Chapter 1: The Sovereign of Shadows
Last week I turned twenty-five years old again. Tonight, the horizon is a deep tinge of orange, and the moon looks like a diamond adorning the sky. I stand on the retractable roof of the Aethelgard Pavilion and let my mind wander. In my mind’s eye, I can imagine the thrilled faces of my pack. Excitement everywhere. My kind howling at the full moon. New wolves, sealed mate bonds, and hope for a brighter future.
As the princess of the Rain Pack, I should be there too, not on a secluded island that carries more secrets than politicians.
Well, I was there during my first, second, third, and fourth lifetimes. I have enough experience now to know that I am not missing anything special. About thirty wolves will shift for the first time at midnight. Half will mark their mates. Ten minutes after that, all eyes will turn to me—the only one still in human form, my eyes illuminating like diamonds.
My father, Alpha Raymond, will come forward, unable to hide his grin. He will dance, rejoice, and announce what I am. I am not wolfless; quite the contrary. My wolf does not get influenced, not even by the full moon. That is why I stand completely unaffected when the full moon’s power has overcome every other wolf, Alphas included.
“The prophesied healer and Luna to the Alpha King!” he would shout. The pack would cheer at the implication, knowing their status would skyrocket. No one would ask for my opinion. Not my parents, not the elders, not the epsilons, and certainly not my brothers and sisters. I am the prophesied bargaining tool. I am expected to be grateful to be the great Luna to a king no one knows anything about.
Four lifetimes. This is my last. I messed up all four previously and died horrifically. Not anymore. This is my final chance, and I will not make any mistakes. My goal in this lifetime is to gather wealth, rely entirely on myself, and remain completely untouchable. With almost thirty million accumulated, I am on the right track.
I sense Uncle Tom before his footsteps even announce him.
“It is the full moon,” he says quietly. “They will know after this.”
He means my family, the pack, and my so-called fated mate.
“I know. I can fully suppress my scent. They will never track me down.”
He looks at me and sighs. “That’s extreme.”
“I know.”
Suppressing my scent suppresses my wolf too. She may never resurface if I do it for too long, but I am fine with that. This place is a fortress, completely secured with a heavily armed private security detail. I will not need my wolf here.
“I can’t lie and say I am not glad that you are here,” Tom admits. “You are my money-making machine, but you are also my blood. He might not be so bad.”
I don’t respond. I am not leaving my last life to a gamble.
“Your mate. He might not be so bad,” he clarifies, thinking I didn’t catch his meaning.
“I knew whom you meant.”
He lets out a heavy sigh and lets the subject drop. He will never understand. No one ever will.
“I hear that the Capo Don is awake,” Tom shifts gears. “Good job.”
I only shrug, hoping he will leave me be. The full moon is not supposed to affect me, yet I can feel my temperature rising as the light fills the sky. My heart races. This feeling is entirely new.
“He left you an LM Flying T Baguette,” Tom adds.
I raise my eyebrows, clueless.
“It’s the most expensive watch on the market right now. You are over three million richer.”
I nod slowly. “Thank him for me.”
He laughs and turns to leave. “Night, kiddo.”
I mumble a good night back before sitting down on the roof and hugging my legs. My face burns as I stare up at the moon. It is breathtaking, entirely unlike my four tragic pasts.
The next thing I know, I wake up in my suite the following day. My heart hammers in my chest as I try to concentrate, sniffing the air for anything out of place. Nothing. How the hell did I get here?
Petrichor. A scent so intoxicating lingers in my memory—a promise of rain to bless the universe, a brighter future, and abundance. That is the absolute last thing I remember. Everything after is a complete blur. I never left the rooftop on my own, so how did I end up in my bed?
