Chapter 1

I’m the only princess of the Iron Claw Pack. My Alpha father chose three pure-blooded wolves from the Johnson family to grow up at my side—and the man I picked would become Iron Claw’s next Alpha.

When my father asked who I wanted to choose…

In my last life, I blushed and picked the gentle, considerate David.

But less than a year after our bonding, he died, and I spent my entire life as a widow.

Not until I was about to die did the mate bond I thought had long since severed suddenly twitch.

He had fled to a border pack in North America, one arm wrapped around a woman. She leaned against his chest, smiling with that kind of peace you only wear when you’re sure you’re safe.

That single glance needed no explanation—

That woman was his fated mate, Emma.

And at that moment, I finally understood: back then, he faked his death just so he could abandon everything and spend his life with Emma.

Later, Rogues attacked without warning. In the middle of the chaos, I never expected he’d died to save me.

As he lay there, breathing hard, his eyes strangely clear, he said:

“Back then, I faked my death and lied to you. I’ve paid it back with my life. Rae, I don’t owe you anything anymore. If there’s a next life… don’t choose me.”

Those words were like a blade, stabbing straight into my heart.

Tears in my eyes, I closed them—and woke up on the day I needed to choose my mate again.

One month before Christmas.

“Rae, pick one of these three men to be your mate.”

That familiar voice made my body shivered. I looked up and saw my father—still young, still smiling at me.

Three files lay on the table. They were all the strongest wolves in the Johnson family, with the purest bloodlines.

I opened my mouth, but my throat was painfully dry.

I… I’d been reborn? Back to the day my mate was decided!

My father lifted his chin, like it was just a casual suggestion:

“I see you trailing behind David every day. Why not choose him as your mate and let him become the new Alpha?”

“No!” I blurted out—almost shouted. My voice was so sharp it startled even me.

My father froze. “What’s wrong?”

I gripped my sleeve so hard my nails nearly cut into my palm. My head was full of my last life. I heard David’s dying words— “Don’t choose me.”

My throat tightened, and my voice dropped.

“I… I don’t want him as my mate.”

In a panic, I reached out, grabbed a file at random, and said firmly, “I want him!”

When I focused my eyes, I nearly bit through my tongue. Even the blurry photo couldn’t hide the boy’s arrogance.

Nate Johnson.

The face was the same as David’s—they were twins.

But Nate was my sworn enemy.

“Nate?” My father’s eyes went wide. “Don’t you fight him all the time? Last time he hid your bone pendant, you were so furious you shifted and stormed into his house.”

I stared at Nate’s photo, dazed.

In my last life, he later became the Alpha King. He never took a mate for the rest of his life—rumor said he died in a war.

“Rae, have you thought this through?”

I drew a deep breath. “I have. I choose him.”

I lifted my head and met my father’s eyes.

He fell silent for a moment, then finally nodded.

“Fine. Nate’s personality is wild, but his ability is the strongest. Then we’ll hold the engagement banquet next month—at Christmas.”

When I walked out of the main hall, my mind was still blank.

I suddenly remembered my last life:

When I ran to David, bursting with joy, to tell him the “good news” …

He only said, flatly, “I know.”

The moment I stepped outside, three familiar figures surrounded me.

“So—who’d you pick?”

Joey, the oldest, chuckled.

“Out of the three of us, the least likely to get picked is Nate. If those two get married, they’ll probably tear the main hall down. I’m guessing it’s David—Rae’s basically David’s little tail…”

I couldn’t help looking at Nate and David.

Nate leaned lazily against the wall. Hearing that, he rolled his eyes like he couldn’t care less.

David wore a black suit. Sunlight fell into his light-brown eyes, reflecting a thin, bright gleam.

They had the same face, but David’s eyes always carried this illusion of softness.

In my last life, I was fooled for an entire lifetime by that “softness.”

I was about to speak when he talked first:

“I already have a fated mate. I hope Princess Rae can grant me blessing.”

My heart skipped. I stared at him, stunned.

That hadn’t happened in my last life.

Watching the restraint and resolve in his eyes, a terrifying thought rose inside me.

Maybe he’d been reborn too?

So, in this life he wouldn’t even bother with the first layer of disguise?

He’d risk offending an Alpha just to be with Emma?

“David, do you know what happens when you offend an Alpha?”

I heard my own voice shaking.

My wolf roared in my chest, every hair standing on end.

“He hates us!”

But David’s voice stayed steady:

“I’m willing to take her to the border, live as an ordinary man, and never return to the main hall.”