five | sinners

VAL

It was hard to maintain a blank, surprised look on my face when I was the perpetrator of what happened. On the first few days of recalling what had happened in my previous life, before I was reborn, I remembered how Amber was responsible for my father’s death, and right now, I planned to make her a victim and have her taste her own medicine.

This was the first move. On my 21st birthday, she’d purposefully given me the shoes with broken heels which were why this time around, I’d asked my maid to swap hers with mine. On her way to greet the guest, her heels broke and her legs slipped. Amber stumbled upon a table with a champagne pyramid. All the crystal glasses crashed on the floor along with her.

I bit my cheek and waited for three seconds to make sure that my face revealed nothing but frantic worries as I approached her. “Oh my gosh, Amber, are you okay?”

“Fine!” Amber screeched. Her whole dress was drenched in champagne with some cuts here and there from the glasses. She was lucky that none of the glass shards hurt her porcelain skin. The man who she’d been meaning to greet, a bulky man in a black tux lent her a hand and helped her get up.

“Clean this mess,” she ordered the waiter who had been pouring champagne into the glasses. Then she was walking out of the ballroom. Two of her maids were frantically trying to help her. Less than fifteen minutes later, she was already back in the ballroom and mingling with other party guests.

About an hour into the party, my father walked into the small podium at the end of the ballroom. One of the event organizers handed him a microphone. “Welcome everyone to my daughter, Valeriya’s 21st birthday party!” He greeted and everyone clapped their hands. All eyes were on my father. Respect and awe were evident in their eyes. 

Although my dad wasn’t born to become an Alpha — his older brother Oscar was the first born and should be the Alpha, my dad was destined to be one. After Uncle Oscar’s death, my dad took the role and did his best to be the Alpha that our pack, the Night Walkers deserved. Even in his grieving state, he still displayed strength and became our pillar which was very much needed whenever a pack lost its leader.

While everyone focused on my dad’s speech, I was trying to figure out what would happen because when one event changed in history, the effect might be rippled and changed a whole lot of things. I should be the one that had my heels broken, and hurt my ankles, now that I’d changed it to make Amber take the fall, things might not happen as I recalled them happening. I had to determine which event actually changed and which would not. I was busy with my own thoughts that when my dad called out my name, and everyone around me started to turn their heads and gave me that assessing look on their face, I knew I’d accidentally missed an important detail.

“Holy shite!” Lola grabbed my arm and whispered in my ear. “Are you alright with this?”

I leaned my head toward her and whispered in return, “With what?”

My best friend gave me a look of disbelief. “Your dad just told everyone that he will start looking for a qualified young man to be your fiancé.”

“W-what?!” I didn’t recall this part happening. All that had happened in my previous life was my dad giving a congratulatory speech and wishing me a great year ahead. No mention of fiancé whatsoever.

A young man with dark brown hair was approaching me with a charming smile plastered on his face. His forehead was slightly wide but other than that, his facial features reminded me of that hunter kid from a teenage vampire TV series.

“And look who’s coming,” said Lola, lifting her eyebrows in a blatant surprise. “Ezra is watching you, by the way.”

I let my eyes scan the room, looking anywhere but at the man making his way toward me nor Ezra, and that was when my eyes met Amber’s and I could swear that one corner of her lips quirked up as she watched him coming closer and closer to me.

“Valeriya,” he greeted, offering his hand. “My apologies. I don’t believe we have been introduced but I can’t help myself. My name is Soren Wilkins.”

It was no more than a minute ago that my dad had announced his wish to find me an eligible young man and this guy had already shown up.

I was tempted to give him a cold shoulder. However, with so many onlookers, there was so little I could do so I put my hand in his. As soon as our skin made contact, images flashes through my very eyes and I could have a glimpse of what was going to happen or perhaps what indeed had happened in my previous life. Whichever that was, I knew that the man before me was Sinner No. 2. He was one of the people, guilty of my pack’s downfall and my father's death. 

So this was the Goddess’s Gift for me. I had the ability to have these visions whenever I touched someone who had played a part in my destiny. Once I sorted my thoughts, I gave him my most charming smile and squeezed his hand. He seemed to be both surprised and excited by my response.

In my ear, my best friend whispered, “Val, what are you doing? Are you doing this to make Ezra jealous or something? I have a bad feeling about this, Val. He isn’t from our pack. We don’t know anything about him.”

Even though what Lola had said about how dangerous this guy was might be close to the truth, I knew that the best way to get my revenge was through Soren Wilkins, and tonight, I planned to seduce him. So when he pulled me closer and planted a kiss on my knuckles, I maintained my perfect smile.

“May I have this dance?” he asked silkily.

I straightened my shoulders, giving him a good view of my cleavage. His gaze dropped for a split second before they locked with mine once again. “Yes, you may.”

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