Chapter 1

Alessandra POV: Two warriors from my pack dragged me forward. The silver shackles around my wrists burned. A deep, searing pain that went straight to the bone. Every step was agony. They shoved me onto the cold execution platform. I stumbled, falling to my knees. The faces in the crowd were ones I'd known my whole life. Neighbors. Friends. Now, all I saw was scorn. Disgust. My eyes scanned the crowd, finally landing on them. My stepmother, Karyn Hughes, and my stepsister, Britany Hughes. They stood together, perfectly poised. Karyn offered me a sad, pitying look. As if she felt sorry for me. But I saw it. Deep in her eyes, a flicker of triumph she couldn't hide. Britany didn't even bother to pretend. A cruel smile played on her lips. She mouthed two words at me, silent and sharp."Goodbye, sister." My heart seized. A coldness I had never known washed over me, colder than the stone beneath my knees. Her lips moved again, forming the words slowly, savoring each one."The bastard in your belly... I had someone... take care of it." My vision narrowed. The world tilted. I stared at her, my body starting to tremble uncontrollably. It couldn't be. Karyn gently touched Britany's arm, a subtle gesture of restraint. Then, she leaned in, her own lips forming a final, devastating confession."And you being defiled... I arranged that... Julian would never want a tainted woman." Julian Mays, the man I thought I loved. The truth hit me like a physical blow. A lightning strike that shattered every last piece of my naive world. I remembered it all. The accusations of sleeping with a Rogue. The horrific, cramping pain as I lost my child. It was all them. A meticulously crafted plot by the two people I was supposed to call family. The pain and regret twisted inside me, morphing into a rage so powerful it burned away my tears. With a strength I didn't know I possessed, I surged upward, ignoring the shriek of tearing flesh as the silver bit deeper into my wrists. I broke the grip of the warrior holding me. I was a missile of pure vengeance, aimed at Karyn. She screamed, a genuine sound of terror, stumbling backward. Britany, caught off guard, tripped her. They both went down in a heap of fine clothes and panicked limbs. My fingers were inches from Karyn's throat. Then a warrior's leg swept out, kicking me hard in the ribs. I flew sideways, my head cracking against the edge of a stone step. Blood filled my vision, warm and sticky. The Alpha's voice boomed from above, cold and final. "Execute per pack law." I felt a chill on my neck. A massive silver axe, gleaming in the cold light, was raised high. In that last, fleeting moment, my blurry gaze found him. The "blind" Alpha, Collier May, the alpha I am engaged to. At the edge of the crowd, he was "looking" right at me. His hands were clenched into white-knuckled fists at his sides. The axe fell. Pain. Then darkness. My soul, or whatever was left of me, drifted upward. I saw my own body, crumpled and still in a spreading pool of blood. I saw Collier Mays. In a corner, where no one was looking, he doubled over. A choked, guttural sob, quickly suppressed, escaped his lips. Then, a warm, sacred light enveloped me. It felt like moonlight. A voice, gentle yet powerful, echoed in my consciousness. "My child, I will give you another chance." A flash of brilliant white, and I gasped. A huge, desperate breath, like a drowning person breaking the surface. I was in my bed. My soft, familiar bed. Wearing my old, worn-out pajamas. The burning pain from the silver shackles was gone. In its place, I felt the steady, strong beat of a young heart. My heart. From downstairs, I heard my father, Warren, arguing with Karyn. It was about Britany overdrawing her credit card again. I froze. That argument. That exact conversation. It happened ten years ago. Before the lies. Before the pain. Before everything went wrong. My hand trembled as I lifted it to my face. It was smooth, unscarred. Tears, hot and real, streamed down my cheeks. I was reborn.I was back.