Reborn as the Top Alpha’s Beloved Darling

(Seraphina's POV)

Grace's hand was steady as she dragged the silver knife down my cheek.

"Hold still, Sera, dear sister." Her voice was soft, the same coaxing tone she used when she braided my hair as a kid. "You'll make me cut crooked."

"No, no—" I shook my head in terror. "Aah!"

She gripped the knife and drew it from my forehead to my jaw. Wolfsbane juice seeped into the wound, like someone was pouring boiling water straight into my veins.

I screamed, thrashing backward. The silver chain around my neck yanked tight—wrists, ankles, throat, every inch of contact searing into skin.

Seven days now.

"Why..." I choked out, mouth full of blood. "Grace, what the hell did I ever do to you?"

She tilted her head, studying me like a craft project that hadn't turned out right. Then footsteps behind her, and a hand settled on her waist.

Damien.

He stepped out of the shadows wearing the baseball jacket I'd given him, green eyes bright with amusement—the exact same look he wore when he waved at me in the school hallway.

My stomach lurched.

"She's still awake?" he said to Grace. Not to me. "I figured she'd have passed out by now."

"She's tougher than she looks." Grace set the silver knife on the tray and turned to nestle into Damien's arms, the motion so natural they must have done it a thousand times.

I stared at them. My brain was slow, like the wolfsbane had rotted it through.

"Damien..." My voice was shaking. "You said you liked me too... You said you'd take me away. You said Caelan Ashworth was a monster, that marrying him would kill me—"

"Oh, that." He finally looked down at me. Actually looked at me. "I lied, sweetheart."

He smiled.

"Ashworth's not that scary. The rumors about him being cursed were someone else's doing—nothing to do with him, really. We tricked you into running from the marriage because... how do I put this." He shrugged. "You don't deserve him."

Grace picked up where he left off, her voice suddenly shrill: "Caelan Ashworth—the top Alpha of the West, the strongest man alive—why should his Mate be you? What even are you? Just some newly awakened nobody!"

She spun around, silver knife raised again. The tip pointed at my stomach.

"There must be something wrong with your body." She was panting, eyes red. "Something that hooked him. I'm going to open you up and find out."

"Grace—" Damien caught her hand. Not to protect me. To calm her.

"Easy." He kissed Grace's temple, then turned to me. "Doesn't matter anyway. Three days ago, your precious Alpha came charging into Cross territory alone to save you."

My breathing stopped.

"Silver bullet. Through the heart." Damien tapped a finger on his own left chest. "Dead on the spot. My father said he was still calling your name right before the end."

He made a face of mock sympathy.

"Touching, really. You two never even met, did you?"

Time seemed to stop.

I heard the drip of a water pipe. Heard Grace and Damien talking, voices drifting in and out. Heard my own blood trickling down the silver chains.

But none of it mattered anymore.

My fated mate. The man I'd abandoned with my own hands.

He died trying to save me.

And I didn't even know what color his eyes were.

Grace walked over, pressing the silver blade to my chest, right over my heart.

"Die now, little sister. I always win!"

Ember let out one last furious howl from the deepest part of my mind.

Moon Goddess—

If you can hear me, please give me one more chance.

Let me go back. Let me kill them. Let me change everything!

The silver knife plunged in.

The crescent birthmark behind my ear blazed to life, hotter than the silver burns, pain so blinding I saw white light—

Chapter 1

"Sera! Sera, wake up!"

Someone was shaking me.

My eyes flew open. My whole body seized, gasping for air. My fingers clawed at my chest—no knife. No blood. No silver chains.

Skin intact. Clean and warm.

"Oh my God, you scared me!" Grace was kneeling by my bed, tears streaming down her face, both hands gripping my wrists. "You were having a nightmare, you're soaked in sweat—"

My bedroom. My bed. Morning light through the window.

"Listen to me," Grace whispered, eyes glistening. "The Ashworth people are already here. Dad just agreed to the marriage. But I'll give Damien up for you—let him take you away. Sera, your sister only wants you to be happy."

She was crying. Crying so prettily, so sincerely.

The same face that had held a silver knife to my heart seven days ago—no, minutes ago.

I wrenched my hands free. "Don't touch me!"

She fell back, staring at me with a wounded look. "Sera, what's wrong? Wait! Where are you going? Damien's waiting for you!"

I didn't look back. I ran straight out of the room.

Waiting for me? Waiting to send me to hell? Too bad—this time around, I'd be the one sending them there.

"Find him!" Ember's voice exploded from deep in my chest. "Find our Mate! Now!"

I ran to my father's study and stopped with my hand on the doorknob.

I was shaking—with fear.

In my last life, blind trust had cost me everything. What made me think choosing him would be any different?

What if saving me was just Mate instinct? What if—

Ember's snarl cut through:

"Idiot! He died for us once! He has the power to help us! What are you waiting for? Is staying here any better than going to him?"

I clenched my jaw and pushed the door open.

My father and a man in a suit both turned to look at me.

"Sera?" My father frowned. "Why are you down here looking like that? Grace said you—"

"I accept the marriage," I said.

My father's eyes went wide.

The man in the suit raised an eyebrow, his gaze sweeping over me—nightgown, bare feet, hair a tangled mess over my shoulders. But there was no mockery in his expression. Just a slight nod.

"Miss Seraphina Wren, hello. I'm Kieran, Beta of Ashworth Pack. I'm here to escort you." He paused. "If you're ready, we can leave now."

"She's not ready!" Grace burst in, voice shrill enough to cut glass. "Dad, you can't let her go! It's a death sentence!"

My father looked at me, then at Grace, wearing that familiar, wishy-washy expression. He was always like this—whoever yelled loudest won.

I turned to face Grace.

"A death sentence?" I held her gaze. "How would you know? Have you met him? Have you married him?"

Grace went pale. "I... I heard from people! He—"

"Are you me?" I cut her off. "Do you know what will happen to me?"

Her mouth opened. Nothing came out.

I stepped closer and dropped my voice so only we could hear.

"Or are you afraid that once I marry him, I'll find out you've been lying to me? Afraid I'll come back for payback?"

Grace's pupils shrank.

I stepped back and turned to Kieran. "Give me ten minutes to change."

Ashworth's main house was in the city center. Four hours by car.

I didn't say a word the entire drive. My nails dug into my palms as I told myself over and over that this was real.

"Ember," I called to my wolf silently. "You have memories from before too, right?"

She sounded restless. "Of course. I still remember that blond bastard saying—the three women suspected to be his Mates before us. One dead, one insane, one missing."

"But he also said those were someone else's doing," I said. "I was nearly dead by then. He had no reason to lie."

Ember let out a long sigh. "...And that's supposed to be good news?"

Fair point.

If someone really was eliminating every woman who got close to Caelan Ashworth—

Then I was number four.

The car stopped at an iron gate. The house was enormous, like a fortress.

My legs felt weak when I stepped out.

In the entrance hall, two Omega maids were mopping the floor. As I passed, their whispers drilled right into my ears.

"Another one? How many is that now?"

"Fourth. This girl barely looks legal. Must be desperate for the money."

My hands were shaking.

I knew those deaths weren't his fault. In my past life, Grace had said it herself—the rumors were someone else's work.

But my hands were still shaking.

"Stop being a coward." Ember growled. "He's ours. Move!"

Beta Kieran led me through a corridor and stopped in front of a dark wooden door. Two knocks, then he pushed it open.

The study was large and dim. The curtains were only half drawn.

Then his scent hit me.

Pine. Cold iron. The heavy, suffocating air right before a thunderstorm.

Ember let out a thrilled howl inside my chest.

He stood by the window, back to me.

Tall, broad-shouldered. A black shirt traced the lines of his back muscles, tapering to a narrow waist. One hand in his pocket, head tilted slightly, as if listening for something.

He heard us and turned.

Light poured in from behind him, gilding his edges. I couldn't make out his face—only his eyes. Blue-gray, like a frozen lake.

I suddenly wanted to cry.

"Do you know what it means to be here?" His voice was low. Deep.

I lifted my chin against the weight of his presence and met his eyes.

"It means I'll be your Luna."

It means I'll have my revenge. I'll change everything.

And the people who destroyed us—not a single one will escape.

Silence.

Then he spoke, his tone perfectly flat, but Ember went dead still inside me—

"Then you should know—every woman who's come near me has met a bad end."