Rejected by My Fated Alpha, Reborn for Revenge

Aine Salazar POV:

Death did not release me.

For reasons I couldn't understand, my spirit lingered after my body was abandoned in the dungeon. I was bound to Maynard Keep, unseen and unheard, forced to watch the living carry on as if Aine Salazar had never existed.

I watched Cornelious take Isela's hand before the entire pack and formally install her as his Luna. She wore the ceremonial silver circlet and received every honor that had once been promised to me.

Willa, the only maid who had remained loyal to me, tried to expose Isela's role in my murder. Isela accused her of treason, and the pack executioners tore her limb from limb in their wolf forms.

My foster parents—the poor farming couple who had raised me with all the love my true family had denied me—came to the capital demanding the truth about my death. Isela branded them agents of an enemy pack and sent them to the gallows before they could speak my name in public.

I screamed. I begged. I tried to reach them, to warn them, to save them. But the living couldn't hear the cries of the dead.

For years, I remained trapped within Maynard Keep. I watched the kingdom descend into chaos, the old King lose his throne, and a new ruler raise his banners over the capital.

Then, on the day Gideon Owen was appointed High Commander of the Realm, he came to Maynard Keep with the new King's soldiers. Cornelious and Isela tried to resist him, but his sword flashed twice, cutting them both down before my eyes.

My entire spirit trembled with joy.

At last. My enemies were dead. My revenge had finally been served.

I stared at the man responsible. Gideon wore a black cloak over his armor, his striking features cold and severe. Blood dripped from the sword in his hand, and the lethal authority surrounding him made even the most powerful wolves lower their heads.

It took me a long moment to recognize him as the reckless young nobleman from my memories—the notorious wastrel who had once spent his days gambling, racing horses, and brawling in taverns.

I followed Gideon through the keep until he entered the neglected family chapel. In a shadowed corner, he found a small, cracked funerary plaque engraved with my name, its surface buried beneath years of dust.

He picked it up and carefully wiped it clean with his sleeve. An emotion I couldn't understand filled his eyes as his fingers traced the letters of my name.

Before I could make sense of it, Gideon pressed the plaque against his chest, turned, and carried it away.

That plaque bore my name. It was the only thing left in this world to prove I had ever existed.

Alarmed, I hurried after him. But the moment my spirit drifted beyond the gates of Maynard Keep for the first time, a violent gust tore through me. My incorporeal form shattered beneath its force, scattering into the night like mist.

The endless darkness rushed in again... but this time, something was different.

The freezing emptiness of death, the wind tearing my spirit apart—it all receded like a tide.

I gasped, my eyes flying open. My heart hammered against my ribs as I took in a huge, shuddering breath.

I was no longer a bodiless spirit trapped inside Maynard Keep. I was sitting in an ornate but unfamiliar carriage.

I looked down at my hands. They were small, the hands of a child, with smooth, unblemished skin.

I pulled back the curtain on the window. Trees blurred past. I remembered this scene. This was the road I traveled when I was twelve years old, brought from the countryside to the main Salazar estate for the first time.

I... was reborn?

The thought sent a tremor through my entire body. This was not a dream. The agony of my death and the years I had spent trapped as a wandering spirit were too vivid, the bone-deep hatred still burning in my blood.

I was reborn. The Moon Goddess had given me a chance for revenge.

My small hands clenched into tight fists, nails digging into my palms. The pain kept me grounded, kept me sane.

Cornelious Maynard. Isela Salazar. And my dear mother, Lady Annice.

I remember every single debt you owe me.

In this life, I will no longer foolishly crave your pathetic love or affection.

I only want revenge.

The carriage slowed to a stop. I heard a stern woman's voice from outside. "Miss Aine, we have arrived. Please exit the carriage."