Chapter 2

Ella POV

There were shouts and gasps of shock as the bouquet exploded into a poof of flower petals. David stumbled backward, out of my reach.

"What are you doing?" Amanda's voice yelled in surprise. I turned to find her rushing towards me. For a moment, all I could see was the evil smile on her face after she poisoned me.

Fear gripped my heart, and I stumbled backward, holding my arms out to keep Amanda from getting any closer.

I ran past Amanda, David, and the crowd. It wasn't until I was out of the building that I realized I was back in my own pack territory.

Instinctively, I kept running, seeking out a place where I knew I could be safe—my parents' house. I rushed inside and didn't stop until I heard voices.

I was in the living room, and the TV was on. The voice I was hearing was the news anchor's. I stared at the screen in shock, trying to understand what I was seeing.

The date on the screen—it couldn't be. But it was—the date David proposed to me, the scene I had just run away from.

Maybe it wasn't a memory. I remembered the confetti and the applause. I must have agreed to his proposal. It was just like the first time, except I was able to push him away. I was able to run.

But what did that mean?

I guess… I really got the chance to live everything again?

"Ella?" I heard my mother's voice call out. I turned to look behind me, and I saw my mother and father entering the house with concerned expressions on their faces.

Seeing my father almost made me collapse into tears, but I managed to hold myself together. Instead, I rushed forward and wrapped them both in a tight hug.

"What's wrong?" my mother asked with concern as she gently rubbed my back. "Why did you run away like that?"

"Is this really happening?" I asked shakily. The relief of seeing them alive and well was making it difficult to think.

"Of course, it's really happening," my mother said sweetly. "You're getting married."

I pulled away enough to look into her eyes. I could feel the warmth of their embrace. I recognized them and this house. I knew that I was really here.

I had no idea how this had happened—the Moon Goddess or someone else must have heard my prayers and taken pity on me. I was living my life over again, and I could do things differently this time.

My parents were here. My family was still safe and thriving in our packlands. David was neither my husband nor the Alpha King at this moment.

I wouldn’t let anything or anyone take that away from me ever again.

"I'm not marrying David," I said firmly.

"What do you mean?" my mother asked. "You agreed."

"How was I supposed to say no?" I found a proper way to explain this. "In front of everyone? I couldn't embarrass him like that. But I don't want to marry him. I won't do it."

"Ella," my mother began, but my father interrupted her.

"Okay," he said.

I looked at him in surprise. I could tell by his expression that he was uncomfortable.

"Okay?" I asked.

He nodded. "It's your choice who you marry," he said.

Upon hearing my father's words, my eyes began to well up again. He had always trusted my decisions unconditionally, and it's been years since I last felt this kind of support.

All because of my wrong decision to trust David and Amanda.

"It's not too late to call it off, is it?" I asked hopefully. "You haven't sent out invitations yet?"

"We have," my mother said, a guilty look on her face. "David's family was so excited; they didn’t want to waste any time, and we were all sure you would say yes."

My heart sank. A wedding between David and me would be a major event. Everyone in the kingdom would know about it by now, and there would be hundreds of people invited.

Laws and morals were strict for Alphas. Not only would it embarrass my father if I canceled, but he would be forced to make a public apology and pay a small fortune to David's family to make up for it.

Reliving my life, I could never allow my father to be shamed like that.

There had to be a way to get out of this and make it David's fault. Then his family would be the ones who had to pay and apologize. I just needed time to figure out a way to make that happen.

"Don't call it off," I said.

My father looked concerned. "But Ella, if you don't want to marry him—"

"I'm being silly," I said, forcing myself to smile. "I just need time to get used to everything."

My mother smiled. "Of course, it's just nerves," she said with relief.

Before I could say anything more, I heard footsteps approaching the living room. The three of us turned to see David rushing in, with his parents following close behind.

He walked directly to me and lightly grabbed my arms. He looked worried. "Ella, what happened?" he asked.

My stomach twisted with disgust, but I didn’t push him away.

There was a knock on the door, and I used it as an excuse to carefully pull away from his grip. I rushed to answer the door and found Amanda standing there. She walked in without waiting to be invited.

I hurried back into the living room after her. She was walking towards David.

I had to know for sure if they were already together at this time.

I hurried past Amanda and walked to David's side. I wrapped my arms around him and turned my head so that I could see Amanda as he hugged me back.

I saw a look of fear cross her face, and her eyes darted up to David's. I pulled back from the hug in time to see him looking at her with a reassuring smile.

So it was true—they already had something between them.

"What was that?" Amanda asked. "What happened at the proposal?"

"I'm sorry," I said weakly. "I was just overwhelmed." I looked up at David with a slight pout on my face and wrapped him in another hug.

"You still have such a childish personality," David's father said. "Maybe it would be best if David started working to assist your father with the Alpha duties since you're not mature enough to do it."

"Father," David said in a warning tone.

He looked annoyed. I knew that he wasn’t actually trying to defend me. He just didn’t want his father to act in a way that would raise suspicion.

I could see on my father's face that he was angered by the other Alpha's words, but he was holding his tongue to be polite.

I took a step back from David and looked his father in the eyes.

"There's no need for that," I said with a smile. “I will be the future Alpha of this pack."