Chapter 1

Estelle's POV

I was an orphan, and a rare heart condition ate away at me for twenty years. The night I died in that cold hospital room, a reaper in a black robe came for me.

He told me if I crossed into a world of werewolves, into the Moonheart Pack, and made Estelle's family genuinely love me, Estelle being the real daughter who'd died a horrible death there, and if I rewrote the ending where they all went mad and tore each other apart, I'd get my health back for good. A second life.

For twenty years in that body, I loved every single one of them with everything I had.

My husband Rhett was the youngest Alpha the pack had ever had. I mentioned once that I wanted Alaskan wild berries, and he drove a thousand miles overnight to get them. My mother Sylvia, the pack's head healer, made me tonics herself every single day. My father Everett and my brother Callum spoiled me so much the whole pack envied me for it.

I thought I'd actually rewritten my fate. I thought I was the happiest person alive.

Until that night.

I'm carrying a berry pie I baked myself toward the council hall when I hear my mother's voice, flat and cold.

"Estelle's heart is finally in perfect condition. Now's the best time to take it."

"Her heart buys Lila's life. She should be grateful for it." Rhett says it like it's nothing. "Once we take the heart, I'll dissolve the mate bond myself."

So this is it. All that kindness was just to grow a healthy heart for their adopted girl.

Three years. I've spent three years trying to love them, to thaw them out, to change things.

Then let it end here.

—

"Is the anesthetic ready?"

Callum's voice drifts through the gap in the door. Most days he's the one ruffling my hair, calling me his little pup, but right now he sounds like he's talking about slaughtering livestock. "Lila's heart isn't going to hold out much longer."

"No general anesthesia. It'll lower the heart's viability and mess with the integration. Local block only." Sylvia's voice doesn't waver at all.

My hand shakes, the pie nearly sliding off the tray.

Through the gap in the door, I stare at Rhett sitting on the throne.

"Rhett." Everett's voice is heavy. "Estelle is your fated mate, after all. She'll be useless for the rest of her life without a heart."

Rhett answers like he couldn't care less. "Once Lila's better, I'll keep her at the family estate, take care of her for life. That'll settle the debt."

Something in me just breaks.

Rewriting fate, being loved, none of it was real. All an act.

No matter what I do, nothing is ever going to change.

I turn, throw the pie in the trash, and walk toward the woods at the border, face blank.

The second I cross past the wards, three rogue wolves burst out of the trees, eyes glowing red.

I don't even have time to dodge. A massive paw sends me flying into a tree hard enough to crack it, and I cough up blood.

Before I black out, I see Rhett and Sylvia sprinting toward me.

"Estelle!"

Their panic looks so real.

When I open my eyes again, I'm on a cold operating table. Sylvia has on sterile gloves, a scalpel gleaming red in her hand.

"Mom... it hurts..." I force the words out of my throat.

Her hand pauses for a second, something flickering in her eyes, gone as fast as it comes, buried under calm again. "Don't be scared. The rogues hurt your heart. I'm saving you."

A pair of hands pins my shoulders down hard. Rhett.

"Just hang on, it'll stop hurting soon." His voice is low, trying to soothe me, but his grip is like a vise.

The next second, pain crashes over me like a wave and drags me under.

—

When I open my eyes again, I'm in the ICU, tubes running everywhere.

The door is cracked open, voices drifting in from outside, low and unclear.

"Callum, nice work this time." Everett keeps his voice down. "Those rogues hit hard enough, but somehow they didn't wreck the heart. Not one thing out of place. The whole pack thinks their Luna just got attacked."

"Took me two weeks to pick the right time and place." Callum sounds like he's grinning. "Relax, nobody's going to think twice about us."

Every word lands like an ice pick in my ears.

I look down slowly. Where my heart used to beat for Rhett, three years of it, there's nothing now but a cold artificial core.

The door opens and the four of them file in. I drop my eyes fast and wipe every trace of feeling off my face.

Rhett comes rushing in, unshaven, grabs my cold hand, his eyes red. "You're finally awake. God, you scared me. This is on me, I should've protected you better."

Sylvia carries in a bowl of chicken soup, dabbing at her eyes, her whole face soft with sympathy. "My poor girl, you've been through so much. I about killed myself getting that core to hold your life together."

Everett's face is dead serious. "Don't worry. I'll put the whole pack's resources into finding you a real donor."

Callum grits his teeth. "Don't you worry, Estelle. I already tore those rogues apart."

Three years, and I never knew they could act this well.

I hide the mockery in my expression and give them a weak little smile. "Thank you. Sorry to worry you all."

The words are barely out when the door eases open a crack.

A young nurse leans halfway in, voice low, toward Sylvia. "Doctor, good news, everything went smoothly with Lila. The new heart's beating strong—"

"Get out." Sylvia spins around and cuts her off.

The nurse realizes what she's said and scrambles back out, pulling the door shut behind her.

The room goes dead silent. The four of them all have the same ridiculous look on their faces.

I lean back against the headboard and smile, slowly.

"Wonderful. Lila's finally found the right heart."