Reborn to Get the Alpha She Rejected novel Chapter 1

I woke up in the past, on the exact day my sister and I were supposed to pick our mates. Only this time, I could hear people's thoughts.

My sister, Vivian Sterling, announced, "I'm calling dibs on the best one this time."

Then she made a beeline for the sweet, gentle mate I'd married in my previous life.

The violent alpha who used to beat her senseless every day? She saved that one for me.

I almost laughed. She really thought my ex was some kind of prize?

*****

I came back to life on the day of the Mating Ceremony, the day my sister and I each had to claim a mate.

Two alpha heirs from Bluemoon Pack stood across the long table, waiting.

The first was Leander Blackwood, the top contender for Bluemoon Pack's next alpha. Everything about him screamed danger. Cold, distant, untouchable. Even the way he looked at people felt like frostbite.

The second was Thomas Blackwood, Leander's half-brother. Plenty strong on his own, but his mother was an outsider omega, so the pack never saw him as legitimate. He had a soft, easy smile that made him look completely harmless.

I'm picking first this time. No way I'm ending up alone and kicked out of the pack again! A shrill voice crashed into my head out of nowhere.

That was Vivian's thought.

I glanced up at her. Her mouth was shut, but her eyes were glued to Thomas.

Thomas is a softie. Easy to control, and he'll worship the ground I walk on. That brute Leander? Someone else can deal with him. Let Mia take the punches this time around!

Her thoughts flooded in again, and it hit me like a freight train. I hadn't just been reborn. I'd gained the ability to read minds.

And Vivian, clearly, had come back with her memories too.

Right on cue, she lifted her skirts and hurried over to Thomas, all shy smiles and a dainty little curtsy. "Thomas, I'm Vivian. I'd like to choose you as my mate."

Our father, the alpha of Silvercrest Pack, sat at the head of the table. His low voice cut through the room. "Mia, your sister has chosen Thomas. You will be mated to Leander."

Vivian turned to me with a smirk, her thoughts screaming louder than ever. Leander's fists, Bluemoon Pack's hatred, all of it is yours now. Enjoy suffering in my place!

Memories from my last life came flooding back all at once.

Back then, Vivian had married Leander.

That alpha heir was a born control freak, obsessed with pack politics and territory expansion. Romance was the last thing on his mind, and Vivian's clingy, spoiled act only disgusted him.

She kept pushing his buttons, trying to force him into marking her. All she got in return was his fury. He beat her black and blue every time, and eventually, she crossed a line he wouldn't forgive. He threw her out of Bluemoon Pack for good.

In the end, because she was never marked and couldn't produce an heir for the Blackwood bloodline, the old Luna declared her unfit to be an alpha's mate. She was cast out, left to fend for herself. It didn't end well.

As for me, I'd married Thomas.

His mixed blood meant he held no real power in the Bluemoon Pack, alpha heir in name only. But he was there for me every single day, gave me everything I wanted, and spoiled me like no one else. I was the happiest woman in the pack.

Everyone in Bluemoon Pack knew how deeply in love we were.

Thomas, on the other hand, was an open book. The moment he glanced down at Vivian, his thoughts drifted into my head, lazy and amused. Pretty little thing. Might be fun to play with.

This time, I wasn't making the same mistake.

I would carve out my own place in Bluemoon Pack. Real power, real standing. I wouldn't depend on anyone. I'd rewrite my own fate.

After the ceremony, our Mating Rituals were scheduled for the same day, mine and Vivian's. A show of unity between the Blackwood brothers, or so the pack liked to say.

It had been the same in my previous life. History was repeating itself.

On the day of the ritual, Leander was nowhere to be seen. Thomas, of course, arrived early, looking sharp in a tailored suit. He took Vivian's hand and tucked her close to his side. Half the young she-wolves in the pack watched with envy, whispering about how lucky Vivian was.

Vivian paused as she passed me, chin tilted up, her voice dripping with smugness. "Mia, where's your mate? Can't even bother to show up for his own Mating Ritual? Guess you're not exactly a priority."

I looked up at her and smiled, unbothered. "I appreciate the concern, Vivian, but I can handle my own business. Maybe worry about your own mate instead."

That shut her up. Her face went pale with rage, and her thoughts turned venomous. Yeah, keep smiling. When Leander tosses you aside and the pack turns its back on you, we'll see how long that smile lasts.

She didn't say another word. She just looped her arm through Thomas's and strolled into the ceremony hall like she'd already won.

The pack members around me noticed I was standing alone, and the whispers started almost immediately. I could feel their stares crawling over me, and I didn't need to read their minds to know what they were saying. "The Alpha's second daughter, paired with the coldest heir in the Bluemoon Pack. She'll never survive."

Vivian stood in the center of the hall, watching me from across the room. The smirk on her face said everything.

Then she rose on her tiptoes and kissed Thomas right on the lips. When she pulled back, she turned to lock eyes with me, and the challenge in her eyes couldn't have been more obvious.

She thought she'd won the opening move. She had no idea this was just the beginning of her downfall.