Chapter 1 The Night I Died- Again

The blade was cold when it slid between my ribs the first time.

The second time... I wasn't ready for.

I woke up gasping-the taste of blood sharp on my tongue-as I bolted upright in my childhood bed. Moonlight spilled over the wooden floor, familiar and wrong all at once.

My heart hammered.

I had died.

I remembered dying.

Draven Nightfall's hands around my throat.

His voice in my ear-cold and final.

"Traitors don't get second chances."

But my lungs burned with air.

My chest rose and fell.

I was alive.

A tremor went through me as I stumbled to the mirror.

My reflection stared back with wide, younger eyes. My hair was shorter. My cheek didn't bear the scar I'd earned in the border attack. My ceremonial mark-etched on my skin the night I turned twenty-one-was gone.

"No," I whispered. "No, this isn't possible."

A sudden crash sounded outside, followed by a roar so deep the window vibrated.

A howl.

His howl.

Draven's.

My blood froze.

He wasn't supposed to be anywhere near my village yet. Not for two more months-not until the prophecy flared and marked me as-

His mate.

But fate was already changing.

A heavy knock thundered at the door.

"Elyra!" my brother shouted. "The Alpha King's riders-they're searching for someone!"

Of course they were.

This time, Draven could feel me sooner.

This time, he would find me faster.

I swallowed hard.

Not again.

Not in this lifetime.

I shoved open the window, swung myself out, and ran into the forest-where my soul cracked open with light, and something ancient, awakened inside me.

The Celestial Wolf.

My second chance had begun.

And the Moon Tyrant was coming.