The Jilted Omega Heiress Strikes Back

KAELYNN LESTER POV:

A searing pain jolted me awake. It was a hot, sharp agony on the back of my neck, like a branding iron pressing against my skin.

A heavy, scorching male body pinned me to the soft mattress, stealing my breath. I couldn't move.

The scent of pinewood and fury filled my nose.

It was Grant Freeman's scent. My fated mate. The Alpha of the Freeman Pack.

His hand, a vise grip, clamped around my wrists, holding them above my head. His other hand roughly tore the collar of my silk nightgown. The sound of ripping fabric was unnaturally loud in the silent room.

I could feel his sharp canines graze the side of my neck, the most vulnerable place for a werewolf to be marked. He was searching for the perfect angle.

"Don't struggle, Kaelynn," his voice rumbled in my ear, less a lover's whisper and more a cold command. "This is your destiny."

Destiny?

The word was a poisoned dagger, piercing through my consciousness. This wasn't a nightmare. This scene, this pain, this humiliation... I had lived through it all before.

A torrent of memories crashed through the dam of reality.

I saw the icy lake water filling my mouth and nose, the burning pain in my lungs.

I saw my half-sister, Effie Blackburn, standing on the shore. Her beautiful face, hailed as the "Moon Goddess's spokeswoman," was twisted with a vicious, triumphant smile.

"Goodbye, my foolish sister," her voice echoed across time. "Grant is mine. The glory of the Blackburn family is mine. You? You deserve nothing."

I saw how Grant held Effie after my death, his face etched with a grief that was a lie, telling her he could finally be with her without any burdens.

I saw my maternal grandmother, Matilda Lester, her hair turning white overnight at the news of my death. I saw my impulsive cousin, Alphons Beaumont, executed for treason after trying to demand justice for me.

The Lester family, the family I had abandoned to marry Grant, was utterly ruined because of me, eventually vanishing from history.

All the images froze on the last sliver of moonlight I saw as I sank to the bottom of the lake. The end of my twenty miserable years.

And now, I was back.

Back to the night I turned eighteen. The night Grant forcibly marked me. The beginning of all the tragedies.

I was no longer the naive, weak Kaelynn Lester who believed submission could earn her love.

I was a revenant, returned from hell.

Grant seemed pleased by my sudden stillness. He let out a low, mocking chuckle. "What? Finally figured it out? An Omega should know her place."

His words no longer stung. Instead, they were a key, unlocking the cold hatred sealed deep within my soul.

I stopped all my struggles, my body going completely limp. The change surprised him.

He thought I had yielded. He loosened his grip slightly, lowering his head to bite down.

The instant before his canines were about to pierce my skin, I gathered all my strength.

I drove my knee up, hard, into his abdomen.

Grant grunted, the sharp pain making him instinctively curl his body. The force pinning me down vanished.

I seized the chance, rolling out from under him. I tumbled messily onto the floor, but I ignored the pain, scrambling backward on my hands and feet to create distance.

I leaned against the cold wall, gasping for air, my heart pounding with a mix of fear and adrenaline.

Grant sat up on the bed, his handsome face contorted with pain and fury. His amber eyes burned like a wild beast's in the dim light.

"Are you insane?" he roared, his Alpha's Dominion washing over me like a tsunami, trying to force me to my knees in submission.

In my past life, I would have trembled under such pressure, like a pathetic rabbit. But now, I only felt a nauseating familiarity.

I used the wall to slowly pull myself to my feet, though my legs were still shaking. I tugged at my torn nightgown, covering my exposed skin.

I looked directly into his furious eyes, the same eyes that had once captivated me and brought me endless pain.

I saw the shock and disbelief in them. He had never seen me fight back like this.

Good. Let's start with that shock.

I took a deep breath, and in a voice so cold and calm it felt foreign even to me, I spoke.

"Grant Freeman," I said his name, enunciating each syllable as if I were a judge delivering a verdict.

"Mark me? No." A cold smile touched my lips. "I have a better proposal."

Grant's roar died in his throat. He was completely stunned, clearly not expecting me to say such a thing.

I watched his bewildered expression, the flames of vengeance in my heart burning brighter than ever before.