Chapter 1

Selene's POV

Today is my mating ceremony with Damon Blackwood, the Alpha heir of the Blackwood pack.

Crystal chandeliers cast warm light as I stand in the corner wearing a silver gown, watching Damon and Father discuss future cooperation between our two packs. My thoughts are tangled, planning how to break the bond with Damon.

I've been reborn. And in my past life, the ones who killed me were my mate Damon and my best friend Lydia.

"Selene!" A saccharine voice interrupts my thoughts.

Lydia sashays toward Damon holding half a slice of chocolate cake, her slender waist swaying with each step. She's wearing a pink dress tonight, looking like the picture of innocent girlhood.

"Damon," she bats those big eyes of hers, "this cake is too sweet for me. I can't finish it. Could you help me eat it?"

I know this expression all too well.

In my past life, she used this exact look to steal my suitors one after another. Every time she claimed she was just "testing them for me," and those foolish wolves believed her lies.

I set down my wine glass. "Lydia, enough."

She freezes for a second, turning to look at me, a flash of panic in her eyes.

But quickly, she recovers that wounded expression, pouting. "Selene, why are you being so mean? I'm just helping you test your future alpha mate's character. Why are you getting so worked up?"

"We've been best friends for over ten years," her voice carries a tremor, "you don't think I'm interested in him, do you?"

If I were my old self, I might have actually believed her.

But I've been reborn.

I take the cake from her hands and, under her shocked gaze, smash it hard into her face.

Chocolate frosting instantly covers her delicate makeup.

"What right do you have to test anyone's character?"

"I bet you've not only set your sights on my Alpha mate, you've already planned how to climb into his bed!"

Lydia's face flushes crimson. She wipes the cake from her face with trembling hands, shrieking, "Selene! How could you do this to me!"

The guests around us stop their conversations, all eyes turning toward us.

"If I hadn't helped you drive away those twenty exes all these years, would you even have the chance to marry Damon?!" Lydia's tears mix with chocolate sauce running down her face, making her look even more pitiful.

Damon's brow furrows.

I see a flash of displeasure in his amber eyes. I know what he's thinking—no alpha wants his luna to have had too many previous partners.

But this time, I won't explain or try to please him like I did in my past life.

I smile, my gaze fixed directly on Lydia. "Those 'exes' of mine? You probably know them far more intimately. After all, you felt each of them in your bed."

Lydia's eyes instantly redden.

She bites her lip, looking at Damon with pitiful innocence. "I didn't... Damon, I've had a curfew since childhood. How could I possibly do such things..."

"I've never even had a boyfriend..." Her voice grows smaller and smaller.

What a perfectly innocent victim.

I stand to leave this hypocritical gathering, but Damon grabs my wrist.

His hand is large, his grip heavy, clamping around me like an iron shackle.

"Selene," his voice is low, carrying an alpha's pressure, "Lydia means well. Let this go. She's just joking."

Those words pierce my heart like silver needles, twisting viciously.

Because in my past life, every one of my so-called suitors said the exact same thing.

"She's just concerned about you."

"Don't overthink it."

And then what?

Then they climbed into Lydia's bed one after another, betraying me when I needed them most.

And Lydia would innocently say each time, "I didn't want to, but he was so aggressive, I couldn't refuse..."

I wrench my hand free, staring at him coldly.

Damon is the future alpha of the Blackwood pack—handsome, powerful, and proud.

But right now, he's blinded by Lydia's pitiful act, just like all those foolish wolves in my past life.

"Since you trust her so much," I say, my voice terrifyingly calm, "let's see who the real liar is."

A gleam of triumph flashes in the depths of Lydia's eyes.

She won.

At least, that's what she thinks.

But she doesn't know that in this life, I hold her fate in my hands.