Mia’s POV

I pressed my palms against the edge of the banquet table, my stomach twisting. Orion had been the one on the block. He had been the one to fall under the axe.

So why had I looped back with him?

The world blurred for a moment as the thought sank in. Did I die too, somehow?

A laugh bubbled at the back of my throat, bitter and shaky. None of it made sense.

“Princess.”

Lucien’s voice slid into the air behind me, smooth, practiced and too close. I turned sharply to see him watching me with those sharp blue eyes, calm like he already knew the answer to questions I hadn’t asked.

“You seem distracted,” he said softly. “Almost… afraid. Tell me, what is it that frightens you?”

“Stay away from me,” I snapped before I could stop myself.

His brows lifted, a faint smirk touching his lips, but before he could reply….

“Didn’t you hear her?”

Orion’s voice cut through the tension. He stepped up fast, planting himself between us, shoulders squared. “She said leave her alone.”

Lucien’s smile didn’t falter. “Always so quick to play protector. I wonder, Orion, do you actually care for her, or is it just another game?”

“Say that again,” Orion growled, his wolf flickering in the edges of his voice.

It was the first time, I had seen him serious

The air went sharp and dangerous. I could feel the fight about to snap loose until another voice crushed it flat.

“Enough.”

Kaiden Silver strode into the hall, his presence filling the space like a storm. His gaze flicked between his sons, hard as steel. “Not in my house. Stand down.”

Neither Lucien nor Orion moved at first, but under their father’s shadow, the tension broke. Lucien stepped back, his hands raised in mock surrender. Orion let out a sharp breath, but his glare never left his brother.

Kaiden’s attention landed on me last, heavy and unreadable. “Return to your chambers, Princess. Collect yourself. Tomorrow, you will smile.”

I inclined my head, hiding my thoughts. “Yes, Alpha King.”

I slipped away while they were still bristling, my steps quick, my pulse louder than the music behind me.

When I reached my chambers, I locked the door, then leaned against it, letting out the breath I’d been holding.

Something was wrong. I hadn’t died. At least… not that I knew of. So why did the world reset again?

Had I been poisoned? Struck down quietly in the shadows? Or had the Moon Goddess tied my soul to Orion’s without my consent?

I sank onto the edge of the bed, my hands trembling.

If I was looping without dying, then this curse was worse than I thought.

Much worse.

I clenched the sheets in my fists. Fine. If this is some curse, some trick, I’ll figure it out. I won’t let them break me.

But it wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be.

I looped again.

And again.

Different choices, different paths, it didn’t matter.

Avoid Lucien, stay silent, shout at the council, pretend to faint. Every thread I pulled snapped back in my face. Every ending dragged me back to the same cursed banquet.

By the seventh loop, my head spun just looking at the food laid before me. The roasted meat, the glistening fruit, the goblet of wine, taunting me with their sameness.

“No more,” I muttered.

Before I could talk myself out of it, I shoved back my chair. “Orion. With me.”

He blinked, startled, but I didn’t wait. I grabbed his arm and dragged him through the hall. Guests whispered and watched, but I didn’t care. I didn’t stop until the palace walls were behind us, the night air sharp in my lungs.

Orion yanked his arm free, frowning. “What the hell is going on with you, Princess? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Worse. I swallowed, my heart pounding. This was madness. If I told him, he’d laugh. He’d call me insane, unstable, unfit, just like the elders always wanted.

Still, the words spilled out.

“I died,” I whispered. “We both did. Execution, beheading, the whole hall laughing. Then I woke up here. Again. And again. And again. I thought it was poison, or maybe someone slit my throat in the crowd, but every time it happens, I end up back at that damned banquet.”

My voice cracked. “Seven times, Orion. Seven. I can’t escape it. I can’t stop it. And every path I take leads me right back here.”

I stared at him, chest heaving, waiting for the smirk, the mockery, the dismissal. Waiting for him to say I was crazy.

Instead, he leaned back, folded his arms, and smiled like I had just told him the sky was blue.

“Took you long enough.”

I blinked. “What?”

He shrugged. “You think you’re the only one stuck in this loop? Welcome to the curse, Princess.”

My stomach dropped.

He knew.

All this time… he knew.