Rebirth Of The Alpha Queen: It's Payback Time!

The air had a faint smell of blood. Every breath drained my lungs. I lay across the floor, my cheeks pressed, my legs twisted at angles that brought back painful memories. Once, they had carried me into hunts, into the training yard, into the life I thought belonged to me by my birthright. Now, they have deprived me of the ability to walk or stand.

The pain was sharp, but the silence inside me was worse. My wolf that was my strength, my shadow, was locked somewhere I could not reach. Without her, I felt hollow, like a vessel discarded after it had served its use.

Torchlight flickered across the dungeon walls, shadows stretching thin, then snapping back. For a moment I thought they shifted, mocking me in whispers I couldn't quite catch. Perhaps they were right to laugh.

Because she was here.

Lilith. My stepsister. My traitor.

She was dressed elegantly as if she had dressed for a ball, not a dungeon. Every step she took was deliberate and cruel. Her smile that was once soft and that had fooled me into thinking she loved me, was strange and dangerous now.

I told myself not to look for him, but my eyes still darted to the corners, still searched for Adrian. Fool that I was, I hoped he might come. He never did.

"Look at you," Lilith said. Her voice was smooth as if she were reciting a toast. "Crawling where you always belonged."

The click of her heels echoed until she crouched before me. Close enough that I saw the gleam of triumph in her gaze. She wanted to see fear and pain in my eyes. But all she saw was my disgust for her.

"You wore the crown so well like it was always meant to be yours," she murmured. "You alone were father's heir. Crush of the cutest guy in the pack and Adrian's wife. But where are they now? Hahaha!"

Her laughter echoed through the dungeon, loud and foolish.

My nails dug harshly into my palms. My voice came out ragged but steady: "You twisted them."

Her laugh softened, almost pitying. "Oh, Selene. When will you ever tell the truth? Always lying."

She gestured, and I turned before I could stop myself. My body betrayed me.

He was there. My father. Bound to a narrow bed, wrists tied, eyes dim as dying coals. The man who had once commanded a room with a glance now looked small, as if the air itself had shrunk him. His lips cracked open.

"My sweet Lilith," he whispered.

The sound tore something from me. I crawled forward, every movement a tremor. "Father...it's me. Selene."

But his gaze never wavered. He looked at her the way a starving man looks at food.

Lilith leaned close to my ear, her breath warm, words colder than ice. "Do you understand now? You were never chosen."

My eyes burned with tears I refused to let fall. "You'll lose, Lilith. You think you've won, but you won't....."

A hard slap landed on my left cheek before I could finish, releasing the tears I had held back. My head snapped to the side, my left cheek blazing hot.

"B*tch."

She said, flat and certain.

She recited my failures to add salt to my wounds: Adrian, Father, even my wolf. Each word landed heavy, not because they were true, but because I saw how deeply she believed them.

The dungeon door suddenly slammed open.

"Selene!"

Damian's voice filled the chamber, raw and ragged. He was at my side in seconds, hauling me up as though I wasn't broken. His arms were solid, his grip steady. He made me feel, for the first time in forever, like I wasn't lost.

"Hold on," he said, his voice catching. "I'll get you out. I will end this."

Lilith smiled, not with joy, but with the slow curl of something venomous.

Then Damian shuddered. His strength faltered, poisoned by a force I couldn't see. His arms tightened even as his body betrayed him.

"No," I whispered, terror clawing up my throat. "Not him too."

Yet even trembling, he drew me closer, his breath hot against my hair. "I won't let her take you. Not while I live."

And something shifted inside me. For a heartbeat, I saw her, my wolf. Covered in blood, chained, but not gone. Still breathing. Was she still mine?

Hope flickered, dangerous and fragile.

Damian pressed his lips to my forehead. His voice was steady now, though I felt the tremor in him. "Forgive me."

Forgive him? For what? I was confused.

The world fell into darkness.

I had no strength left to fight, but I had enough for one promise.

If life gave me another chance, I would rise. I would reclaim everything she had stolen. And I would burn Lilith's kingdom to the ground without mercy.

I jolted upright, the sheets twisted so tight around my legs they felt like restraints. My chest heaved against the humid air.

The first thing I saw was sunlight. Golden, warm, streaming through my bedroom window. I was in my room. I could see my posters, my desk packed with schoolbooks. Everything exactly as it had been years ago.

My trembling hand brushed across the calendar pinned to the wall.

July. Senior year summer vacation.

The day of the accident.

For a moment, I couldn't breathe. The memories of my past life pressed down on me like a coffin lid.

Lilith's smile as she handed me that drink. The sudden dizziness on the stairwell. Mira Cross's casual and timed shove. The snap of pain in my back.

The wheelchair. The whispers that clung to me like cobwebs. The birthday party where my wolf never came, and the pack laughed until I wanted to vanish.

The gasps when Lilith, glowing like some goddess, summoned an Alpha wolf that bowed to her will.

The day I was erased from the world.

My stomach knotted, panic rising in my throat. Tears blurred my vision, but I forced them back. I had cried enough.

This time would be different.

I pressed a hand over my chest, where my sealed wolf still slept. "I won't let it happen again. Not the accident. Not Father's death. Not Damian's poison. I'll take everything back, Lilith. You have my word."

The vow pressed against my ribs, restless and sharp, like claws dragging along bone.

---

By dusk, Lilith arrived at my door. Her sweet voice, her perfect smile.

"Selene! Let's go out tonight. Let's celebrate the last days of summer. There's a new bar everyone's talking about."

My pulse spiked, but I forced my lips into a soft smile. "Sure."

Her eyes glittered. She thought I was still the naïve stepsister who would trail after her willingly. She didn't notice the way my fingers clenched at my sides.

Mira Cross trailed behind her, all glossed lips and false laughter. The perfect accomplice. The same girl who would push me down the stairs.

I followed them to the bar, the trap they had set for me.

But this time, I wasn't going to be the prey.

---

Music pulsed through the club, lights flashing in dizzy colors. Lilith leaned close, her perfume cloying, and handed me a crystal glass filled with amber liquid.

"Drink up, Selene. Let's party! One of those hot looking men might approach you at anytime. Don't be shy."

I saw it, the faint shimmer of wolfsbane swirling within, masked by whiskey. The same poison that had stolen my legs, my wolf and my future.

My hand found the condensation on the glass, cold against my skin. I raised it, matching her grin, though the taste in my mouth was all ash, and at the last second, I swapped the glasses.

The poisoned drink slid across the table, right into Mira's waiting hand. She laughed, oblivious, and downed it in one gulp.

I lifted my own glass to my lips, sipping just enough to keep the act alive. Bitter, smoky, but clean. No wolfsbane.

Lilith didn't notice. She was too busy basking in her own cleverness. Her eyes kept darting to Mira, quick flicks of triumph she thought I was too blind to catch.

When she reached for the empty glasses later, slipping them into her purse to destroy the evidence, I let her. She must be thinking her plan was flawless.

I gave a sly smile that was very brief. Payback is a b*tch.

---

The stairwell was crowded, just like before. Music muffled behind the door, footsteps echoing down the steps.

Mira wavered first. Sweat slicked her brow, her steps unsteady. The wolfsbane was sinking into her blood, muddling her senses.

I felt the moment, the exact heartbeat when she moved. The same shove she had given me last time, meant to send me tumbling into darkness.

I stepped aside.

Her momentum carried her forward. Her palm, outstretched for my back, slammed into Lilith's shoulder instead.

Lilith gasped as her body pitched forward. The world slowed, the way it had when it was me. Her heel slipped, her hands clawed the air, her scream cut short on the concrete below.

And then the loud thud as she landed hard at the bottom of the stairs.

Her cry of pain filled the air, sharp and raw.

People rushed towards her, voices panicked. "Call an ambulance!" "Her back...look at her back!"

I clutched the railing, feigning shock, eyes wide. But inside, satisfaction was sweet.

It was her this time. Not me.

---

Sirens wailed as paramedics lifted her onto a stretcher, her face pale and twisted with agony. Mira, too dizzy to help, clung to the wall with a stricken expression.

I slipped out quietly, unnoticed. On the sidewalk, the night air was cool against my heated skin.

For the first time since my rebirth, I let myself smile fully.

The weight shifted. And it wasn't on my shoulders anymore.

I remembered what came next in the old timeline: my birthday party, two months later. Me in a wheelchair, humiliated before the pack when I failed to shift. Lilith summoning her Alpha wolf, basking in glory.

Not this time.

This time, I would walk into that party strong. I would keep my aura sealed, let them underestimate me. And when the moment was right, I would turn all eyes on Lilith. Crippled, poisoned and faltering.

The memory of their chants and laughter still echoed in my skull. I would feed it back to them until Lilith drowned in it.

I breathed deep, savoring the night.

And then tires screeched.

A sleek black luxury car slid to the curb beside me, headlights flashing. The back door yanked open, and a hand shot out, gripping my wrist with unyielding strength.

Before I could shout, I was dragged inside.

The door slammed. The car lurched forward.

My breath snagged, and every muscle in me locked as I turned to the shadow across from me.

Then I froze.

The last person I expected to see.

The car's interior pressed in around me. It was cool, but not comforting, quiet in a way that made my skin prickle and my pulse hammer in my ears. The faint scent of cologne and polished metal lingered. My hands trembled slightly as I clenched them in my lap, forcing myself to breathe evenly.

Across from me, a tall figure sat motionless, broad-shouldered, exuding calm that felt almost predatory. He tilted his head slightly, deliberate in the way he studied me. Even under the dim streetlight filtering through the tinted windows, I could see the sharp line of his jaw, the eyes that seemed to weigh me, measure my every reaction.

"You're awake," he said.

The words settled over me like ice. That voice... I knew it. Somewhere, in some life long buried beneath years and memories, that voice had called me mate. Whispered promises I thought I'd never hear again.

My stomach twisted, and I froze. My wolf stirred faintly, restless, sensing him despite the seal on my power. Memory and instinct battled within me, sharp focus blooming in their place of fear.

"You..." My voice faltered, my breath catching in my throat, but my body refused the urge to flee.

The boy, no, the Lycan Prince leaned back casually, one hand resting on the leather seat as if he had all the time in the world.

"I suppose this isn't the best first impression," he said, his voice even but edged with humor I didn't feel.

His gaze drifted to the shadows outside, scanning the street beyond the car as if expecting something or someone to appear.

I forced my fists to unclench, pushing aside fear, pushing aside the pull of sentiment. Not this time. I would not let history repeat itself.

He was heir to the Lycan throne, dangerous, enigmatic, tangled in the kind of family war I had only glimpsed in visions from my past life. And now he had me trapped in a car that might as well have been a cage.

Escape was impossible. Resistance would only bring pain. I forced my expression into neutrality, taking in every detail. The faint scuff of the carpet under my shoes. The tiny fleck of light glinting off the knife tucked into the side console. His eyes, sharp and calculating, as if he could read my thoughts. For a heartbeat, I wondered if he could.

"Who are you?" I asked cautiously, letting my voice sound calm even as adrenaline set my heart racing.

"Who I am doesn't matter," he said evenly, his gaze unwavering. "What matters is that you're not safe outside."

"Safe from whom? Lilith?" I arched an eyebrow, my throat tight but my tone steady.

His lips curved briefly, a ghost of a smile. "Among others. You've drawn attention you don't understand."

I swallowed, tasting the metallic tang of fear that had been building. His calm carried danger. He wasn't bluffing.

Then, without warning, the quiet was replaced by gunshots, sharp, sudden, echoing against the buildings around us. My heart leapt into my throat. Damian's frown deepened, his body tensing.

"Assassins," he murmured, fingers brushing the door handle before stopping. The tension in his muscles told me he wanted to move, wanted to fight. But he hesitated, as if weighing the odds against something I couldn't see.

I noticed the subtle tremor in his hands. The boy I had once known, the one who had smiled so easily, laughed so freely... was human after all. Despite the aura of power, despite the title, despite the bloodline, he feared just like the rest of us.

I could have shouted. Could have tried to run, though the car was a cage and there was nowhere to go. But something held me steady. Something told me I was not helpless.

"You'll make it through," I said quietly, my words almost lost in the echo of gunfire, but they came out before I could second-guess them. His eyes widened, disbelief flashing across his face.

"You... how do you know?" he asked, voice tight.

"I know enough," I said. "You've always found a way. You'll do it again."

For a moment, the car held its silence. Outside, tires screeched on asphalt, shadows darted across the street. But inside, the air had shifted. He studied me, searching for lies, and found none.

Then came the scream. High, piercing, unmistakable. Lilith. The sound cut through my chest, sparked something long dormant in my wolf, made my pulse spike with hunger and rage.

Damian moved toward the door instinctively. I pressed my hand over his, stopping him. "No," I said, firm, grounding him. "Let me handle this."

His intense eyes met mine. "You're sure?"

"I know her," I replied simply. The memory of her cruelty, her smiles that didn't reach her eyes, the way she thrived on fear and pain, it all surged back, sharp and vivid. My wolf roared beneath my skin. Vengeance flared.

The car jerked to a stop. The door opened, and she stepped inside. Pale, sharp-eyed, unmistakable malice dripping from every movement. Lilith.

The air grew thick, heavy with tension and the scent of blood that wasn't yet spilled. My senses sharpened, every muscle taut, every nerve alive. My wolf surged, sensing danger and weakness.

Damian's hand covered mine, steady and grounding. His presence anchored me, but it didn't diminish the heat of anticipation rising inside me. I lifted my gaze to Lilith. "Not this time," I said quietly, deliberately.

"Good," Damian said, jaw tight, eyes never leaving hers. "Because I won't let her win. And neither will you."

Lilith's smile was sharp, predatory. She circled the car like a wolf, eyes flicking to me, then to Damian. "You think you've changed the rules?" she hissed. "You think you can escape me?"

My wolf growled low in my chest, and I matched her tone, calm and dangerous. "I don't escape. I hunt."

The tension crackled, electric, as the night outside simmered with unseen threats. But inside, the car had become a battlefield, a crucible where instincts sharpened and strategy mattered more than brute strength.

Lilith lunged, swift and calculating. I didn't flinch. Every motion was a reflection of memory, of instinct, of past mistakes I refused to repeat. My hands met hers midair; fingers locked, strength tested. She struggled, but I held my ground, muscles taut and ready.

Damian moved beside me, fluid, protective without overwhelming. Together, we became a single unit, a blend of human and beast, strategy and instinct. Every breath, every heartbeat, synced in tense rhythm.

"You're stronger than I remember," Lilith spat, fury lacing her words. Her eyes darted, searching for weakness, but found none. My wolf snarled, circling, every instinct screaming at me to strike.

But I waited. Patience was the key. I had learned in my previous life that haste brought downfall. And this time, I would not fall.

The car rocked as another vehicle skidded to a stop outside, gunfire crackling like fire in the night. The threat was real, immediate. Lilith's mask of confidence faltered, if only slightly. I pressed forward, voice low and steady.

"This ends now," I said, and it wasn't a threat. It was a promise.

Damian's hand tightened over mine, grounding, steadying. "Together," he said. And in that single word, the bond we had forged in the crucible of danger became unbreakable.

Lilith hissed, backing towards the door. Her fury was palpable, but so was fear. She had underestimated me once. Not again.

The car's interior, once a cage, had become an arena. Every sense was heightened: the metallic scent of blood in the distance, the tremor of tires on asphalt, the rapid cadence of our hearts. Every motion, deliberate. Every glance, strategic.

And in that crucible of danger, I realized something fundamental. I was no longer the prey. No longer the frightened girl trapped by fate, by history, by a cycle of violence I could not control.

I was the predator. And Lilith... she would definitely be the prey.