In the hallway, I catch my reflection in a decorative mirror, pale face, tangled dark hair, familiar features.
Then my eyes flash, brilliant silver, luminous as the moon itself, pupils contracting to predatory slits.
We are not what we were,my wolf whispers.We are so much more.
The silver light fades from my eyes, but I can still feel it coursing through me, ancient, powerful, and hungry for justice.
I was never human to begin with.I am no longer the girl they broke.It’s time for me to do the breaking.
4
Rylan’s POV
The scent hits me like a physical blow. Vanilla and lavender, but wrong somehow. Richer. Deeper. Ancient. My steps falter mid stride, my body freezing in the corridor as my nostrils flare, drinking it in. My wolf surges forward with such violence that I stagger against the wall, claws erupting from my fingertips.
MINE.
The thought is not mine. It is his. Primal and absolute. My wolf’s certainty crashes through me like thunder.
“Impossible,” I whisper, but my body knows differently. Every cell vibrates with recognition.
MATE. OURS. FINALLY.
“She cannot be,” I argue, even as my pulse hammers. “Elise was our mate. Our only…”
The scent grows stronger, and suddenly I am not in the corridor anymore. I am in a moonlit clearing, Selena’s blood slick on my hands, her body cooling against my chest. Her last breath ghosting across my skin. The rage that followed. The feral descent. The hunt for those responsible.
My own death, days later, welcoming the blade that would end my torment.
I slide down the wall, my knees hitting the floor as memories cascade through me. Not from this life, but from before. From another time when I was Rylan, when she was Selena, when we were…
“Gods,” I gasp, clutching my chest where pain blooms. “We were mates. She died in my arms.”
My wolf howls inside me, the sound reverberating through my skull.PROTECT HER THIS TIME.
The truth settles into my bones with crushing clarity. Second chance mates. Reincarnated souls. The rarest of all wolf blessings. A chance to right what was wronged.
I push myself up, my legs shaking. Her scent pulls me forward like a physical tether. Around the corner, voices rise in confrontation. I quicken my pace, following the sound until I see them. Two pack enforcers, Marcus and Damon, have Selena cornered against the wall.
“You do not belong here anymore,” Marcus sneers, leaning into her space. “Useless human. Wolfless nobody.”
“Alpha Roland only let you stay out of pity,” Damon adds, his meaty hand braced on the wall beside her head. “Do not forget how weak you are.”
I start forward, fury building in my chest, but freeze when Selena’s expression changes. Something dangerous flashes in her eyes. Something I have never seen before.
“Move,” she says, her voice soft but edged with steel.
They laugh. “Or what, little human? You will…”
What happens next defies explanation. Selena’s hand shoots out, gripping Marcus’s wrist. A twist, a pivot, and suddenly he is on his knees, his arm bent at an unnatural angle. Damon lunges, but she is already moving. Fluid, precise, terrifying. Her elbow connects with his sternum. Her knee finds his groin. Her palm strikes upward under his chin with enough force to lift him off his feet.
Both men crumple to the floor, gasping. The entire exchange takes less than five seconds.
Selena stands over them, not even breathing hard. “I said move.” She steps over their bodies and continues down the hall, her stride confident and controlled.
My wolf paces restlessly inside me.DIFFERENT. STRONGER. MINE.
I press against the wall, out of sight, watching her retreating form. This is not the same woman who died in my arms. This is not the same Selena who accepted Ronan’s rejection with quiet dignity.
