Chapter 1: A Marriage Rewritten by Fate

An accident at an engagement dinner led to me sleeping with my sister’s fiancé.

To bury the scandal, our two families scrambled to swap the marriage arrangements.

I married Nolan Pierce, the man my sister, Chloe, loved with all her heart. Chloe, meanwhile, was sent to the Ironwood Pack, where she was meant to marry a dying old Alpha in a desperate hope that the union would awaken his dormant wolf.

On the day of the wedding, Chloe poisoned herself and died.

From that moment on, Nolan hated me to his very core. Through thirty years of marriage, he neglected me, humiliated me, and stood by as everyone else shut me out.

Even when I died alone in a hospital, the only message he sent was this:

“Laurel Jennings, stay the hell away from me in your next life.”

When I opened my eyes again, I was back at the dinner where everything had gone wrong.

Before I could do anything, Nolan smashed his wineglass on the floor.

Shards of crystal scattered at my feet. His gaze was glacial.

I knew then that he had come back, too.

In this life, he finally got what he wanted. In front of the Alpha of the Riverbend Pack and the elders of both families, he didn’t hesitate.

“Move the wedding up,” he announced. “I want to marry Chloe as soon as possible. As for Laurel… she was the original choice for the Ironwood alliance anyway.”

The banquet hall fell silent. Every eye in the room turned to me.

I met his gaze calmly.

“Fine. I’ll marry him.”

…

After my answer, the hall grew even quieter.

We lived in the Kingdom of Aldwyn, where Alpha King Dominic and the royal family resided in a modern castle. Beneath the crown, multiple packs governed their own territories, and both Riverbend and Ironwood had sworn fealty to the throne.

My mother, Diana, was the first to recover. A relieved smile spread across her face as she patted the back of my hand.

“That’s more like it. Laurel has always been such a sensible child. I knew you’d think of the bigger picture.”

Sensible. The bigger picture.

In my last life, I had given everything I had for them, and for what? I died in a hospital bed, and no one even came to claim my body.

Chloe stepped out from behind Nolan, her eyes already rimmed with red.

“Laurel, I’m so sorry. This is all my fault. If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have to…”

She bit her lip, and tears welled, spilling down her cheeks.

The sight of her was so absurd I almost laughed.

I was the long-lost biological daughter of Robert and Diana Jennings. The blood tests and the Riverbend Pack birth records had proven it.

But when they brought me back from a remote town three years ago, it wasn’t out of love.

The Ironwood Pack had proposed a marriage alliance, demanding that the Jennings’s biological daughter honor an agreement made by the previous generation. The alliance would grant Riverbend protection along its northern border and open up new trade routes. But Chloe refused to marry the bedridden old Alpha of the rumors, and that was when they remembered me—their other daughter—the one they could send in her place.

In my last life, they married me to Nolan and sent Chloe to the Ironwood Pack.

Everyone believed I had stolen my sister’s fiancé. No one ever asked what really happened that night.

Nolan pulled Chloe into his arms, soothing her in a low voice.

“This isn’t your fault. She agreed to it herself.”

He lifted his head, his eyes cold as they fixed on me.

“You agreed to this, Laurel. Don’t you dare regret it.”

I said nothing.

My father, Robert, raised his glass, trying to salvage the mood.

“Since everyone agrees, it’s settled. Nolan and Chloe, Laurel and the Ironwood Alpha—both weddings will be held on the same day next month.”

“Does Laurel’s have to be so rushed?” Diana asked, her voice laced with false concern.

“That Alpha from Ironwood is gravely ill. The sooner, the better,” Robert said dismissively. “Once she’s married into the pack, she’ll have their protection. It’s not a bad deal for her.”

Several relatives nearby chuckled under their breath.

“I heard that former Alpha is over sixty, paralyzed for years after the border war. The Ironwood wolves actually think a new mate can stimulate his wolf back to life. They’re basically sending a young woman to be a glorified nurse.”

“Chloe is the daughter Mr. and Mrs. Jennings raised themselves. Laurel was only brought back as an adult. Of course they aren’t the same.”

Each word was a needle prick.

In my previous life, I would have fled to the bathroom to cry.

This time, I simply picked up my water glass and took a slow, deliberate sip.

After dinner, Chloe led the way out, her arm linked through Nolan’s. Robert and Diana trailed beside them, chatting and laughing, the four of them a perfect picture of a happy family.

I walked alone behind them.

Outside the hotel, Nolan’s new black sedan was waiting at the curb.

He opened the passenger door for Chloe, shielding the top of the frame with his hand so she wouldn’t bump her head. Chloe tipped her face up at him with a saccharine smile, and Nolan bent to kiss her forehead.

Diana watched them, beaming.

“Nolan just dotes on her.”

Robert nodded. “He’s a good man.”

No one looked at me.

I stood on the hotel steps, the night wind stirring the hem of my skirt.

After closing the car door, Nolan turned and finally seemed to notice me. He paused, then walked over.

“Laurel.”

He lowered his voice.

“The former Alpha of Ironwood may be old, but the pack will provide for you. Once you’re there, just take good care of him. If, down the line…”

He hesitated.

“If you run into real trouble, I won’t ignore you completely.”

“I understand.”

Nolan frowned, likely thinking I’d agreed too easily. This wasn’t the Laurel who used to trail after him, desperate for his attention.

But he said nothing more, just turned and got into the car.

The black sedan sped away.

Robert and Diana climbed into another car. Diana rolled down the window and called out, “Laurel, get a car home. We’re leaving.”

Then they were gone, too.

My phone buzzed.

Chloe had sent me a photo. She and Nolan were holding hands, their fingers interlaced, matching diamond rings gleaming.

The text read: *Thank you for making this happen for us. Nolan said marrying me is the luckiest thing that’s ever happened to him.*

I didn’t reply.

I put my phone away and hailed a cab.

The driver asked me where I was going.

“The Jennings villa.”

Only once the car was well on its way did I finally let myself close my eyes.

In this life, I would give them exactly what they wanted. I would put every marriage back where they all believed it belonged.