Rejected by the Alpha Prince, Claimed by the Wolf Duke

The glacial water of the Moon Lake filled my throat, pulling me down into the sunless depths.

Through the churning water, I saw Silas, the Alpha Crown Prince, standing on the shore, watching me drown.

In our past life, he dove in, triggering a fated bond that forced us to marry. I spent decades bleeding for his kingdom as his Luna, but he only ever loved my older sister, Isabella.

"You have laboured hard."

That was all he whispered on my deathbed. Not that he loved me. He spent his whole life mourning my sister's accidental death.

Now, as my lungs burned, a dreadful clarity hit me—he remembered. We had both been reborn to the night of the Mating Ball.

He wanted to fix his mistake. He meant to let me die, erasing the faulty beginning of our story so he could finally choose my sister.

I didn't feel sad or angry. Instead, the immense burden of my past life began to dissolve in the murky water.

If he wished to sever this twisted cord of fate, I would gladly lend him the blade.

I jammed a silver pin into my leg to kick free of my heavy boots and swam into the black heart of the lake.

This time, I would never let him use me again.

I would gladly hand him over to my sister, and marry the terrifying, "degenerate" Duke of the North instead.