Reborn To Choose The True Alpha Mate

Elara's POV:

I shot up in bed, my breath coming in ragged, desperate gasps.

My hands flew to my chest, my legs, my face. There was no pain. No burns. Just the cool, smooth feel of silk against my skin. My legs were whole, tangled in the soft sheets of my bed.

My eyes darted around the room.

It wasn't a ruin. It was my bedroom. My opulent, familiar bedroom in the Beaumont estate, with its heavy velvet curtains and the scent of white roses hanging in the air. Sunlight streamed through a crack in the curtains, a golden spear in the dim light.

I scrambled out of bed, my bare feet sinking into the plush rug. I stumbled to the vanity, my heart hammering against my ribs like a trapped bird.

The girl in the mirror was me. Younger, her face pale and drawn, but alive. Unscarred. Around her neck, resting against her collarbone, was the moonstone pendant my mother had left me.

My fingers trembled as I touched my own cheek. It was real. This was real.

My gaze fell on the small, leather-bound calendar on my nightstand. My blood ran cold.

The date was ten years in the past. The day after my twenty-first birthday.

I was reborn on the day it all began.The day my carriage axle broke, causing me to get injured.

A soft knock sounded at the door. "Miss? Are you awake? The Alpha requests your presence in the main hall."

Cora.

My loyal attendant, Cora Hayes. Alive. Her voice was not a distant, painful memory. It was real, just on the other side of the door. In my previous life, Jarod had murdered her for trying to protect me.

Tears pricked my eyes, hot and sudden. I choked them back, forcing my voice to be steady. "I'll be down shortly."

I turned to my wardrobe. Before, I would have chosen a beautiful, restrictive gown to please my father. Today, my hands went straight to a set of practical, tailored riding leathers.

My inner wolf, dormant for so long in my previous life, stirred in my mind. A low growl of warning, of rage, echoed in my skull.

Calm down, Elara, I told myself, my voice a silent whisper in my own head. You have the greatest weapon of all. You know everything that is to come.

I walked to the window and peered through the curtains. Below, pack warriors patrolled the grounds, their steps sure and strong. They were all alive. I saw my father's Beta, Leo Foster, a man of unwavering loyalty, drilling new recruits. He had been silenced, too, for getting too close to the truth.

A deep, shuddering breath escaped me. I pushed down the tidal wave of grief and rage, channeling it into a cold, hard resolve. My reflection in the window showed a new light in my eyes. The naive girl was gone, burned away in the fire.

The door opened and Cora entered. She paused, her eyes widening slightly at my choice of attire. "Miss, you look terribly pale. Are you feeling unwell?"

I shook my head, my gaze fixed on her young, kind face. "I'm fine, Cora." I swore a silent vow. This time, I would protect you. I would protect all of them.

I stepped out of my room and into the familiar hallway. My mother's portrait hung on the wall, her smile gentle and sad. In my first life, I had accepted the story that she had simply wasted away from a sickness. Now, I knew better. Her death was another piece of the puzzle.

My fingers found the cool, smooth surface of the moonstone pendant at my throat. I twisted it, the familiar weight a small comfort.

From the end of the hall, I heard my father's booming voice, thick with anger. The fawning tone of his most beloved wife, my stepmother Audra Vance, and the soft, insincere sobs of my sister Betsey were all mixed in.

A small, cold smile touched my lips.

I straightened my shoulders, lifted my chin, and walked towards the main hall. Each step was deliberate, firm. I was not the timid girl who would have scurried down this hall, dreading her father's temper.

I knew what waited for me. A carefully laid trap.