Emilia

The Moon Goddess had answered my prayer.

I was eighteen again. Alive. Breathing. My heart was hammering against my ribs as I stared at Xavier's face, younger, softer, wearing that familiar protective smile that had once made me feel safe.

Now it makes my skin crawl.

"Xavier," I whispered, my voice barely audible.

He tilted his head, concern flickering in those green eyes I'd once trusted. "You look pale. Did you have a nightmare?"

A nightmare. If only it were that simple.

I remembered everything, his confession, the blood on his hands, the rogues he'd paid, Lorenzo's lifeless body. The knife. The pain. The darkness.

But somehow, impossibly, I was back. Back to the night before everything went wrong. Back to my eighteenth birthday, when I was still innocent enough to believe that the boy who called me sister would never hurt me.

"I'm fine," I managed, though my hands were trembling. "Just... tired."

Xavier's eyes softened with that familiar protective warmth that had fooled me for so long. "The ceremony is tonight. You'll finally meet your mate."

My mate. Lorenzo.

My chest tightened with a mixture of grief and desperate hope. In this timeline, Lorenzo was still alive. Still breathing. Still unaware that death was stalking him.

But I knew. I knew everything now.

"Xavier," I said slowly, testing the waters, "what if... what if I don't want a mate?"

His expression shifted so subtly that in my previous life, I would have missed it entirely. But now I caught it, the tightening around his eyes, the way his jaw clenched for just a fraction of a second.

"Why would you say that?" His voice was carefully controlled.

Because you'll kill him, I wanted to scream. Because you'll destroy everything good in my life to satisfy your sick obsession.

Instead, I forced a smile. "Just nervous, I guess."

Xavier relaxed, reaching over to squeeze my hand. His touch, which had once comforted me, now felt like ice against my skin.

"Don't be nervous," he said softly. "Whoever the Moon Goddess chooses for you will be lucky to have you. And if he's not good enough..." His eyes darkened slightly. "Well, he'll have to get through me first."

The threat was subtle but clear. Even now, even in this innocent moment, the monster was already showing through the cracks.

I pulled my hand away, pretending to stretch. "I should get ready. The day will be long."

"Of course." Xavier stood, but he lingered by the door. "Emilia?"

"Yes?"

"I love you. You know that, right? I'll always protect you."

The words that had once been a comfort now sounded like a promise of imprisonment.

"I know," I lied.

After he left, I collapsed back onto my pillows, my mind racing. The Moon Goddess had given me a second chance, but what was I supposed to do with it? How could I save Lorenzo without revealing that I knew Xavier's true nature?

Because I had no doubt, if Xavier suspected I remembered our past life, if he knew I was aware of his plans, he would find a way to eliminate the threat. Maybe not immediately, but eventually.

I had to be smart. Careful. I had to play the part of the innocent sister while finding a way to protect the man I loved.

But first, I needed to understand the rules of this new reality. Was everything exactly the same? Were there changes I needed to be aware of?

I slipped out of bed and moved to my mirror, studying my reflection. Same fiery red hair, same hazel eyes, same freckles scattered across my cheeks. I looked exactly as I had on my eighteenth birthday in the original timeline.

A soft knock interrupted my thoughts.

"Come in," I called.

My father entered, carrying a small wrapped box. He looked happy but tired, the same expression he'd worn on my birthday.

"Happy birthday, sweetheart," he said, settling beside me on the bed. "I have something for you."

I knew what it was before I unwrapped it, my mother's necklace, a delicate silver chain with a crescent moon pendant. The same gift he'd given me in the original timeline.

"Thank you, Father," I whispered, genuine tears pricking my eyes. "It's beautiful."

"She would have wanted you to have it on such an important day." He fastened the clasp at the back of my neck, his hands gentle. "Your mate ceremony... I hope you find happiness, Emilia. Real, lasting happiness."

The irony was almost too much to bear.

"Father," I said suddenly, "what if... what if something happened to my mate? What if someone tried to hurt him?"

He pulled back, studying my face with concern. "Why would you think such a thing?"

"I don't know. Just a feeling."

"Emilia." His voice was firm but loving. "The mate bond is sacred. Whoever the Moon Goddess chooses for you will be under her protection. And mine. And the entire pack's. No harm will come to him, I promise you that."

If only it were that simple.

After he left, I began to plan. Tonight was the ceremony where I would meet Lorenzo again. Tomorrow, if things followed the same pattern, Xavier would begin his campaign of subtle interference and manipulation.

But this time, I wouldn't be blind to it.

This time, I would fight back.

The afternoon passed in a blur of preparation. My stepmother Ariel fussed over my dress, a flowing gown of midnight blue that would complement my red hair. She was kinder in this timeline, I noticed, without the bitter edge she'd developed after Lorenzo's death in the original timeline.

"You look so beautiful," she said, stepping back to admire her work. "Your mate will be speechless."

I managed a smile. "Thank you."

But my mind wasn't on the dress or the ceremony. It was on Lorenzo, somewhere out there, alive and unaware of the danger that would soon find him.

As evening approached, the pack gathered in the ceremonial center. Torches flickered in the darkness, casting dancing shadows across the faces of wolves waiting to witness the ancient ritual.

I stood at the edge of the circle, my heart pounding with anticipation and dread. Would Lorenzo be the same? Would he look at me with the same love and wonder as before?

And then I saw Lorenzo.

Tall, broad-shouldered, with storm-gray eyes and that crooked smile that had captured my heart. Lorenzo stepped into the clearing, and our eyes met across the space.

The mate bond snapped into place with the same force as before. The pull between us was magnetic, undeniable, our wolves created a bond immediately.

But this time, I noticed something else.

This time, there were two other figures beside him. My wolf bonded with three wolves.

Two men with the same strong build, the same aristocratic features, the same storm-gray eyes.

Triplets.

My breath caught in my throat. This wasn't how it had happened before. In my original timeline, Lorenzo had been alone. An only child destined to inherit his father's pack.

What has changed?

Lorenzo stepped forward first, his eyes never leaving mine. "I'm Lorenzo," he said softly. "And you're..."

"Emilia," I whispered.

"Emilia," he repeated, as if tasting the name. "My mate."

Behind him, his brothers watched with identical expressions of surprise and something else... Joy?

"I'm Alexander," the first brother said, stepping forward. His hair was slightly longer than Lorenzo's, pulled back in a low knot. "And this is Sebastian."

The third brother, Sebastian, said nothing, but his intense gaze seemed to look right through me.

And then I felt it.

Not one mate bond.

Three.

The realization hit me like a physical blow. The Moon Goddess hadn't just sent me back in time. She'd rewritten my destiny entirely.

I wasn't just mated to Lorenzo anymore.

I was mated to all three brothers.

"That's impossible," I breathed.

Lorenzo stepped closer, his expression gentle. "I know it's overwhelming. We felt it too, all three of us. It's never happened before, as far as we know."

Alexander nodded. "The elders say the Moon Goddess sometimes creates bonds that transcend normal understanding. Perhaps she has special plans for us."

Sebastian still hadn't spoken, but he moved closer, and I could feel the pull of the mate bond like a physical thing, drawing me toward all three of them.

"This is..." I struggled for words.

"A gift," Lorenzo said firmly. "Whatever the Moon Goddess intends, we'll face it together."

But even as I looked into their faces, Lorenzo's familiar warmth, Alexander's steady strength, Sebastian's intense silence, my mind was racing.

Xavier was watching from the edge of the crowd, and even from a distance, I could see the shock and fury in his expression. In the original timeline, he'd been jealous of one mate. Now there were three.

The danger had just tripled.

And somewhere in the back of my mind, a terrible thought was taking root.

If Xavier was willing to kill one mate to have me...

What would he do to eliminate three?