I could feel my wolf stirring restlessly beneath my skin anxious, uncertain, and very much alive.
Though I had come back to life, nothing around me felt familiar. The scent of the air, the pulse of the earth beneath my feet, even the hum of power in my veins none of it belonged to me.
This wasn't my pack.
These weren't my people.
And the body I now inhabited… it wasn't mine.
One thing, however, was painfully clear the wolf who'd once lived in this vessel had been broken. Her spirit was torn, her will snuffed out long before she'd drawn that final breath. I could still feel the echo of her despair clinging to the corners of my mind, faint but undeniable.
What kind of she-wolf takes her own life?
A desperate one.
A lonely one.
I didn't know her story yet, but I could sense it she'd been suffocated by duty, trapped by bloodlines and the burden of expectation.
And yet, amid the chaos of awakening in a stranger's body, there was one presence that stilled my wolf's trembling heart.
Lewis.
His aura filled the room cold, commanding, yet calm. The kind of power that made every instinct in me bow in reluctant acknowledgment. Even injured, even confined to his chair, he exuded the kind of dominance only an Alpha born could carry.
His sharp eyes were fixed on me, but it felt like he wasn't really seeing me. As if he was trying to look through me, searching for the ghost of the woman he'd expected to find instead.
Then, as if shaking himself free from whatever thoughts haunted him, he withdrew his hand and stepped back.
"Miss Ashbourne," he said, his voice deep and composed, "you shouldn't be on your feet. Lie down. Rest."
His tone was polite too polite. The kind of courtesy wolves used when they wanted distance, not warmth.
It didn't take much to understand what that meant.
Just like the former soul who'd lived in this body, Lewis hadn't agreed to this mating bond for love. This was a pack alliance a union of convenience between two powerful bloodlines.
Julian once told me that Lewis already had someone in his heart a mysterious she-wolf no one had ever met. But in all my years orbiting the Hale bloodline, I'd never seen him look at anyone with even a spark of affection. He kept his emotions buried, locked away where no one could reach them.
And honestly? That suited me perfectly.
I wasn't here for love either.
I needed an ally a powerful Alpha, someone with the influence to crush my enemies beneath his heel. Lewis was the perfect choice.
The she-wolf whose body I now wore had tried to end her life to escape this union.
But me?
I saw it for what it truly was an opportunity.
Lewis had the kind of strength that made the air bend around him. The kind of authority that silenced even the loudest of rooms. If I wanted revenge… if I wanted survival… I needed that strength at my side.
He had options dozens of powerful she-wolves would have gladly taken the mark of the Hale heir.
But I didn't.
For me, this was the only path.
I steadied myself, despite the tremor in my legs, and lifted my chin.
"Alpha Lewis," I said softly, meeting his eyes. "I won't sit until you agree to this bond."
He frowned, his wolf energy flaring subtly a ripple of dominance that pressed against my chest, warning me not to push too far. But I didn't yield. My wolf rose within me, small but defiant, refusing to be cowed.
"Miss Ashbourne," he said slowly, "do you even understand what you're asking for?"
I nodded, forcing my voice to stay steady. "I do. And I'm not asking out of pity or fear. I want this."
He studied me quietly, his gaze sharp as claws. He was trying to sense the lie to see if this sudden boldness was another fragile outburst from the broken woman he thought I was.
But before he could say more, the door burst open.
A familiar scent hit me first warm, floral, trembling with emotion. A mother's scent.
"My daughter!" a woman cried, rushing in. "what happened to you?"
Before I could react, she wrapped me in her arms. Her embrace was soft but desperate, like she was afraid I'd vanish if she let go.
Tears soaked my neck, her body shaking against mine.
"I'm so sorry," she whispered brokenly. "I should've been here sooner…"
I froze.
Her scent sweet lavender and grief wasn't mine, but it wrapped around me like a memory I didn't own.
This must have been the mother of the original wolf whose body I now wore.
Instinct told me to pull away, but the sound of her voice stopped me.
"My sweet girl," she murmured, pressing her hand to my cheek. "Riley, you're safe now. You're home."
Riley.
That was her name the girl whose life had ended so tragically… and the one whose body now held me.
It even sounded close to my old name Elena.
From what I'd gathered in the fog of my waking, the main Ashbourne line had spent years abroad, returning now to plant their claws deeper into our territory. They were the kind of pack you didn't cross: cold, efficient, and nearly as powerful as the Hales.
if the family elders had chosen them as allies, their teeth must have been sharp.
Maybe it was the raw ache of a mother's warmth I'd been starved of for so long, or maybe it was the ghost-scent of Riley clinging to this flesh, but when the woman who'd claimed me as her daughter wrapped me tighter I whispered before I could stop myself, "Mom."
She sobbed into my shoulder, and the sound was both a salve and a sting. "You silly girl," she breathed. "I won't let your father hurt you again. You're safe now. Leave everything to me."
Her face changed then softness folding into steel. The hands that had smoothed my hair were suddenly a shield. She stepped between me and Lewis as if she were a Beta baring fangs to protect her pup.
"Mr. Hale," she said, voice steady and sharp, "thank you for saving my daughter. But a bond isn't a trifle. I have only one child. If she refuses this union, then I expect you to respect her will. This matching will not proceed."
Lewis watched her without the flicker of offense others might show. He'd already intended to dissolve the arrangement long before any of this room had opened its mouth. His calm never meant weakness; it was the stillness of a river that could crush stone.
The door swung and the temperature in the room dropped. Grant Ashbourne entered like a winter gust tailored suit, presence that filled the room like a claim-staking howl. Even before he spoke the air tightened; the body that hosted me hummed with Riley's buried fear, and it surfaced like a bad dream: my knees trembled, an old reflex of a she-wolf who had learned to fold small in the face of dominance.
"You think you can end this?" Grant's voice was a low blade. He stepped close, and when his gaze found me something cold crawled across my spine. "Not a chance."
He named me Riley slowly, as if reminding me of my place. "This mateship is not up for discussion. Don't throw tantrums like a spoiled pup. Even if you turn into a corpse, you will be delivered to the Hales whether you consent or not."
Every syllable was a chain being clamped down. I felt Riley's past coil around my lungs, heavy and familiar. My legs wanted to fold. My throat wanted to close.
Lewis's face didn't change; an undercurrent of storm moved behind his composed eyes. He spoke low, each word measured like a strike. "Mr. Ashbourne, if your daughter refuses, I will not force the bond. This engagement needs rethinking."
Before doubt could swallow it, I cut in. My voice was raw with what had been buried too long. "No."
Both Lewis and Riley's mother turned to me as if I'd dropped a stone into still water. Her face was open disbelief. "Riley… what did you just say?"
I forced myself up. Movement was heavy Riley's body still remembered fear better than courage but I pushed through it step by careful step. When I reached Lewis I didn't let go. I took his hand like a she-wolf claiming territory and said, clear as the moon, "I agree to the bond. I want to be his mate."
Grant Ashbourne's eyes narrowed; he tried to read me. I let him. Let him search for the small, shattered thing he expected. Let him see only what I allowed.
Living in this house had suffocated Riley. It was no miracle she'd seen an end in that dark place. But this life had been handed to me, and I understood its value in a way she never did. The second chance thrummed under my ribs like a newly kindled heart.
Lewis tried to pull his hand back, deferential to protocol, to the idea that a choice should be free. I tightened my grip and faced Grant. My voice didn't tremble this time.
"I'm taking it because Lewis is a rare kind of strength steady, true, and not bought. I choose him."
The room held its breath. Riley's mother cried out, surprised and pleading. Grant's jaw worked, trying to place the gamble. In their eyes I saw the story they wanted compliant daughter, convenient match shatter like brittle bone.
But I wasn't acting to please them. I was staking claim.