the guests upstairs to 'look for someone'."

The bodyguard froze for a second before catching my drift. He gave a respectful nod. "Yes, Miss."

Claiming I felt sick, I left the hall early and slipped into a second-floor lounge.

Through the security feeds, I had a front-row seat. The drugs were kicking in, and Chloe was frantically searching for Gavin.

She pushed open door after door until she finally stumbled into the honeymoon suite Gavin and I had prepped for later.

Gavin was right behind her.

The door slammed shut. I watched the clock, slowly counting down.

Thirty minutes later, I rushed downstairs, a picture of pure panic. I asked everyone in sight, "Sorry, have you seen Gavin and Chloe? They both just disappeared."

It didn't take long. Soon, every guest at the ceremony knew that Gavin, heir to the Blackwood Pack, and his fiancée's cousin were missing at the exact same time.

Liam of the Silver Moon Pack looked grim at the news. "Chloe is an unmarked Omega. Going missing during a heat is incredibly dangerous!"

He immediately started barking orders at his men. "Find her, now!"

The crowd scattered, tearing through nearly every guest room on the estate.

Only the suite Gavin and I prepared remained.

People stood outside the door, exchanging awkward glances. The thick, heavy pheromones seeping through the crack told every werewolf present exactly what was happening inside.

Right on cue, I ran up, panting heavily. "Did you find them?"

Everyone stared at me, too uncomfortable to speak.

"We checked all the other rooms," one guest muttered awkwardly. "This is the only one left."