Chapter 1

At the Red Wolf Pack's Choosing Ceremony, all eyes were on me.

As a Pureblood Royal Omega with absolute inheritance rights, my choice dictated the pack's future. Whoever I mated with would instantly be crowned the next Alpha.

I walked right past Jack—our pack's strongest, most revered warrior—and stopped in front of Ryan, the marginalized, despised Beta who lived in the shadows.

The entire hall erupted.

In my past life, I had chosen Jack without a second thought, blissfully ascending as his Luna.

My sister, Lily, had gone mad with jealousy.

To steal my throne, she took a poisoned blade and carved out my inner wolf core, ripping away my power, my status, and my life.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back at the altar.

Lily was staring at Jack, her eyes practically vibrating with greed and obsession.

She reeked of his signature cedarwood scent.

I knew instantly. She was reborn, too.

She couldn't wait. She had already crawled into his bed behind my back.

So, I played along. Right there in front of the pack, I took Jack's hand and placed it directly into hers.

My sister trembled with glee, convinced she had just stolen my crown.

What she didn't know was that beneath Jack's handsome, heroic facade lived an unhinged sadist.

A collective gasp sucked the air from the sacred altar.

Dead silence followed.

A Pureblood Omega, the ultimate prize, had just publicly rejected the strongest warrior in the pack.

Jack remained on one knee, his practiced, affectionate smile freezing on his face. He looked up, utterly blindsided.

Lily violently flinched, but a tidal wave of ecstasy quickly washed over her features.

Her fingers dug into Jack's arm like claws. She plastered on a look of sickening pity.

"You gave him up, Mia. The Choosing is final. You can't take it back."

She leaned into Jack, deliberately flaring the cedarwood scent they had mixed all over her skin.

Looking at her smug face, I wanted to laugh out loud.

She thought she had just stolen the perfect mate.

She had no idea she was clinging to a monster who would eat her alive.

The suffocating memories of my past life coiled around my chest like a viper.

Back then, I chose Jack. I thought I was marrying for love.

But on our wedding night, the second I was crowned Luna, his mask slipped.

Jack wasn't a hero. He was a sick, twisted sadist.

Every single day was a living hell.

In the dead of night, he would chain me to the damp walls of his underground dungeon. He would take a barbed iron whip and flay my back, inch by inch, smiling in pure euphoria as I screamed.

I snapped back to the present, disgusted by the mere sight of them.

I turned my back on Jack's bewildered face and walked straight toward the darkest corner of the great hall.

A slender man stood there, his head bowed.

Ryan.

The pack's most diluted bloodline. A complete outcast. A useless Beta.

Under the shocked gaze of thousands, I reached out my hand to him. My voice rang clear across the sacred stones.

"My mate. It's him."

The hall exploded.

"Is she insane? She gave the strongest warrior to her sister and picked a trash Beta to be our Alpha?!"

Lily's eyes widened in disbelief, followed by a smirk she couldn't even try to hide.

"Mia, if you wanted to play the saint, you didn't have to degrade yourself like this."

"Only the strongest warrior deserves a Luna," she mocked. "By picking a Beta, you've forfeited your crown."

Jack's face was thunderous.

He stared at my hand locked with Ryan's, a lethal, humiliated fury flashing in his eyes.

The second the ceremony ended, Jack cornered me in a blind spot of the side corridor.

*Smash!*

His fist slammed into the stone wall right next to my ear, sending debris flying.

"Is this a game to you, Mia?" Jack snarled, his handsome face twisting into something ugly and violent. "You think you can leash some stray mutt and just walk away from me?"

With no one around, the rabid beast I remembered from my past life was finally showing its teeth.

I stared at him, cold and unmoving.

"How is that piece of trash going to command the pack? He can't hold the Alpha seat!" Jack loomed over me, his tone dripping with arrogant entitlement. "Your Luna title will be the laughingstock of the territory. Get on your knees right now. Beg me. Crawl into my bed, and maybe I'll forgive your stupidity."

"You really think that highly of yourself, Jack?"

I met his glare, my eyes like ice.

"I am a Pureblood Omega. If I crown a stray dog, that dog is your King. You don't even rate high enough to grovel at my feet. Take Lily and get out of my sight."

"You're asking to die!"

Jack snapped. His sadistic nature flared, and his hand shot out, aiming straight for my throat.

But before his fingers could even graze my skin.

A pale, long-fingered hand shot out from the shadows and clamped down on Jack's wrist like a vice.

Ryan.

He had materialized behind me, his head still slightly bowed, playing the part of the cowardly Beta.

Jack's face paled. He yanked his arm, trying to break free, but the seemingly frail hand didn't budge a fraction of an inch.

Ryan slowly lifted his gaze.

Those normally dull eyes were now swirling with a terrifying, dark gold light—like an ancient predator waking up in the abyss.

"Take your hand off her."

Chapter 1

At the Red Wolf Pack's Choosing Ceremony, all eyes were on me.

As a Pureblood Royal Omega with absolute inheritance rights, my choice dictated the pack's future. Whoever I mated with would instantly be crowned the next Alpha.

I walked right past Jack—our pack's strongest, most revered warrior—and stopped in front of Ryan, the marginalized, despised Beta who lived in the shadows.

The entire hall erupted.

In my past life, I had chosen Jack without a second thought, blissfully ascending as his Luna.

My sister, Lily, had gone mad with jealousy.

To steal my throne, she took a poisoned blade and carved out my inner wolf core, ripping away my power, my status, and my life.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back at the altar.

Lily was staring at Jack, her eyes practically vibrating with greed and obsession.

She reeked of his signature cedarwood scent.

I knew instantly. She was reborn, too.

She couldn't wait. She had already crawled into his bed behind my back.

So, I played along. Right there in front of the pack, I took Jack's hand and placed it directly into hers.

My sister trembled with glee, convinced she had just stolen my crown.

What she didn't know was that beneath Jack's handsome, heroic facade lived an unhinged sadist.

A collective gasp sucked the air from the sacred altar.

Dead silence followed.

A Pureblood Omega, the ultimate prize, had just publicly rejected the strongest warrior in the pack.

Jack remained on one knee, his practiced, affectionate smile freezing on his face. He looked up, utterly blindsided.

Lily violently flinched, but a tidal wave of ecstasy quickly washed over her features.

Her fingers dug into Jack's arm like claws. She plastered on a look of sickening pity.

"You gave him up, Mia. The Choosing is final. You can't take it back."

She leaned into Jack, deliberately flaring the cedarwood scent they had mixed all over her skin.

Looking at her smug face, I wanted to laugh out loud.

She thought she had just stolen the perfect mate.

She had no idea she was clinging to a monster who would eat her alive.

The suffocating memories of my past life coiled around my chest like a viper.

Back then, I chose Jack. I thought I was marrying for love.

But on our wedding night, the second I was crowned Luna, his mask slipped.

Jack wasn't a hero. He was a sick, twisted sadist.

Every single day was a living hell.

In the dead of night, he would chain me to the damp walls of his underground dungeon. He would take a barbed iron whip and flay my back, inch by inch, smiling in pure euphoria as I screamed.

I snapped back to the present, disgusted by the mere sight of them.

I turned my back on Jack's bewildered face and walked straight toward the darkest corner of the great hall.

A slender man stood there, his head bowed.

Ryan.

The pack's most diluted bloodline. A complete outcast. A useless Beta.

Under the shocked gaze of thousands, I reached out my hand to him. My voice rang clear across the sacred stones.

"My mate. It's him."

The hall exploded.

"Is she insane? She gave the strongest warrior to her sister and picked a trash Beta to be our Alpha?!"

Lily's eyes widened in disbelief, followed by a smirk she couldn't even try to hide.

"Mia, if you wanted to play the saint, you didn't have to degrade yourself like this."

"Only the strongest warrior deserves a Luna," she mocked. "By picking a Beta, you've forfeited your crown."

Jack's face was thunderous.

He stared at my hand locked with Ryan's, a lethal, humiliated fury flashing in his eyes.

The second the ceremony ended, Jack cornered me in a blind spot of the side corridor.

*Smash!*

His fist slammed into the stone wall right next to my ear, sending debris flying.

"Is this a game to you, Mia?" Jack snarled, his handsome face twisting into something ugly and violent. "You think you can leash some stray mutt and just walk away from me?"

With no one around, the rabid beast I remembered from my past life was finally showing its teeth.

I stared at him, cold and unmoving.

"You really think that highly of yourself, Jack?"

I met his glare, my eyes like ice.

"I am a Pureblood Omega. If I crown a stray dog, that dog is your King. You don't even rate high enough to grovel at my feet. Take Lily and get out of my sight."

"You're asking to die!"

Jack snapped. His sadistic nature flared, and his hand shot out, aiming straight for my throat.

But before his fingers could even graze my skin.

A pale, long-fingered hand shot out from the shadows and clamped down on Jack's wrist like a vice.

Ryan.

He had materialized behind me, his head still slightly bowed, playing the part of the cowardly Beta.

Jack's face paled. He yanked his arm, trying to break free, but the seemingly frail hand didn't budge a fraction of an inch.

Ryan slowly lifted his gaze.

Those normally dull eyes were now swirling with a terrifying, dark gold light—like an ancient predator waking up in the abyss.

"Take your hand off her."