The Crown’s Chosen Mate

When I finally returned to my chambers in the royal palace, I curled up on the bed, but the familiar room did nothing to calm my thoughts.

The memory of my previous death would not leave me.

Tears slid down my face before I realized it.

Owen and I had met when we were ten.

I had wandered too far from the palace grounds and accidentally crossed into wolf territory. A pack of feral wolves surrounded me, dozens of yellow eyes closing in as they prepared to tear me apart.

Owen appeared at the last moment.

He drove the wolves back and escorted me safely to the royal gates.

He was the heir to the Bloodmoon Pack. Strong, confident, and already respected among the wolf clans. To a young princess, he seemed almost heroic.

I fell in love with him before I even understood what love meant.

From then on I followed him everywhere whenever he came to the capital. I told anyone who would listen that I would marry Owen when we grew up.

The court treated it as an inevitable future.

When we finally married, Owen was distant but never openly cruel. I assumed that was simply his nature.

After the alliance was sealed, I poured my entire dowry into strengthening his pack.

Royal gold equipped his warriors, palace armorers forged weapons for his soldiers, and the Crown’s influence helped him bring rival clans to heel.

Eventually Owen unified the wolves and became the Lycan King.

I had believed I was helping the man I loved build a future for us.

I never realized I had only been a tool.

I also never knew the truth about his relationship with Nora.

I forced myself to stop thinking about it.

Fate had returned me to the beginning, and I would not repeat the same mistake.

The next morning I had just finished dressing when voices drifted in from the palace garden.

I recognized them instantly.

I stepped quietly toward the window and hid behind a row of hedges.

Nora eyes red as she looked up at Owen.

“Owen, did I cause trouble for you yesterday?” she asked softly. “The princess looked furious.”

Owen immediately pulled her into his arms.

“This has nothing to do with you,” he said. “She’s the one abusing her position in the royal court.”

“Just endure it for now. Once she marries me and follows me back to the Bloodmoon Pack, I’ll bring her to you. You can deal with her however you like.”

My hands clenched instinctively, nails digging into my palms as I forced myself to remain silent.

Nora’s eyes lit with undisguised delight before she lowered her head again.

“But the Frostfang wolves are preparing for war,” she said hesitantly. “If we offend the Crown Princess, what if she sends the royal army against us?”

Her voice trembled as if she were about to cry.

“This is my fault. If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have angered the princess.”

She wiped at her eyes.

“Maybe you should tell her you don’t love me. Say everything yesterday was a misunderstanding. Unifying the wolf clans matters more than my feelings.”

Owen hurried to brush away her tears.

“Nora, stop talking like that.”

“I came back this time so I could keep you by my side. Nothing matters more than you.”

Nora blinked in confusion.

Owen smiled and began explaining.

“Don’t worry about Selena. She loves me more than anything. In my previous life she gave me her entire dowry and even used the royal army to help me crush the other packs.”

His expression was filled with pride.

“That’s how I became the Lycan King.”

He paused briefly.

“The only problem was that you were already dead by then.”

His voice remained calm.

“So I killed her afterward. It was my way of avenging you.”

Nora burst out laughing.

“She must have looked ridiculous when she died,” she said. “It’s a shame I didn’t get to see it.”

My teeth sank into my lower lip as my eyes burned.

All the sacrifices I had made were nothing but stupidity in his eyes.

The day I had waited for with such hope, the birth of my child, had been the moment he chose to murder me.

“So when Selena claims she won’t marry me, don’t believe it.”

“Yesterday she only acted that way because she was jealous. She probably spent the whole night regretting it.”

He gave a dismissive laugh.

“When I actually need her, all I have to do is crook a finger. She’ll come running back like a loyal dog.”

His voice turned colder.

“Once I unite the wolf clans and our child becomes the heir to the royal throne, she won’t have any use left.”

“Then I’ll kill her.”