Sera's POV
Mate? I choke on the word in my mind. That's impossible!
I know what I sense. Luna's voice trembles with something between joy and terror. That's him, Sera. Our true mate. The one the Moon Goddess chose for us.
My knees buckle. Killian catches me before I fall, his fingers digging into my arm hard enough to bruise.
"Careful," he murmurs against my ear. His breath feels cold on my neck. "Everyone's watching."
I force myself to stand straight, but I can't tear my gaze away from the masked figure across the room.
The Lycan King hasn't moved. He stands in the doorway like a statue carved from shadow and danger. Every wolf in the ballroom keeps their distance, creating an invisible circle of fear around him.
But he's not looking at them.
He's looking at me.
Why is he here? I ask Luna frantically. Lycan Kings never come to pack gatherings. Never!
I don't know. Luna sounds just as confused. But I can feel the bond pulling me toward him. Can't you feel it?
I do. That's the terrifying part. Something warm and bright tugs at my chest, like an invisible thread connecting me to the stranger in the mask. It feels right. It feels like coming home.
It feels like everything Killian isn't.
"Who is that?" Killian's voice turns sharp. His hand tightens on my arm until I gasp from pain. "Why is he staring at you?"
"I don't know," I manage to say. It's not entirely a lie. I don't know why the Lycan King is here or why he's watching me.
But Luna knows he's our mate.
Which means in my first life, I married the wrong man.
The realization hits me like a physical blow. I didn't just die because someone poisoned me. I died because I rejected my true mate and chose someone else.
The Moon Goddess must have been screaming at me the whole time, and I never heard her.
"Sera?" Maya appears at my side, her eyes wide with shock. "Did you see him? The Lycan King actually came! This is insane! Nobody's seen him in person for years!"
"Why is he here?" I ask, my voice barely a whisper.
"Nobody knows." Maya grabs my hand and squeezes. "But oh goddess, Sera, did you feel that power? I thought I was going to pass out just from him walking into the room!"
I felt it. I'm still feeling it. The pull toward him grows stronger with every second, making my skin tingle and my heart race.
We need to go to him, Luna insists. Now. Before—
"Sera Moonwhisper." Killian's voice cuts through my thoughts like a blade. He steps in front of me, blocking my view of the Lycan King. "I believe we were about to dance."
It's not a request. It's a command.
I glance past Killian's shoulder. The Lycan King has moved. He's walking deeper into the ballroom now, and wolves scramble out of his path. But his head stays turned toward me, tracking my every movement.
Don't dance with Killian, Luna begs. Please, Sera. Go to our mate instead.
I can't. Not yet. If I reject Killian now, in front of everyone, without any proof of what he'll do to me, I'll look crazy. Worse, I'll put Grandmother's pack in danger.
I need to be smart about this.
"Of course, Alpha," I say to Killian, forcing my voice to stay calm.
Killian offers his arm. I take it, even though touching him makes my stomach turn.
He leads me to the center of the dance floor. The music starts again—slow and haunting. Other couples begin dancing around us, but everyone still shoots nervous glances toward the Lycan King.
Killian pulls me close. Too close. His hand presses against the small of my back, holding me trapped against his chest.
"You're trembling," he observes. "Nervous?"
"Yes," I admit. At least that's true.
"Don't be." His lips curve into something that might be a smile on someone else. On him, it looks like a threat. "I'm going to make you an offer tonight, Sera. An offer you'd be foolish to refuse."
My throat tightens. This is it. This is the moment from my first life. He's going to propose right here, right now, in front of everyone.
And in my first life, I said yes.
Don't you dare, Luna snarls. I'd rather die than be bound to this man.
We already did die, I remind her silently.
Killian leans closer, his mouth near my ear. "You're perfect for what I need. Obedient. Weak. Easy to control."
The words slam into me like fists. He's not even pretending anymore. He's telling me exactly why he chose me.
Because he thought I was weak.
Rage burns through my veins, hotter than any poison. My fingers curl into fists against his shoulder.
"I'm stronger than you think," I whisper back.
Killian laughs. Actually laughs. "Are you? Then why hasn't your wolf spoken to you in ten years? Why can't you shift? You're broken, Sera. That's what makes you useful."
Each word is a knife between my ribs. In my first life, he never said these things out loud. He waited until after we were married, until I was trapped, before showing me his true nature.
But knowing I'm going to reject him must have made him careless.
I'm going to rip his throat out, Luna promises darkly.
Not yet, I tell her. Soon. But not yet.
"You're going to accept my proposal," Killian continues, spinning me in a circle. "Because if you don't, I'll make sure your grandmother's pack suffers. Accidents happen to small packs all the time. Fires. Raids. Mysterious deaths."
He's threatening Grandmother. My blood turns to ice.
"You wouldn't—"
"I would." His smile widens. "So when I ask you to be my chosen mate, you're going to say yes. You're going to smile. And you're going to thank me for the honor."
My vision blurs with tears of fury. This is the man I married. This is the man I trusted. This monster.
The music swells around us. Killian opens his mouth to make his proposal public.
But before he can speak, every light in the ballroom flickers.
The temperature drops so fast I can see my breath.
Killian freezes mid-turn. His eyes widen with something I've never seen on his face before.
Fear.
The crowd gasps. Someone screams.
I turn my head and my heart stops.
The Lycan King stands directly behind us, so close I could reach out and touch him. Up close, he's even more imposing. He towers over Killian by half a foot, his shoulders broad enough to block out the light.
But it's his eyes that steal my breath.
Silver. They're silver instead of the golden color most lycans have. They glow behind the mask, fixed on me with an intensity that makes my knees weak.
And somehow, impossibly, I know those eyes.
I've seen them before.
"Excuse me." The Lycan King's voice rolls through the ballroom like thunder. Deep. Commanding. Familiar. "I'm cutting in."
Killian's face goes white. "Your Majesty, I—"
"I wasn't asking." The Lycan King's tone could freeze hell itself. "Let her go."
Killian's hand drops from my waist like I burned him. He steps back, bowing his head in submission.
Every wolf in the room watches with wide eyes. Nobody moves. Nobody breathes.
The Lycan King extends his hand toward me. "Dance with me."
It's a command, but somehow it feels like a question. Like I have a choice.
Say yes! Luna practically screams in my head. Say yes right now!
My hand moves before my brain catches up. I place my fingers in his palm.
His skin is warm. The moment we touch, electricity shoots up my arm and explodes in my chest. The mate bond flares to life, so bright and powerful that I gasp out loud.
The Lycan King inhales sharply. He felt it too.
He pulls me close, one hand settling on my waist, the other holding mine gently. We start to move, and it feels like I've danced with him a thousand times before.
"Hello, Sera," he murmurs.
I jerk my head up, staring at him. "How do you know my name?"
The silver eyes behind the mask crinkle at the corners. He's smiling.
"I've always known your name." His thumb traces small circles on my waist, sending shivers down my spine. "The question is, do you remember mine?"
Remember? What does that mean?
But something about his voice tugs at my memory. Something buried deep and forgotten.
"I don't understand," I whisper.
"You will." He leans closer, his breath warm against my cheek. "I've been watching over you for ten years, little moon. Waiting for you to wake up. Waiting for you to remember."
Little moon.
That nickname. I know that nickname.
My breath catches. "Rowan?"
The Lycan King goes still. When he speaks again, his voice cracks with emotion.
"You remember."
The ballroom spins around me. Rowan. My childhood best friend who disappeared when we were teenagers. The dark-haired boy who made me laugh and taught me to climb trees and catch fireflies.
He's the Lycan King.
And according to Luna, he's my mate.
"But how—" I start to ask.
Rowan's hand tightens on my waist. His whole body tenses. "Get ready to run."
"What?"
"Someone just poisoned your drink."
My blood turns to ice. "What?"
"The servant carrying your wine," Rowan says urgently, his eyes scanning the room. "I can smell the poison from here. Someone's trying to kill you tonight instead of waiting six months."
The room tilts. No. This is different from my first timeline. In my first life, nobody tried to kill me at the Moon Dance.
Which means by coming back, by changing my choices, I've already changed the future.
And now someone wants me dead three hours early.
"Who?" I breathe. "Who poisoned it?"
Rowan's silver eyes lock onto someone across the room. His entire body goes rigid with fury.
"Your best friend," he says.
"Maya."