On my way back to the pack house, Taylor Medina intercepted me.

He looked me up and down, his voice calm but laced with skepticism.

"Eden, you’re back, aren’t you?"

I lowered my gaze, focusing on the faint floral scent lingering on my skin.

Before I found my mate, I used to love the scent of wildflowers.

After I became his mate, Taylor insisted I adopt a more refined scent—one that Louise Bennett favored.

"Alpha Taylor," I replied, keeping my tone neutral. "I’m not sure what you mean."

Taylor paused, then smiled faintly.

"That’s good to hear."

After a moment, he added, "But I know how you feel about me. Louise has mentioned it often. She almost rejected the mate bond because of you.

Eden, I’ve loved her my whole life, and I will only ever mate with her. But I’ll treat you like a sister, care for you as family."

The man I’d once called my mate stood before me, his words cutting deeper than any rejection.

I took a shallow breath, steadying myself.

"Alpha Taylor, I understand."

He seemed surprised by my calm response.

Just as he had in our past life, he reached out and grasped my wrist, his touch familiar yet distant.

"Eden, I’ve wronged you. But I’ll make it up to you. There are many promising young wolves in the Medina Pack. I’ll find someone suitable for you."

The scent of pine and snow—his dominant Alpha aura—filled the air, and for a moment, I was back in our old life, sharing quiet moments that felt like forever.

The question slipped out before I could stop it.

"Why Louise?"

Why her and not me?

Taylor didn’t hesitate.

"Louise is radiant, lively. She brings color to my life. And she’s the daughter of an Alpha—a better match for a future Alpha like me."

So that was it.

I’d always suspected, but hearing it confirmed was still a blow.

The last flicker of hope I’d clung to finally extinguished.

I gently pulled my wrist from his grasp.

Taylor looked momentarily taken aback, but I felt oddly at peace.

In this second chance, I’d thought of so many things to say to him.

How we’d grown old together in another life.

How I’d endured his mother’s cruelty because I believed in us.

How the wildflowers outside our home had bloomed so beautifully, and how we’d shared warmth and laughter beneath them.

How, even in death, I’d felt the heat of his tears.

But all those words tangled in my throat, and in the end, only one sentence escaped.

"I understand."

Alpha Taylor, I understand.

This time, I won’t be your mate.

I unfolded the letter from my senior sister, Livia Hill.

Her words were clear—since the Bennett Pack had treated me so poorly, I should consider moving to Greenwood.

Though Greenwood lacked the grandeur of the capital, it would offer me safety, a sanctuary away from the toxicity that had consumed my life.

I had been torn.

Part of me still longed for a life with Taylor Medina, my mate, despite everything. The bond between us, though strained, still pulsed faintly in my chest, a reminder of what could have been.

Yet another part of me yearned to return to the pack I had once called family, to the sisters and brothers who had stood by me when Taylor’s family had cast me aside.

But Taylor made the decision for me.

He rejected me.

The words still echoed in my mind, sharp and unrelenting. “I, Taylor Medina, Alpha of the Medina Pack, reject you, Eden Mendez, as my mate.”

The pain of that moment had been excruciating, the bond between us shattering like glass. Yet, in a strange way, it freed me.

I no longer had to choose.

Now, I could focus on the one thing that had always grounded me—my mother’s legacy.

Among the few possessions I had left of hers were several paintings she had created during her lifetime.

They were old, the colors faded, but they carried her essence, her spirit.

I ran my fingers over the canvas of her favorite piece, *Autumn Mountains*.

The strokes were delicate yet bold, a testament to her talent and passion.

Tears welled in my eyes as I whispered, “Mom, we were both so foolish, weren’t we?”

My mother, Seraphina, had been a skilled artist, a protégé of the renowned healer and painter, Lawson Oliver.

Garrett Bennett, the former Alpha of the Bennett Pack, had come to Greenwood seeking a commission.

Instead, he found her.

He pursued her relentlessly, his aura and commanding presence impossible to resist.

They had their marking ceremony in Greenwood, and I was born soon after.

But my mother never knew that Garrett already had a mate back in the capital, Paula Herrera.

He had intended their affair to be fleeting, a momentary indulgence.

But my mother loved him too deeply.

When she followed him to the capital, she walked into a scene that shattered her heart—Garrett and Paula, entwined in their bond, their love on full display.

Paula, ever the shrewd Luna, insisted on bringing my mother into the pack, adding her name to the registry.

But it was no kindness.

My mother withered under the weight of humiliation and heartbreak.

She died young, her hands gripping mine, her eyes filled with tears of regret.

“Eden,” she had whispered, her voice trembling. “Your mate… choose one who loves you… who protects you.”

I had promised her, through my own tears, that I would.

But now, looking back, I realized how naive I had been.

My mother and I had both made the same mistake—we had tied our worth to the love of men who could never truly cherish us.

Perhaps it was time to let go of that dream.

Perhaps happiness didn’t lie in finding a mate but in finding myself.

As I stood there, my mother’s painting cradled in my arms, I felt a resolve harden within me.

I would honor her memory, not by chasing the love of an Alpha, but by embracing the life I had built for myself.

The bond with Taylor was broken, but I was not.

And for the first time in a long time, I felt free.

The Medina Pack house was a sea of red, every corner adorned with the trappings of an impending **Mark Ceremony**. Louise Bennett, the Alpha's chosen Luna, was to be celebrated, and the entire pack buzzed with excitement. **Omegas** hurried in and out, carrying crimson robes, silk ribbons, and the finest decorations. I overheard whispers from the **deltas** as they passed:

"The Alpha has spared no expense for our future Luna. He ordered the most exquisite gown from the renowned designer, Celeste Barnes. He said Louise shouldn’t lift a finger for her own **marking**."

I paused, a pang of bitterness tightening in my chest. Memories of my own **marking ceremony** flooded back, unbidden. When Taylor Medina had claimed me as his mate, it had been rushed, almost an afterthought. I had spent weeks sewing my own gown, my fingers calloused and bleeding from the needlework. Meredith, his mother, had deliberately dimmed the lights in my room, forcing me to strain my eyes in the flickering candlelight. By the end, I could barely see.

Taylor had been remorseful when he saw the toll it had taken on me. "I was careless," he had said, his voice heavy with regret. "This was my fault, and I’ll make it up to you."

But he never did. Instead, he poured his attention into Louise, the woman who was now to be his Luna. He spared her every inconvenience, every hardship. He had never treated me with such care. Perhaps, I thought, leaving had been the right choice. There was no need to linger on what could have been.

Louise, with her **Alpha's aura**, wasted no time asserting her dominance. She ordered me around mercilessly in the days leading up to the ceremony—kneeling for hours, copying ancient texts, massaging her shoulders, serving her tea. I complied without protest, my head bowed in submission.

"Just endure it," I told myself. "A few more days, and Lawson will come to take me away."

But I hadn’t anticipated how far Louise would go. Her cruelty knew no bounds, and I wasn’t sure how much longer I could bear it.