Ghost Sniper

This time, as the most gifted healer of my kind, I would save neither of them: not the Beta who framed me, nor the Alpha who carried an ancient curse.

Just as before, Damien stormed into my healing chamber with Lyra in his arms, in an Alpha tone that left no room for argument.

"She took a poisoned blade for me, one laced with an aphrodisiac. Use your power and heal her, now!"

It wasn't a request. It was a command.

He didn't spare me a single glance. This Alpha, who had once sworn to share his very soul with me, now had eyes for only one other she-wolf.

Faced again with the one responsible for my death, my wolf howled in agony. The mate bond seared me with a pain like a blade twisting in my heart. Hatred and despair threatened to swallow me whole.

Damien seemed to catch the fractured look in my eyes. His brow furrowed, a rare flicker of hesitation crossing his face.

Just then, a heated moan escaped Lyra's lips.

"Alpha… I'm so hot… The poison is burning in my blood…"

Her body trembled, and sweat soaked the leather armor clinging to her, outlining the predatory curves of her body. That face, those amber eyes, hazy from the drug… she was a near-perfect copy of a younger me—a wilder, more untamed version.

Damien's hesitation was crushed in an instant by a wave of concern and desire.

He ignored me completely. Instead, he lowered his head, his fangs grazing the sensitive skin of Lyra's neck in a gesture of raw possession. Then, he swept her into his arms and strode directly to the center of the room.

To my Moonspring.

A sacred place that only a healer of my divine power could activate.

Ignoring my will completely, he plunged Lyra into the sacred water, immersing her in its power.

"Begin. Now."

His Alpha command shot through our mate bond, an authority I could not defy. The spring hummed in protest, its energy turning frantic and chaotic.

Through our bond, his frantic emotions burned like a brand, along with a raw possessiveness for her that he didn't even try to hide.

In my last life, this was the moment my heart shattered. Yet, I had obediently exhausted my divine healing power to save her.

I had forced myself to obey, enduring the humiliation as he let another woman siphon away my power.

I had watched as he used his Alpha strength to subdue the spring, forcing my energy into her body while Lyra's moans shifted from pain to a shuddering chorus of pleasure that echoed through the chamber.

Back then, I was nothing more than an obedient tool.

But not this time.

I would not hollow out my soul for a traitor.

I suppressed my wolf's mournful cry and spoke, my voice chillingly calm.

"My power serves my mate and my pack."

I paused, letting the words hang in the air.

"But it is not a tool to be commanded."

With that, I ignored Damien completely and turned toward the moon-silver lockbox in the corner. From it, I took out a blank Mate Rejection Agreement.