“Aria darling, what do you say about the arrangement, that way you'll still be in the family and we can all still care for you” mum's sweet voice cut through the air, as she spoke to me softly.

What's going on? Did mum follow me to the after life? But that's impossible.

“Honey, don't keep your mother waiting,” Father added, in that very soft toned that felt so unfamiliar now.

Wait, why do these words sound so familiar, my eyes fell to my arms, it was smooth, lacking the bruises I had often spent hours covering under layers of makeup.

What in the word is happening, I had died, my eyes caught my reflection in the mirror and a gasp slipped through my lips, my hand flew to my face

“Impossible” I muttered, touching my smooth and unbattered skin.

“What's impossible” mum asked.

“Nothing,” I quickly said, “what day is it?” I asked, trying to confirm my suspicions.

“Why are you acting all weird,” her eyes narrowed at me, “are you alright” she raised her hand trying to reach for my face

Instinctively, I shrunk back, dodging her touch, her hands froze mid air, a look look of shock and pain passing across her face. 

“Ari” she called me by the very pet name they had all given me, “are you angry at mother? I told you nessa is your sister now, we can't throw her out” she said with an aggreieved expression.

I sneered inwardly, if I hadn't known any better I would have fallen for this same act that once cost me my baby and life. 

“No mum, Nessa is your only daughter. I would never ask you to throw her out on my behalf,” I said with fake sweetness.

I couldn't let them suspect my awareness of their plan until I was fully aware of what was going on, could it be that I was reborn? That seemed to be the only reasonable explanation.

“What are you rambling about? You better not be thinking of accepting that bastard's proposal” Luna's sarcastic voice rang loudly in my head

“Luna” I called in surprise, “I never thought I'd be so happy to hear your voice again,”

“Are you sick in the head?” She asked

I froze, “you don't remember what we just experienced few minutes ago?” I asked in shock

“I only remember you acting like a child who was given a lollipop in a platter of gold, I don't like Adrian’s aura, you can't accept to be his chosen mate”

“It's exactly the same” I muttered, tears pooling in my eyes, her words were exactly the same as the warnings she had given me five years ago, before I stubbornly fell for my family's lies, and married Adrian against Luna's warnings before we found out we were fated mates. 

“Stop crying dummy, of course I remember everything” she rolled her eyes. “I'm sorry I couldn't protect him,” her voice turned sad.

I shook my head, “it's not your fault,” I smiled bitterly, my eyes fell on my supposed family, and an ironical laugh threatened to spill from my lips. 

“Aria Honey, have you considered it? Adrian is not only your adopted brother but also the Alpha, he's in a better place to protect you” Mother—No, Luna Casey said. 

My gaze turned cold, “And why would I do that?” She froze mid sentence, disbelief spread across her face, clearly not expecting such from me.

“What? He's your brother” 

“Exactly why I can't be mated to him, he's my brother, have you thought of it, which brother mates his sister?” I retorted stubbornly 

“It doesn't matter, who cares what anyone says, as long you're not related by blood, nothing stops you from marrying him” she said stubbornly 

“I'm sorry, but I can't marry him. I see him as my brother and nothing more, if he's in desperate need of a mate, I'm sure Vanessa would be glad to mate him” I bit back sarcastically 

The crack in her expression finally showed, “It's not the same thing, Nessa is different. She's…Family” 

“Family? Then what am I? Thought you just said I'll always be family” I mocked.

She stared at me, stunned to speechlessness, clearly not expecting such response from me. 

“Don't speak to your mother like that” Alpha Kreig growled, trying to salvage the situation. “You know she didn't mean it that way" he said in a stern but soft voice, one I had forgotten what it sounded like. 

Thinking back to it, how was I so blind not to see the ridiculousness of it all back then, naively falling for their sweet words and promises. 

“Oh…Then how did she mean it?” I crossed my arms beneath my breast, “she just said I should marry the same brother I grew up with because I'm not your real daughter?” 

Guilt flickered across their eyes, “no, I just meant that remaining in the family without a status would be disadvantageous to you” her voice softened.

Anyone who heard them would probably think they were probably being generous and having my best interest at heart.

I sneered inwardly, the revealed their true colours after almost draining my blood completely to save their dearest Vanessa who someone had been had and lost 3 pregnancies before 18, my blood was the best and stronger than most for some reason.

What better way to get it, than from your mate and Luna, bound by duty to protect.

“If lacking a status means not being a part of this family, then maybe I should just leave” I shot back

“No” they exclaimed, their eyes went wide with panic, “you can't,” 

“I have no status” I threw her words back at her 

“You…” the words seemed to dry up in her mouth, the fake kindness spread across her face. 

“You're mother is just trying to look out for you, we’ve raised you for the past 15 years, blood or not we can't just throw you out into the street. You'll forever remain our daughter” Alpha Kreig quickly broke the awkward air. 

“Daughter indeed” I muttered under my breath.

“They won't let us leave so easily” Luna scoffed, “not until they've saved their precious daughter”

A bitter smile spread across my lips, “who said anything about leaving? An eye for an eye,” my hands clutched my stomach, “they took my child, this time I'm going to take away everything they hold dear.”

Draken's Pov

My eyes flung open, my head felt like it was about to be torn into a million pieces, my body was drenched in sweat.

“Why are you up so early” the figure on the bed stirred and purred softly, 

“Get out” I said softly, 

Her pupils dilated, she opened her mouth to protest but a look from me and she went quiet instantly. Gathering the bits of scattered clothes she had, rushing out with her head on her tail.

“Good, I was in no mood to spill blood now, didn't mean I wouldn't if I needed to” 

I headed to the shower letting the water wash away the stench and smell of sex that lingered on my body. 

My mind wandered to the brown eyes that hunted my dreams every night. 

I sighed in exasperation, I was getting no where with this, the dreams just kept getting worser.

Last night she had actually died in a very brutal way, I couldn't see her face clearly, but those eyes, those eyes were ones I would never forget easily.

Water dripped down my body as I got dressed, I sighed at the sound of l ppmy door bursting open, only one person had such audacity.

“Drakenn—Fuck man, you should have warned me, ohh my Virgin eyes” Xenos, my beta, groaned dramatically, covering his eyes.

“Maybe if you didn't go around barging into rooms, you won't have to corrupt your virgin eyes” I said, my voice laced with sarcasm.

“No need to sound so sarcastic about it, if you'd stopped being a manwhore I won't be stuck with such unholy sights so early in the morning” he retorted

I threw a glance at him to find his gaze already fixed elsewhere, a chuckle escaped my lips, he would never change, "don't see why you're bothered by naked ass, except your gay” I teased 

“Eww” his face contorted in disgust, a sight I found quite amusing

“I'm done” I simply said walking past him and into my bedroom.

“You look like shit” he commented.

“Glad you noticed, what would I do without your detective skills such as yours” 

“Nothing” he bowed, biting back a smile, “but seriously, the dream again?”

“Yes”

“You barely slept for an hour, your insomnia’s getting worse”

“Thanks Sherlock, I didn't notice” 

“I'm serious,” his face turned stern, “you need to do something about it, you can't function properly if you're sleep deprived.

“Sigh, stop nagging. You're going to give me a fucking migraine” I groaned pinching my forehead with two fingers

“I wouldn't need to, if you'd just take better care of yourself”

“I'm his fiancée, you can't stop me from seeing him” a high pitched voice pierced through our conversation.

“Witch alert” Xenos whistled 

“Make her leave” I ordered

“Hell no, that ball of fire outside is your problem Alpha, I would rather not get involved” he shrank back, amusement clearly written on his face.

“I wasn't asking” I glared at him.

“How long do you think they'd last with her out there?” 

I ignored him, gathering the paperworks and reports from the packs under me, being a lycan king came with responsibilities, one that has obviously piled up

“you’re no fun” he rolled his eyes and stepped out.

Soon the sound of arguments and orders followed by Cassidy’s screeching and frustrated growl. I tuned them out, and focused on the work at hand.

“Fuck, she's a handful,” Xenos spat, re-entering the room with a furious expression.

“I know” I nodded, “which is why you handled her”

“You really need to start taking care of your own fiancee Alpha, I can't do this anymore.”

“If I didn't know any better, I would have thought you didn't enjoy it,” I said flatly

“Putting those peacock feathers of hers in their place felt quite satisfying,” he chuckled, “speaking of, there's new progress on the person you've been searching for”

That quickly caught my interest, “oh?” 

“She's the adopted daughter of the Alpha Kreig”

“Who's that?”

“One of the lower Alpha's under you” 

“Oh, explains why I had never heard of him” I nodded 

“How's she?” I asked the only question that I had been meaning to ask for a very long while

“Fine, I guess, she was raised in a happy home, never had a reason to be worried nor lacked anything.” 

“Noted, which pack?”

"Nightfang” 

“I sent the details to your email” 

“Okay” 

“Any info on the Ironclaw lycans lost princess?” 

“Nothing yet, but I believe they extended their search to some packs under us, some of there members were spotted within our borders”

A murderous energy swept through me “How dare Eros” my fingers dug into my palms, “Any member of that Kingdom found within my borders should be brought to me. They'll face martial punishment”

“Noted, Got to run alpha, and for crying out loud pay more attention to your health, especially now that dash is in hibernation” he muttered and soon the sound of his receding footsteps was all I could hear before the room was plunged into silence.

Great, he just had to remind me of the absence of Dash—my lycan. The haughty bastard decided now was the best to fall into one of his deep sleeps.

“I can hear you asshole” his annoying voice filled my head, 

“Good to know you’re still alive” I replied 

“Whatever,” he rolled his eyes before tuning me out.

I picked up my phone, scrolling through the details and pictures Xenos sent, committing every single one of it to memory.

A smile tugged at my lips, as I went through the details, a particular picture caught my eyes.

Her eyes, why did they look so oddly familiar?

Aria's Pov

“Aria honey, mum is only doing this for your sake,” Luna Casey said for the umpteenth time 

“Does she ever get tired?” Luna whined, already tired of hearing her voice, over and over again.

“Obviously not” I sighed, irritation bubbling. 

“What do you say? Your brother would certainly treat you well,” 

“Okay” I nodded, tired of her nagging 

Her eyes lit up, a sharp glinting passing through it, “I knew that you would not disappoint mum” she smiled smugly.

I returned it with a small smile, “well, it's for my good right, there's no need to reject” I smiled

She nodded in approval, “I knew you would understand my good intentions. I'll go inform your father the good news” she clapped excitedly, and finally left, having achieved her goal.

A sneer left my lips immediately she crossed the door, “I’ll make sure you don't see me coming, dear mother” the promise left my lips like venom.

I would never forget how they treated me ever since Vanessa came back, at first it was mild and bearable, but once her condition stabilised they all turned on me, blaming me for taking her place

It graduated to abuse after mating with Adrian, but never again

I picked up my phone and dialed a familiar number, one I had made certain to memorize in my previous life.

“Hello” a cool voice came from the other line 

“Greetings, Lycan king”

“Hmm” he responded, not uttering another word 

Tears tinged at the corner of my eyes hearing his voice once more, I had rejected his advances in my past life, insisting on mating Adrian, guess how that turned out?

“My name is Aria Kreig, you may not know me, and how I got this number is not important, the important thing is that I would like to strike a deal with you” I muttered a silent prayer, hoping he would accept 

In my past life, we met two months in the future,  not now, “a proposal?” he asked, his voice laced with interest 

“Yes. Can we meet?” my toes curled, an involuntary habit I had picked up at some point in my life.

“Give me one could reason why I should clear my schedule just to meet you” he asked evenly

“Fair point,” I nodded, “but what if I say I know what's gonna happen to you in the next two hours” I pointed out, relying solely on my previous memories.

“I didn't take you for a witch, Miss Aria” he said softly 

“I'm not one,” I shrugged, “I just know of certain things”

“Like?” 

"Check your car brakes before leaving for today. Just a kind suggestion, your highness,” A car crash was not enough to claim his life, but in the past life it set off a chain of other following actions that cost him a lot. 

“Noted. I'll consider your request and get back to you” he said, before hanging up the call, I could hear the disbelief in his voice.

“What now?” Luna asked

“Now, we wait,” Draken was a huge part of my plans, I couldn't move forward without him. I had no idea why he picked interest in me back then, but now I'm banking on that.

My phone pinged, a wide smile spread across my face as I read the content of the message

“Request accepted, my assistant will pick you up in the next two hours. I look forward to seeing you”

“Told you” I smirked, 

“We have a major problem though, how do we get out of this place, unseen?”

My eyes darted to the windows, good thing it was already dark out, I locked my doors and sneaked out through the windows immediately after freshening up.

I couldn't risk someone barging in and discovering I was gone, hopefully I will be back before morning, especially if I'm dropped off the way I'm about to be picked, I reassured.

Soon, a black vehicle stood in front of me. I was led to a private airport and just like that I arrived at the Lycan strong hold.

My eyes kept following my surroundings, taking in every bit of information I could absorb.

Soon I was seated next to a familiar face, I never thought I'd see again. He looked quite young.

“Nice to formally meet you, the famous Lycan king” I greeted

“How did you know that my brakes were tampered with?” He asked blankly, going straight to the point.

“same way I know you'll fall seriously sick in 3 years with an illness that has no cure”

He looked at me skeptically, “why are you telling me all this?” 

“I believe we both have mutually exclusive problems, I would help you avoid your future problems but in return I need a favor.” I sipped from the drink I was given.

“Which is?” He folded his arms and leaned back, and still watching me closely I felt naked under his gaze.

“Marry me” I blurted out.

A look of surprise crossed across his eyes, followed by a chuckle, “and why would I do that, what Will I stand to gain?” 

“Your life and what if I say I'm aware of the Iron claw pack members and their present locations, their next step and the chain of action your supposed accident was meant to set off”

“Interesting” he hummed, “but I can manage the situation on ground, finding their location is no problem to me Miss Aria, what makes your help any different from my outstretched resources?” His voice was calm and even, sipping the coffee like he had no care in the world. 

“What a difficult man to deal with,” Luna muttered.

“Well he wouldn't be the lycan king if he was easy to predict.” I had no doubt in his ability to find them, after all it was precisely because he found them previously that I happen to know their location now. But it cost him a lot.

“You see, I know almost everything about you and I can tell you stand to gain more from this marriage you're suggesting, so what do I stand to gain?” he asked 

“You may have all the resources, your Highness, but I have the brains, I could lead you to greater heights, help you avoid unseen and unexpected dangers, all I ask for is your last name, not loyalty, not love. Just the name and status that comes with it”

A smirk tugged at his lips, “you're aware I have a fiancee right?”

“That was arranged by your parents before their death. So Lycan king, what do you choose?”

“Will you marry me?”