Rebirth: The Forbidden Luna

Diana felt the pain of betrayal more than the stab wound that pierced through her womb as she stared at the person before her with tearful eyes.

"Why?" Diana coughed more blood. "Why did you do this? I... I thought – "

"You thought what? That I will forever remain as your shadow? Ha! Tough chance, Luna Diana." A cruel grin curved from the person's red lips as she stared down at the Luna of the Crescent Pack below her. "Everything you have. Everything that you will have. All of them belong to me! Mine and mine alone! I, Anastasia Lerin, am the rightful Luna of this pack and never a pathetic woman like you! Had it not been from your lineage that belongs to the Beta Family, you will never have had the chance to be with Alpha Axel!"

Diana's chest tightened as she gazed up at the woman whom she once treated as her soul sister ever since she could remember. "I trusted you. My family treated you as if you belong to the Beta Family. H-How? How could you betray them like this?"

Anastasia kicked Diana's bleeding stomach once more, ensuring the death of the unborn heir — eliciting a painful gasp from Diana. "Ha! The Ritchell Family of the Beta lineage is nothing but a stepping stone for me, Diana. I never see any of you as family. When the Ritchell Clan became useless for me, what more choice do I have to do?" Anastasia grabbed Diana's short blonde hair. "I had to eliminate them or else they will remain a backing pillar for you. With them now reduced to a mere treacherous family, you will have no one."

Diana's eyes widened. The news of her family being executed right after she was framed for allegedly poisoning the alpha, her husband, was a big blow for her that she had spent three days and three nights mourning for her father and her brother.

A glint of light sparked beneath the hardened hazel eyes of the beaten luna as she stared at the grinning Anastasia. "You! You collaborated with the real culprit." Diana needed not to ask. She already knew after she heard Anastasia's confession.

"Bingo! I did give them an idea or two." The grin painted on Anastasia's beautiful face grew bigger as she hovered over the curled form of the woman who once stood side by side with the man she coveted ever since she learned what the word 'power' meant.

Diana could only clench her fists until her knuckles turned white as her lips trembled from pain and anger. "Axel will not let you go. You killed his heir. That is enough to make your head roll at the pack's square."

There was still hope for Diana, or so she thought. The small curve of the corners of her lips dwindled when she watched Anastasia laughing like a banshee in front of her. The latter hugged her abdomen as she practically cried from laughing her lungs out.

"Hahahaha!" Anastasia's laughter shook the stale air of the pack's prison halls.

Diana's smile vanished, replaced by the pounding of her heart as she watched Anastasia mock her. Not minding the heavy breathing she produced neither the continuous flow of her blood to the chains around her ankles, Diana focused on the whimpering of her wolf at the back of her mind as if her wolf knew something that she did not.

'What is happening?' Diana asked her wolf in the back of her mind, but her beast only answered her with a whimper.

A thread of suspicion bloom in Diana's tightening heart, suffocating her by the mere thought of a certain possibility — more betrayal.

"Sweetheart, you don't have to hide your presence anymore. It's your time to send this bitch off," said Anastasia after laughing. She was now looking at the metal door of the prison cell Diana was in.

On cue, the resounding footsteps drew Diana's attention away from the smirking Anastasia. The moment a familiar scent wracked Diana's sense of smell, her wolf howled at the back of her mind. For Diana, her body went numb as her mind went into static.

Hot tears continued to fall from Diana's unblinking eyes as she watched the silhouette of a man become clearer and clearer as he stood side by side with Anastasia.

One word echoed inside Diana's mind. "Why?" Diana asked the man before her in a whisper. So many questions she wanted to ask but only one word prevailed which represented all her thoughts.

A pair of cold electric blue eyes, which once gleamed with warmth for Diana, glared at her. "Because you never deserve me. I hated the Moon Goddess for giving me someone like you as a mate. I cursed fate for your existence, forcing me away from the one whom I love. So please, Diana. If you truly love me like you always said every night for the past nine years, please die for me."

Anastasia let go of her linked hand from Axel's before she crouched before Diana. With their faces now inches apart from each other, Anastasia grasped Diana's neck tightly until Diana's veins started to protrude around the latter's neck and forehead. "Die, Diana. Your role in this world is done after you give me and Axel the happy ever after we all deserve."

Diana could not even speak when Anastasia's sharp claws pierced right through her chest before the latter took her beating heart away.

With a loud thud, Diana fell to the bloody floor. Her chest was now empty and her womb had seized emitting the faint heartbeat of an innocent child. With open eyes, until she drew her last breath, Diana's tears continued to fall from them as the shadow of Anastasia and Axel left the dingy prison cell to announce the formation of the second chance bond with the new luna of the Crescent Pack.

The grievances of the former Luna, Diana Ritchell, lingered around the four-corner cell.

Despair. Anger. Sadness. Regret.

Diana's soul lingered instead of being one by nature right after her death. Her grievances chained Diana from being pulled to the natural circle of life.

Instead, Diana's soul, which was tinged with a dark hue of red, flew to the moon. And in the arms of a woman, whose beauty could not be bound with any earthly word. The raven-haired woman cradled the soul in her arms with her glittering lashes cast down.

"Why are you holding a soul, Selene?" A gruff voice spoke behind the woman. He strode towards the unmoving deity before he encircled her waist with his inked arm. Upon taking a closer look at the swirling essence, he frowned. "A vengeful soul? Why is it here? The Demon Lord should have taken it."

The woman shook her head. "Look, Remus. A faint glimmer of light in the center of the blackened soul."

"So? Most of this soul's essence is already corrupted with grievances."

"No. That single glimmer of light means that this soul can still be saved. This poor child only wanted to be loved, but the pain is too much to bear for her."

Remus, God of Time, stared at his wife before he spoke again. "Then I will gift this soul a chance; a single chance to rewrite her cruel destiny. If she still pursues the life given by fate, then she will still become a vengeful soul with no chance for reincarnation."

Selene opened her left palm. On cue, a beaten red string appeared. The red string was worn out with snapped sides as if someone—or something—tore its other half on purpose; it was a red string that belonged to someone whose other half had long died.

"Selene, what are you doing? You know that we cannot do this. It will be against the laws of the Heavens." Remus reached out for Selene's hand but stopped midway upon seeing the tear-stricken silver eyes of his wife.

"I made a mistake when I gave this child a fate that is much crueler than a sinful one. Remus, we may be gods, but we too make mistakes. But unlike the others, we can rectify them. And this is what I am doing." Selene tied the glimmer of light to the beaten red string.

"And you are saving the vengeful soul by tying her second fate to him? Have you forgotten who he is?"

Selene, the Moon Goddess, gave her husband a meaningful smile before she released the vengeful soul. "Sometimes, two broken pieces make a perfect match. I am merely giving the poor child a second choice—a path bound with endless heartaches that will cleanse her soul back. Now, it is up to them to save each other."

Remus could only kiss Selene's forehead, for he also received the second chance that Selene was talking about.

With one wave of his hand, Remus sent the soul back to the realm of the living.

A pair of blood-red eyes snapped open followed by a sharp intake of breath. It was as if she came from a deep slumber with no room to breathe, in a way she did. She practically climbed up from hell after dying at the hands of the people she trusted.

A wave of scalding hate pierced right through Diana’s ice-cold heart, melting it with only one purpose: revenge. She trusted them and loved them with all her heart and soul but what did she get in return? Her baby was taken away from her and her life trampled over and over again!

“Hey, Diana. Are you alright? Why are you clutching your chest?”

Anastasia’s over-the-top sweet voice pulled Diana from her miserable trance.

“!!!” A gasp escaped Anastasia’s pale lips when the latter met Diana’s gaze—it was burning with hatred and malice. But in a blink of an eye, the seemingly daunting look of the submissive Diana vanished as if it was never there in the first place as if it was only Anastasia’s figment of imagination. Anastasia failed to notice the whitening knuckles of Diana, hidden beneath her ragged jumper dress.

Shaking her head, Diana drew a deep breath and smiled like always at Anastasia. For someone with a photographic memory, Diana uttered the exact same words she said in her first lifetime. “I’m okay, Ana. You know how I hate to be here. If only you did not practically drag me here, I won’t be watching this.”

Diana’s tone of voice did not change. It was still kind and gentle, making Anastasia think that the malice she had seen for a split second was indeed a figment of her imagination. Shaking her head inwardly, her practiced smile resurfaced as she reached out for Diana’s hand. “Let us get out of here. You are scared of the Blood Alpha, right? I don’t want you to have nightmares because of him.”

The Anastasia from Diana’s first lifetime overlapped with the young woman in front of her. The sunlight that graced the meadow of the neutral lands did not conceal the darkening gaze of Diana. Amid the buzzing werewolves—who were like them waiting for the arrival of the Blood Alpha—Diana stared at the smiling Anastasia as if they were the only two people left in the vast grassland.

‘You want me to leave here immediately because you want to make it seem as if I am disrespecting the Blood Alpha. And this is the opportunity you want to create for yourself. In my past life, you plead for me. You even took the lashing for me. I was a fool to fall for this trick! You only want to secure your place beside me while ensuring your image in front of the pack and destroying my family’s honor for the Blood Alpha.’ Diana thought. Bitterness crept to her throat after realizing how much of a fool she had been.

Diana knew now how patient and determined Anastasia was for her grand plans. If it was her past self against this Anastasia, she was sure she would not be able to even hold a candle against the vile woman. But this time, Diana lost everything from her past life—she lost her child. Now she was a mother scorned from all the horrors of betrayals, an empty shell of what she used to be.

Revenge. This word was the only motivation for her to continue this second life even after fully knowing that her little angel would never come back in this lifetime.

“What are you talking about, Ana? I am the daughter of the beta! How can I shy away from this one? Meeting the Blood Alpha is like facing my fear.” Diana linked her arms with a stupefied Anastasia.

“B-But you said be-before you hated the Blood Alpha.” Anastasia’s ‘worried’ words were louder than her normal tone, making their pack mates look back at them warily.

Diana glanced at her pocket watch.

“Hush it! If the Blood Alpha hears you, the fate of the entire Crescent Pack will be in danger!” One elderly admonished Diana, eyes filled with reprimanding gaze.

Diana did not mind her pack mates’ reproachful looks at her. Instead, she pulled Anastasia closer like a clingy submissive wolf that she always was, but this time, her voice was equally as loud as Anastasia’s. “What is there to hate at the Blood Alpha? He is a valiant war hero who protected us from rogues over the years! He earned his title as the Blood Alpha because he bathed in his enemy’s blood, a cost to pay to maintain our peace. If anything, I admire the Blood Alpha next to my father and you know that, Ana.” Diana smelled the unique scent of death and blood from her south—just like she remembered. She continued, eyes pinned on the paling Anastasia. “If anything, I admire him. Ana, you know that. Why have you forgotten of all things?”

“B-Blood Alpha! Alpha is with the Blood Alpha!” One pack mate announced, pushing all the attention to the incoming flock of wolves from the southern part of the meadow, appearing from the foggy forest like a phantom with their stealthy footsteps and colossal bearings.

Upon the arrival of their alpha and beta along with their awaited guests, the pack members of the Crescent Pack bowed their heads one by one.

‘He arrived! The key component of my past demise and my salvation in this lifetime for my revenge—Dylan Cain of the Blood Claws Pack! This time I will make sure you will fall into my palms. This time I will use you to my heart’s content, think of it as a blood debt between us. After all, you owe me one,’ Diana thought as she looked up along with everyone.

Standing a few good meters from the front rows, Diana went still when her emotionless eyes met a pair of tumultuous ones. In the sea of crowd between two packs, two sets of eyes clashed.

Blood rushed through Diana’s veins as her heart pounded upon the mere split-second eye contact. On instinct, she took a step back.

“….because of this, we decided to hold the annual Tribute Ceremony in the Crescent Pack!” Alpha Nathan, Axel’s father and the Alpha of Crescent Pack, finished his announcement. His words were answered with joyous applause and howls.

Beta Mason, Diana’s father, applauded as well despite not listening to his alpha as his gaze was wandering among the crowd—eyes filled with worry for his overly submissive daughter. He worried that she was being bullied by the resident gammas or omegas once again.

The atmosphere was set right when a deep growl shattered the lively atmosphere. Suddenly, the air reverberated and the silence ensued—all eyes on the source of such threatening sound, Alpha Dylan Cain.

“Continue.”

A deep sexy voice sent shivers down Diana’s spine as soon as she heard the voice of the renowned ruthless alpha. Despite being drawn to the voice, she pinned her gaze on her father and gave him a reassuring smile—the same untainted smile she would always give him.

But the moment she turned around and sauntered her way to the pack cabins, the innocent smile vanished, replaced with an emotionless mask of a woman who had climbed back from hell.

Hand on her stomach where her womb lies, she thought. ‘Wait for me, my child. I will burn everything to the ground when need be and sell my soul to the devil himself if it means avenging you and protecting your grandparents.’

Diana did not stop even after hearing Anastasia’s calls to her. Her stride remained balanced and calm. Walking away from Anastasia was the first thing she did that contradicted her action from the first timeline.

Claws embedded her palms as soon as she clenched her fists. Not minding the blood trickling down her hands, she entered a cozy cabin in the western part of the Crescent Pack’s Cabin Area—the place where wolves with families were given to settle after moving out from the pack house.

A sense of familiarity wafted Diana as her feet brought her to the kitchen where the smell of apple pie was coming from. As she crossed the distance, the familiar smell of home and bitterness penetrated her core, making her bite the insides of her cheeks.

Clearing her throat, she pulled the attention of a humming middle-aged woman in the kitchen who was wearing an autumn-themed apron. “M-Mum.”

Diana’s heart constricted. For her mother, who immediately turned to her upon her voice, Diana calling her ‘mum’ was a day-to-day basis. But for Diana, who had watched her mother and father being dragged to the prison cells for a crime not of their own, it was a lifetime away since she was able to call her mother ‘mum’.

“Dear, what’s wrong? Did someone bully you again?” Lorraine dropped everything she was doing before she pulled Diana into her warm embrace, caressing the latter’s head.

Diana stifled her sobs, tightened her grip around her mother’s waist, and shook her head. A single tear still escaped no matter how hard she tried to blink her tears away.

“Then what is wrong? Did the Blood Alpha scare you away?” Lorraine sighed. “I told your father countless times already not to bring you along! Don’t worry, my dear, I will talk to him again. That blasted dog wants you to help the pack house in serving the Blood Alpha and his men!”

‘This is it.’ Diana remembered well. In her past life, she cried her eyeballs out just to let Anastasia take her place in this golden opportunity. She would not make the same mistake again.

“No, Mum. I am not afraid of the Blood Alpha—”

‘I am more afraid of the people we once trusted who are now waiting to strike us. I know that there is a traitor among the ranks of the Crescent Pack which led to you and Father’s demise for the alleged treachery. It is high time to form an alliance; the greater power, the better. And there is no greater power among the alphas but the Blood Alpha,’

“—in fact, I want to help the Luna in catering to the guests.”

Lorraine pushed her daughter to look at her face, wanting to confirm if she was indeed hearing it right. “You will help the Luna? I thought you want Anastasia to take your place?”

Diana smiled gently at her mother, eyes filled with longing as she stared at the woman whom she once failed to protect. She took her mother’s hands and held it reassuringly. “Mum…. Uhm, I want to tell you something actually. I hope you can help me persuade Dad.”

“What is it, my dear?”

“I want to join the Tribute Ceremony.”

“I still can’t believe you are here, Diana. I am so glad you finally start to come out of your shell.” Luna Riza gave Diana a list of to-do before placing a whole platter of pancakes before her. The middle-aged blonde Luna continued with her natural sweet voice. “Nathan is still not here. He is with Alpha Dylan and your father surveying the borders where the rogue attacks are frequent.”

Diana frowned. She did not remember this event from her past life. “Why are they there instead of checking the area for the Tribute Ceremony, Luna?”

Luna Riza leaned and whispered, although it was pointless since werewolves got a sensitive hearing. “My husband mind-linked me just now. He talked about blowing some steam.” She shrugged. “I don’t know what’s going on inside the mind of the alpha who singlehandedly defeated the northern rogues.”

Diana was about to find some alibi to excuse herself when Luna Riza’s cellular phone rang. The latter’s face lit up upon reading the caller’s ID. Diana took this chance to walk away with the list in her hand when she heard the name she both dreaded and longed to hear.

“Axel dear? What’s the matter?”

Crumpling the to-do list, she stopped in her tracks. With Luna Riza’s back against her direction, the latter was not able to see how Diana looked back with a pair of deadly eyes and clenched jaws. For a good moment, her canines flashed threateningly before she snapped herself back from the depraved state she was in and turned away.

With a pounding heart, Diana absentmindedly entered a room to hide her growing agitation. Chest heaving and breaths labored from uncontrolled anger, she slid down the floor with her back against the door. “Axel! Just you wait. You will feel three times the pain of what my family did before I kill you with that wench. You will pay for the death of my—”

A pained gasp escaped from Diana’s lips when a firm calloused hand gripped her neck before pinning her down to the floor.

Amid the dark room, a pair of predatory electric blue eyes hovered over her.

‘There is someone inside this room! I trespassed a private territory!’ Diana screamed at the back of her mind.

Coughing out her words, she patted the firm hand frantically as she said. “N-No! Forgive me for trespassing mindlessly, but I entered your room without any sinister thoughts. I was merely in trouble so I sought refuge at the nearest shelter I could access to! I swear!”

Diana’s chest started to tighten and her throat was slowly getting crushed as she squeaked her words out. Still, the hand refused to loosen its grip as if the person did not hear her at all! Her coughing fit became erratic as she slowly shut her eyes. “P-Please! I don’t want to die yet, not now!”

The grip vanished the moment she was thrown to the nearest cabinet.

“Ah!” Rolling like a dumpling, Diana bit back her tears as she slowly stood to apologize once more. After all, it was a common courtesy in the pack house—filled with territorial werewolves—to never enter a room when not invited. Because of the darkness that cloaked the room, she could only see a faint silhouette of the owner of the bright blue eyes. By the build alone, she reckoned it was a man with a rank of at least a gamma.

Hands clasped before her, she bowed her head slightly. “I apologize for trespassing. And… thank you for not snapping my neck.” She whispered the last part before she turned around to leave the room.

“You said you don’t want to die ‘yet’. There was a conviction in your voice as if—”

“As if I have long decided I want to die?” Diana turned around, eyes connecting with a pair of clear blue eyes which reminded her of the deep azure ocean. She smiled at him, knowing he would not see it. “You speak as if you carry the same luggage I do. Why is that?”

The sound of footsteps resonated inside the room. On instinct, Diana took a step back once, twice, thrice… until her back hit the wall and there was no more space left to maintain the narrowing distance between her and the blue-eyed man.

His stature hovered over her small frame, forcing her to lift her chin higher just to meet his intense gaze. On instinct, she knew she was someone on par with her father. Realization dawned upon her who he was. After all, the only people who could rival her father’s dominance were Alpha Nathan and the Blood Alpha—and she grew up knowing Alpha Nathan, leaving her with only one choice.

It was the Blood Alpha.

Alpha Dylan Cain—slayer of rogues, breaker of fate, and protector of the werewolf community—was standing a foot away from her!

He leaned down and whispered into her left ear. “You are lucky to be broken the same as me.” He took a step backward. His deep, sexy voice held no warmth. “I don’t have the penchant for breaking what is already broken. Letting you live is punishment enough. Knowing death is what you desired but still can’t obtain it, feel that disparity every day, brave one.”

Something in her snapped from what he said. Instead of scampering away, she took a step forward.

Their distance was back to one foot again.

A scheming smile etched on her lips as she spoke the words that would turn her fate upside down.

“What if I told you that there is no reason for us to live the remaining days of our lives in isolation? As a kindred spirit, I can offer you my service that won’t let you down until the day you finally decide to leave this world.”

“Leave.”

Diana shrugged. She did not know where her fear was. What she knew was the fact that she could not let go of this chance to settle the blood debt between them from her first timeline.

“You will not regret taking me by your side. I don’t want you. I want your power.”

“I said leave!”

The stale air within the dark room vibrated upon his growl, but it only earned the Blood Alpha a pair of blinking eyes from Diana.

Diana was about to open her lips when the door opened and the familiar voice of her father resonated. “Diana? What the heck are you doing here?”

Light flooded inside the room as soon as her father turned on the light. The first thing she saw was a set of clenched jaws and a pair of sharp blue eyes pinned on her. Her gaze immediately traveled down to his bare chest, to his set of firm six-pack abs, and to his Adonis belt. Gulping while walking away, an overly stretched grin was plastered on her face as she looked at her ashen father.

“Dad, you’re here! Come and help me apologize to Alpha Dylan. I barged here unannounced.” She linked her right arm with her father’s as she tugged him.

Frowning, her father muttered under his breath, fully knowing it was out of character for his timid daughter to suddenly enter someone else’s room—much more to the alpha she was afraid of the most. “W-Why did you barge here in the first place?”

“Just apologize for your daughter, Dad.” Diana muttered back, her grin still on her face as she observed the stoic-looking Blood Alpha who was looking at her as if she was some kind of piece of meat—ready to be shredded apart, not eaten.

Chuckling awkwardly, Beta Mason uttered an apology. Stretching his hand, the middle-aged Beta said. “This is the first time my daughter is in the pack house after many years of isolating herself at home. Please do forgive her after the disturbance she had caused.”

“Leave. I hate saying things twice.” Instead of accepting the outstretched hand of Beta Mason, Alpha Dylan turned around and strode his way to the other side of the room where the sofa was situated, dismissing the father-and-daughter duo.

Clearing his throat, Beta Mason withdrew his hand and tugged his daughter from the room.

Reluctantly, Diana let his father pull her along. When she was about to leave the room with her father closing the door, she could not help herself but look back at the broad back of the man who could only turn the tides of her fate.

‘No matter what, I will have you on my side. Even if it means winning the bloody Tribute Ceremony, I will do so with open arms as long as you will become my pawn in this game of revenge. The blood debt between us is yet to be settled, remember that. This… This is not over.’ Diana thought with open determination.

With the door closing, Diana slowly lost her line of vision pinned on him. But when the door was about to be closed, she saw him turn around.

“What are you standing there for? Let’s go and explain to me in detail what happened.”

‘I am sure I did not hallucinate,’ Diana pondered. ‘But are they really the eyes of the supposed Blood Alpha? Why do they look so… so melancholic? Why does it bother me so?’

Shaking her head, Diana followed her father, not daring to look back at the closed door of the renowned ruthless werewolf.

ON THE OTHER SIDE, ALPHA DYLAN Cain opened his room’s windows and jumped from the two-story pack house. Racing his bare feet to the foggy forest, he shredded his human skin as he shifted into his black-furred wolf form. Snarling and growling, his colossal form turned the forest into a place of isolation and danger.

Wave after wave, the mind links of his people flooded his mind. With a growl, he shut down the connection of the link to his brethren. Reflected within his predatory blue eyes was the image of the frail-looking yet scheming woman.

‘Mate! Mate! Mate!’ His wolf, who had slept for years after losing their first mate, howled with anticipation at the back of his chaotic mind.

He growled once more, contradicting his bestial instincts.

The image of the daring woman overlapped with the bloody picture of his first mate. ‘I cannot pull her to my dark world. No one…. No one can withstand the oblivion that is sucking me away and I will not steal her future for my selfish desires. This is the least I can do for her as her mate.’

‘Diana… I have to reject you.’

“I know I asked you to be brave and to explore your comfort zone, but this—this is too much!” Beta Mason, who looked younger than his age, wiped his face from exploding right in front of his daughter. He paced in the living room while Diana and his mate, Lorraine, remained seated on the sofa.

Beta Mason and his wife, Lorraine, let an entire night pass before interrogating their daughter. The sudden change of disposition of Diana, their usually timid child, was so abrupt that it sent the old couple into a loop.

“Your father is right, darling. The Tribute Ceremony is only for those who have lost their mates.”

‘If you only know what my supposed mate will bring in this family along with that woman, Mother, Father,’ Diana thought beneath her collected façade. She stood and faced her father—something the previous Diana would never dare to do. She spoke in a resolute tone. “Dad, Mum, do you trust me?”

“Of course! What kind of question is that?” answered Beta Mason.

“Of course, we do, darling.” Lorraine stood as well.

Diana met her parents’ gazes. “Then trust me when I say this. I am done hiding behind you and I will not regret this even if my mate arrives.”

She watched as her parents looked at each other before they shifted their look toward her.

Beta Mason finally sighed in defeat before engulfing her and her mother in a tight, warm hug. He caressed Diana’s hair as he sighed once more. “Ayah… My daughter is now a grown-up, huh? She decides on her own already, leaving this poor old man already.”

Lorraine patted Beta Mason’s arm. “Darling, there is an old saying that daughters are meant to leave the nest once they find their mates. For our daughter, she wants to explore the world and decide for herself rather than let fate take its own course.”

Beta Mason let go upon hearing his mate’s words. He guided his girls to the sofa and pinned his attention on Diana. “You understand how the Tribute Ceremony works, right?”

Diana nodded. She knew it all like the back of her palms. After all, she once organized a Tribute Ceremony when she was still the Luna of the Crescent Pack.

With a faint smile, she held her father’s cold hands. “Don’t worry, Dad, Mum. I know it more than you think.” Diana looked at the wall clock. “Oh! Look at the time. I still need to do what’s on the Luna’s to-do list. Don’t wait for me tonight, okay?”

“What? So suddenly?”

“But I cooked your favorite pie…”

Diana merely waved her hand at her parents before she fled from their house as if her ass was on fire. She did not waste a single second and jogged to where the scene of the Luna came from. With the to-do list in her hand, she did her best to straighten the crumpled parts before appearing beside the cooking Luna.

“Luna, I have readied the wines to be used for this night’s banquet.”

Luna Riza, who was clad in her apricot-colored apron, set aside the baking utensils and crossed the distance between her and Diana. “I heard about the small incident from my husband. I thought you will not be back. Are you alright? You are not pushing yourself too hard, right?”

Diana bit back the smile that was threatening to erupt upon the genuine concern of the mother of the man who was responsible for her demise. Despite the past that she had endured, she never forgot the kindness of the woman before her upon the news of her pregnancy.

She stepped backward, steeling herself as she shook her head. “I’m fine, really. Uhm, Luna… Where is the delegation of the Blood Claws Pack?” Diana whispered her question.

Completely taking it the wrong way, Luna Riza immediately held Diana’s hands. “Go and take the supplies I ordered from the town. It should be in the fourth bullet in the list I gave you. Don’t lurk around the pack house, especially this afternoon, hmmm?”

For a second, Luna Riza went pale after seeing a malicious glint beneath the doe-like eyes of the girl she treated as a daughter. In a blink, the vile intent emitting from Diana vanished—as if it was never there in the first place. Shaking her head inwardly, Luna Riza ruled what she saw as a figment of imagination. After all, Diana was the sweetest girl in the pack she knew.

Seeing the ashen Luna before her, Diana realized how she let her emotion slip. Smiling widely, she linked her arms around the Luna. Adjusting her voice to the sweet tone she used to have way back in her teen years, Diana spoke. “Thank you, Luna Riza. I will surely stay in the town until….”

“Until I called you.”

“Yes. Until I receive a call from you.”

Diana left the kitchen of the pack house like an obedient puppy.

But the moment she was in a safe distance to be smelled by the Luna, Diana took a detour to the only place on the to-do list where it gravitated solely in the pack house—the warehouse. Diana did not forget to take a small empty box of a crate as she strode to the warehouse with her vigilance raised to its peak.

With every step she took, she had to calm her pounding heart. And with a pair of clammy hands, she drew a deep breath before sniffing around.

Her wolf whimpered softly. For a wolf counterpart who barely gave responses to Diana, this reaction was a telltale sign that there was danger nearby.

On cue, the moment she took a step inside the dimly lit warehouse, she immediately heard a low growl that shook the stale air around her.

“Leave.”

A sexy baritone voice resonated from Diana’s right side.

“If I don’t want to, will you pin me on the ground again?” Diana looked in his direction and was met by his silhouette cloaked with darkness.

Alpha Dylan Cain released a warning growl again—this time, it was much closer to Diana.

“No. This time, I will snap your pretty little neck before I feed your corpse to my wolves.” In a blink of an eye, the Blood Alpha was now standing a foot behind her. As he spoke, his hot breath fanned over her nape, eliciting a sharp gasp from her lips.

Diana was about to turn around and face the renowned ruthless alpha when a pair of calloused hands held her arms firmly, stopping her from moving an inch from her spot.

“Get out and never look back.”

Diana’s jaws clenched. Had it not been for the strong grip on her arms, she would have turned around and given him a sharp glare. “Listen, Alpha Dylan Cain, and listen well. I know you are looking for a Luna for the Blood Claws Pack to stabilize your pack’s image in front of the Werewolf Committee. I, Diana Ritchell, can be that Luna for you.” She patted her chest. “If you pick me, you will reap the benefits that will make your pack stronger…. Stronger than the Werewolf Committee, that is your goal, right? You hate being pressured, right? You want the Werewolf Committee off your mind, right?”

Diana remembered the incident of the Tribute Ceremony which she failed to attend because she was so scared of the Blood Alpha. Fueled by Anastasia's manipulation, Diana stayed inside her room the whole day, only to hear the news about how the winner of the Tribute Ceremony used her special privilege to pick a potential—the winner pointed at the Blood Alpha.

‘That woman won more than the empty title of a Luna and a meaningless mate bond. She earned power through the union and that is something greater than titles and bonds—sheer power to change the flow of fate,’ Diana thought with clenched fists. ‘I will make that power mine. I will change my fate and my parents even if it means selling myself to the devil himself.’

He let go of her arms. But as soon as she sighed, pain erupted around her neck.

With his long and strong fingers, he was able to strangle Diana from behind. Inch by painful inch, Diana’s feet dangled away from the dusty floor.

“You know what I way, you say.” A low and cold burst of laughter emitted from the Blood Alpha before he continued. His sinister voice held the promise of pain and sorrow for Diana. “Funny how I only want to snap your pretty little neck right now. Right now, it is not the committee that I want. It is your neck.”

Diana flailed from his grip yet not a single shed of tear escaped from her enraged pair of eyes. She slapped, scratched, and kicked—all of it was proven useless in the face of the stoic Blood Alpha.

In a squeaky voice, she screamed the words that would either kill her or save her.

“G-Go ahead—” Cough. “—a-and kill me—” Cough. “—or y-you will ne-never know how your mate died!”

Diana stared at the wall of her room.

Papers pinned on the wall were connected by a red string with numbers allocated carefully. Pictures of all she was yet to know in this second life and the people she held dear from both lifetimes were also scattered onto the wall before her. This was the timeline of the future she knew for the next ten years.

Diana’s misfortune was set in stone the moment Axel returned to the Crescent Pack which would be two months from now. But her bad luck began way before that—it was the Tribute Ceremony that started it all.

Her gaze flickered to the picture of a smiling Anastasia. Diana’s gaze darkened as she caressed Anastasia’s picture which was scratched by the knife many times already. “I want to see if you can still smile brightly after I exact my revenge on you. Losing everything you hold dear, realizing what you have is nothing but a mere sand castle. I want to see you crumble, my dearest best friend.”

The feeling of blood trickling down her thighs, Diana would never forget the moment she realized she was losing her unborn child.

Diana’s gaze shifted to the open window of the attic where the bustling noise came from. She glanced at the woman beside Alpha Dylan’s photograph. “Today. I will snatch your fate right under your nose… and I am not sorry for it.”

One by one, Diana took down the map of the future from the wall. With the burner by her side, she stood near the open window and burned the papers as her gaze remained fixated beyond the windowpanes.

There she saw Anastasia holding a basket filled with biscuits. The latter was welcomed by Lorraine, Diana’s mother.

Holding the knife in her right hand, she scratched the window glass. A bland smile appeared on her face as she watched Anastasia’s bright smile. “I cannot wait to show the world your true colors, to show the people how rotten you are inside. Compared to you, I am not your match in my first life. But this time… this time, I will be fighting fire with fire. Even if it means I will have to become the devil himself, I will gladly do so just to bury you all with me.”

Diana looked down at the photograph of the young gamma who was destined to be selected by Alpha Dylan Clain today. She was meant to continue the bloodline of the Blood Claws Pack alpha genes. Diana tore the picture into pieces as she threw them to the burner, forever vanishing into ashes. “The first step is mine.”

A knock on the attic’s door pulled Diana from her trance.

“Diana, let us go. The Tribute Ceremony is about to start.” Beta Mason chirped from the other side of the door.

A sweet voice answered. “Coming, Dad!”

Diana erased all traces of malediction from her face as soon as she opened the door.

THE FLAGSHIPS OF THE CRESCENT PACK, WHICH was a howling white wolf that formed a crescent half-moon, littered the tents that were set up for the Tribute Ceremony. While white tents were cramped together in front of the foggy forest, delta-ranked werewolves were posted everywhere while epsilon-ranked ones were stationed at the high towers as lookouts.

At the center of the tents, the alphas invited to the Tribute Ceremony were seated. They were the men who once lost their mates or those who were not lucky enough to find their mates yet. And as an alpha, the leader of their respective packs, it was important to secure an age—lest an incident would take their lives.

The mated alphas and betas were seated in the next biggest tent.

Alpha Nathan stood upon the end of the trumpet’s sound. Raising his goblet, he started his welcome speech as the host of the Tribute Ceremony. “Welcome, distinguished guests!” He raised his goblet as a sign of toast. “It is my great honor to live and tell the tale of hosting the prestigious Tribute Ceremony of this generation, providing hope and connecting with the grace of the Moon Goddess once more.”

On cue, howls of gratitude toward the Moon Goddess rang within the misty forest.

As the sun started to come down, the moon started to peek.

“I will not make this long. Seeing our candidates ready, I will end this by saying… bless the Moon Goddess!”

Alpha Nathan’s words were echoed by the listeners. “Bless the Moon Goddess!”

There was only one person who did not utter such words—Diana Ritchell.

Standing with her head hanging down, she was able to hide the insanity within her eyes. She wanted to laugh at the alpha, Axel’s father.

‘Bless the Moon Goddess? I want to see if you can still smile after you witness the end of this ceremony. After all, this is not called the Bloody Tribute Ceremony without a reason. This day will go down in the history as the most brutal event like what happened in my first life. I remembered how I trembled after seeing a parade of body bags…. All because of one person.’ Diana thought before she looked beside her where a woman also looked at her and gave her a smile.

Luna Riza stepped forward to the podium. “The rules of the old will be applied to the ceremony right now. The alphas will shift to their wolves and hide inside the forest. Then, the ladies will enter the forest without shifting.”

On cue, the alphas who were participating in the event shifted into their wolf forms. But one black-furred wolf, the biggest among the flock of beasts, looked at the group of young ladies.

For a moment, Diana met his gaze.

With a clammy hand, she remembered how she won the gamble. Now, it would depend on how she would take him to her side. She remembered his words when she claimed to know of his past: “Many have tried to fool me by this useless claim. You are not the first one, woman. People like you… disgust me.”

Diana’s smile came to halt when Luna Riza’s next words pulled her from her trance.

She showed a red flag. “If this flag will be taken by the lady to the innermost part of the forest, she will have the right to choose an alpha—even if the alpha has been claimed by the other females. There will be only one flag identical to the one I am holding. Keep an open eye and do everything you can. Bless the Moon Goddess.”

Before, Diana did not get the nuance of the Luna’s words ‘Keep an open eye and do everything you can’ not until the first drop of bloodshed was made right in front of her. This time, Diana, who knew where the flag was hidden and what the tricks were with the last obstacle were, smiled at Amber.

“Let us do everything we can, Amber,” said Diana in a shy tone. It was only a friendly mimicry, but the hidden meaning beneath such words was not left unnoticed by those who listened to the beta’s daughter.

As soon as they neared the misty forest and were deemed safe from hearing, Tiffany, the pack doctor’s daughter, finally showed her true colors. “Why are you here, anyway? You neither lost your mate nor got rejected.”

“Just because you are the beta’s daughter, you are already abusing the authority,” said another lady who recently lost her mate from a rogue attack.

Diana, who was walking side by side with Amber, merely smiled at the latter as if she was telling Amber to not mind them. “I don’t want to wait for my mate, a predestined being who will shape my future.” She looked back at the girls who were criticizing her. With a stoic face, she continued. “I want to be the one to shape my future. So when the end draws near, I won’t have any regrets.”

Her words silenced the women, giving Diana a look filled with puzzlement, including Amber.

Diana immediately smiled like a silly woman. “Just read that quote from my father’s book. Oh! Look, we are about to enter the forest.” She turned in the right direction as soon as she entered the forest.

Following her, the other ladies also set out in their own directions.

Diana, who was about to vanish into the mist, stopped in her tracks and looked back at Amber who was taking the left direction. Diana screamed with her nonchalant girly tone. “I hope you will get the red flag, Amber! Fighting!”

Amber smiled brightly. “I will try too! You be careful with those girls and the forest predators.”

Nodding her head vehemently, Diana finally turned around. As she vanished into the mist, her smiling façade slipped, revealing a grim expression filled with malice and mockery.

‘Me? Be careful? You are the most dangerous one here. Your obsession with Alpha Dylan will lead you to the massacre of all the girls. Yes, Amber. Get the red flag. Kill them all. And when you are down, I will kill you myself before you kill me. Hurry up. I am… waiting.’

Diana grinned as she vanished into the darkness.