Chapter 6
Rylan’s POV
It's been two months since we returned from our first lives. The air shifts before Ronan even walks through the door. Power announces his arrival, thick, oppressive, dominant, filling the space like a storm front. I lean against the far wall, arms crossed, watching the spectacle unfold as the Silver Moon Pack’s golden boy, my little brother, returns.
“Welcome back, Alpha-in-training!”
“How was Blackcrest Academy?”
“Did you crush the competition?”
They flock to him like desperate moths to a flame, offering adoration he’s done nothing to earn. My wolf paces beneath my skin, unimpressed. We’ve seen true leadership before, earned through blood and sacrifice, not manipulation and ploys.
Focus. Control. Remember why we’re here.
I scan the gathering, my attention razor-sharp until, there.
Selena. Standing apart from the crowd, her posture straight, eyes clear.
Something’s different about her. The last time I saw her, she was hunched, diminished, a frightened doe.
Now she stands like a sentinel, observing rather than surviving.
That’s not the same girl.
My wolf stirs, pressing against my consciousness, remembering our first life with sudden interest.
Mine.
No, I push back. Not ours. Not anymore. Not yet.
The memory of my dead mate flashes, her smile, her scent of wildflowers and honey, her last breath in my arms. The guilt slices through me, fresh and raw. How can I want another when I failed her so completely?
Yet my eyes remain fixed on Selena. I can’t look away.
Ronan’s laughter cuts through the room. He tosses his jacket to some eager beta who catches it like it’s made of gold. Then his head snaps up, nostrils flaring. He’s caught Selena’s scent.
Danger, my wolf growls, hackles rising.
Ronan stalks toward her, his path direct and predatory. The crowd parts, sensing something momentous. Selena doesn’t retreat. Doesn’t cower. She meets his gaze with a steadiness that makes my breath catch.
This isn’t how it happened before.
She tilts her head. “Welcome back, Ronan.”
The air between them crackles, visible energy building like lightning before the strike. I push off the wall, moving closer without conscious thought.
“Holy shit,” someone whispers. “Is it happening?”
The mate bond. I know what’s coming, and still I can’t stop my hands from clenching into fists.
Ronan reaches for her, his fingertips grazing her cheek. The contact triggers an explosion of energy that ripples through the room. Golden light erupts between them, the unmistakable manifestation of a mate bond forming.
Gasps erupt. Someone drops a glass. The sound of it shattering matches the feeling in my chest.
“Mine,” Ronan growls, loud enough for everyone to hear. His arm snakes around Selena’s waist, pulling her against him. “My mate.”
The Silver Moon Pack erupts in exclamations and howls. This is a cause for celebration, their future Alpha has found his mate. The perfect fairy tale.
Except I know how this story truly ends.
I watch Selena’s face, waiting for the breakdown, the overwhelm that should follow. In our past life, she crumbled under the weight of this moment, becoming a shell of herself, malleable clay for Ronan to shape.
But her eyes, they widen, her breath catches, then something remarkable happens. She steadies herself. Her spine straightens. She doesn’t yield completely.
She remembers, my wolf realizes before I do.
“I need air,” she says, her voice tight but controlled.
“You’ll get used to it,” Ronan says, his tone dismissive but pleased. He turns to the crowd. “My father will want to hear this news immediately. Let’s celebrate!”
The pack follows him like the obedient sheep they are, but his grip on Selena doesn’t loosen. She glances around, and for a heartbeat, our eyes lock.
Recognition. Fear. Determination.
My wolf howls inside me, clawing to get out, to go to her. The pull is nearly unbearable.
OURS. PROTECT.
She’s bonded to Ronan, I argue back even as my body strains toward her. We can’t interfere. Not yet.
UNWORTHY. HE IS UNWORTHY.
I can’t disagree with that. The memories of what Ronan becomes, the cruelty, the abuse, the way he nearly destroyed her, burn through me like acid.
My dead mate’s face flashes in my mind again. I’m sorry, I think to her ghost. I couldn’t save you. But I can save her.
Is it betrayal to want Selena this much? Wanting her feels like betrayal. Not wanting her feels impossible.
To feel this pull, this possessiveness for a woman bonded to another? The guilt and desire war within me as I force myself to stay rooted in place.
Something in me snaps.
“Not another one.” The words leave me low, rough, barely restrained.
My wolf surges forward, relentless, pressing against every barrier I have left.
“Selena.” Her name comes out sharper this time, edged with something I can’t contain. “I won’t sacrifice her for this pack.”
“Rylan,” Clara, one of the pack elders, touches my arm. “Are you alright? You look like you’re about to shift.”
I realize my claws have emerged, digging into my palms. Blood drips to the floor.
“Fine,” I manage. “Just surprised.”
“It’s always emotional when a mate bond forms,” she says kindly. “Brings back memories, I imagine.”
She has no idea.
The celebration moves toward the main hall, but I circle around, needing to get closer to Selena without being obvious. As I approach, her scent hits me like a physical blow. Vanilla and lavender.
Thunderstorms. Wild magic. Ancient forest.
My steps falter. This isn’t the scent of a weak human girl with a drop of wolf blood. This is the scent of something primal, powerful, apex predator wrapped in human skin.
What happened to her?
When I knew her before, in our past life, she was strong but ordinary. This Selena radiates power that she’s carefully containing, like a lioness pretending to be a housecat.
I move closer, drawn by instinct and memory. The pack is distracted with preparations for an impromptu celebration. Ronan has momentarily released her to accept congratulations. She stands alone by the window, her fingers pressed against the glass.
“Selena,” I keep my voice low, neutral.
She turns, and I see it in her eyes, knowledge, recognition, the weight of two lifetimes. She remembers everything. Just as I do.
“Rylan,” she whispers my name like a prayer and a curse.
“You’re standing too steady,” I murmur.
Her eyes flick to mine. Sharp. Calculating. Not surprised. Confirmed.
“You’re watching too closely,” she replies.
“Do me a favor.”
She looks up at me. “What?”
“Don’t let him touch you again.”
Her breath catches. “But he’s my mate.”
My jaw tightens. “If you want to stop me from killing my little brother… don’t let him touch you.”
“Endure it,” she mindlinks. “If I can, so can you.”
Something dark shifts inside me, pushing against the restraint I’ve barely held onto since the moment I saw her again. “My wolf won’t.”
The air changes.
Subtle. Controlled.
But I feel it.
Her aura brushes against mine, deliberate… directed.
My gaze sharpens as her eyes begin to glow, that power no longer hidden, no longer buried.
A slow smile pulls at my mouth. “You’re not human anymore.”
She lifts her chin, defiant. “I was never human. My wolf was suppressed.”
Of course it was.
Of course she was never meant to be weak.
Something in me settles into place like a decision already made. I smirk. “Good. I was getting bored.”
“You remember your past life,” I state rather than ask.
A slight nod, barely perceptible. “Everything. Even my death.”
The word hangs between us, heavy with implication. My wolf surges forward, desperate to touch her, claim her, but I force him back.
“How is this possible, you remember too?” she asks, her voice trembling slightly.
“I don’t know. But I remember how I died right after you,” I say, my voice dropping even lower. “And I won’t let it happen again.”
Her eyes widen, then dart across the room to where Ronan stands, laughing with our father’s betas. “The bond…“
“Can be broken,” I finish. “Has to be broken.”
“This time I’m getting my revenge,” she says, and I hear the echo of determination in her voice.
“You won’t face this alone. I'll protect you.” My words determined, rough, my wolf rising to the surface again.
I’m willing to leave the Silver Moon Pack and everything behind for her safety. I have enough connections as the former Alpha heir, we can find a different pack to live in. Or I can destroy the Silver Moon Pack before they harm her.
Ronan looks our way, his eyes narrowing as he notices our close proximity. He starts moving toward us, territorial and suspicious.
“I have to go,” Selena whispers urgently.
“I’ll always find you,” I promise. “We’ll figure this out.”
She moves away just as Ronan reaches us, his arm immediately reclaiming her waist.
“Making friends with my mate, Rylan?” His tone is light but his eyes are cold.
I force a smile. “Just congratulating my future Luna.”
He smirks, satisfied with my deference. “She’s perfect, isn’t she?” He looks at her not with love but with the pride of ownership. “Father always said I deserved the best.”
I want to rip his throat out right here, but I incline my head instead. “Congratulations.”
As they walk away, I watch Selena’s back, straight, proud, so different from before. My wolf whines, grieving and hopeful all at once.
I will help you, I vow silently as I watch her disappear into the crowd. You are not his. Never his.
I remember catching her as she fell.
The moment my wolf claimed her. The moment she died in my arms.
MINE… just not yet.