After My Rebirth, I Gave My Mate to My Stepsister

The night before the ceremony, I lay in bed staring at the ceiling, counting down the hours until my freedom. Tomorrow, everything would change. The acceptance letter from Crescent Ridge had arrived that afternoon—full scholarship, early admission, everything I'd dreamed of. I'd hidden it in my jewelry box like a secret treasure, a golden ticket to a life that was finally mine.

A soft knock at my door made me sit up. "Ivy?" Maren's voice was barely a whisper. "Are you awake?"

I didn't answer, but she pushed the door open anyway, her silhouette framed by the hallway light. She wore a white silk nightgown that made her look ethereal, angelic. Her honey-blonde hair fell in soft waves around her shoulders.

"I can't sleep," she said, stepping into my room without invitation. "Tomorrow feels so... final."

Final. If only she knew.

"It's just a ceremony, Maren." I kept my voice neutral, watching her fidget with the hem of her nightgown. "Nothing that hasn't been decided already."

She moved to my window, gazing out at the moonlit garden below. "Do you ever wonder what would have happened if things were different? If I had... if Axel had chosen me instead?"

The question hung in the air like a blade. In my previous life, I would have reassured her, told her that fate had brought us all to where we belonged. Now, I just felt tired.

"He did choose you," I said quietly. "Every day, he chooses you."

Maren turned, her eyes wide with something that might have been surprise or guilt. "Ivy, I—"

But whatever she was going to say was interrupted by the sound of footsteps in the hallway. Heavy, familiar steps that belonged to only one person.

Axel appeared in my doorway, his hair mussed from sleep, wearing only pajama pants. His eyes immediately found Maren, and I watched his expression soften in that way that used to make my heart ache.

"Maren? What are you doing here?" His voice was gentle, concerned. "It's past midnight."

"I couldn't sleep," she repeated, and suddenly there were tears glistening in her eyes. "Axel, tomorrow's ceremony... should I really be there? Watching you and my sister stand together, making vows..." Her voice broke on the last word. "My heart hurts so much."

Without hesitation, Axel crossed the room and pulled her into his arms. "Hey, hey, it's okay," he murmured, stroking her hair. "Don't cry, Maren. You're the most important person in my life. Nothing will ever change that."

I sat there in my own bed, in my own room, watching my fiancé comfort another woman with promises he'd never made to me. The scene was so familiar it felt like déjà vu—or perhaps just the echo of a thousand similar moments from my previous life.

But this time, I didn't feel the crushing weight of jealousy or the desperate need to compete for his attention. This time, I felt nothing but a strange, detached curiosity. How had I ever thought this was love?

"I should go," Maren whispered against Axel's chest, but she made no move to pull away.

"Stay," he said softly. "Just until you feel better."

They settled onto the small loveseat by my window, Maren curled against Axel's side like a broken bird seeking shelter. Neither of them seemed to remember I was still in the room.

I lay back down and closed my eyes, listening to their whispered conversation—reassurances, gentle touches, the kind of intimate comfort that should have belonged to me. In a few hours, the sun would rise on the day that was supposed to make me Luna. Instead, it would be the day I finally set myself free.

---

The morning of the ceremony dawned crisp and clear, autumn sunlight streaming through the tall windows of the Wren family estate. The main hall had been transformed into something from a fairy tale—white roses and gold ribbons everywhere, crystal chandeliers casting rainbow prisms across the polished marble floors.

Guests began arriving early, their expensive cars forming a parade up the circular drive. Pack elders, neighboring Alpha families, business associates—everyone who mattered in our world was here to witness what they thought would be my coronation as Luna.

I stood in front of my bedroom mirror, adjusting the formal white dress Cordelia had chosen for me. It was beautiful—flowing silk with intricate beadwork that caught the light. The perfect dress for the perfect Luna-to-be.

Except I wasn't going to be Luna. Not today, not ever.

A knock at my door interrupted my thoughts. "Ivy, dear, it's time," Cordelia's voice called. "The guests are seated."

I took one last look at myself in the mirror, then picked up the small jewelry box from my dresser. Inside, nestled next to my acceptance letter, was a simple silver locket—the only thing I had left of my real parents. I fastened it around my neck, a talisman for the new life I was about to claim.

The main hall fell silent as I descended the grand staircase. Hundreds of eyes tracked my movement, but I kept my gaze fixed straight ahead. At the front of the room, Axel waited in a perfectly tailored black suit, looking every inch the Alpha he was destined to become.

Maren sat in the front row, wearing a soft blue dress that made her look like a spring sky. She gave me an encouraging smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

The pack registrar, an elderly man with silver hair and kind eyes, stepped forward with an ornate leather folder. "Ladies and gentlemen, we gather today to witness the formal bonding ceremony between Alpha Axel Wren and his chosen mate."

He opened the folder and began to read from the official documents. "According to the binding contract filed with the Silvercliff Pack registry, the union to be recognized today is between Alpha Axel Wren and..."

The registrar's voice faltered. He looked down at the papers, confusion creasing his weathered features. "I'm sorry, there seems to be some confusion. The name listed here is... Maren Thorne."

A collective gasp rippled through the crowd. Cordelia's face went white, then flushed deep red. "What did you say?"

"The contract clearly states Maren Thorne as the intended mate," the registrar repeated, his voice growing stronger. "Signed and sealed by both parties."

Axel's head snapped toward me, his eyes wide with shock and something that might have been betrayal. "Ivy... what did you do?"

I felt the weight of every gaze in the room, but I kept my voice steady and calm. "I gave you what you've always wanted, Axel. I gave you her."

The silence that followed was deafening. Then Cordelia's voice cut through the air like a whip. "This is impossible. There must be some mistake—"

Her words were drowned out by the sudden wail of sirens—the pack's emergency alert system. The sound was ear-splitting, urgent, designed to penetrate every corner of the territory.

Then came the howls. Wild, savage, nothing like the controlled communication of pack wolves. These were the voices of rogues—wolves who'd abandoned civilization, who lived only for violence and chaos.

The massive windows at the back of the hall exploded inward in a shower of glass and splintered wood. Gray shapes poured through the openings—enormous wolves with matted fur and wild eyes, their lips pulled back to reveal yellowed fangs.

Panic erupted. Guests screamed and scattered, formal wear and dignity forgotten in the face of primal terror. The elderly registrar dropped his folder and ran, official documents scattering across the marble floor.

In the chaos, I saw one of the rogues—massive, scarred, with eyes like burning coals—launch itself directly at Maren. She sat frozen in her chair, her face white with terror.

Axel moved without thinking, his Alpha instincts overriding everything else. He threw himself forward, tackling Maren and sending them both tumbling to the floor just as the rogue's claws raked through the air where she'd been sitting.

But the wolf's momentum carried it forward, and its claws—meant for Maren—found a different target.

The pain was immediate and overwhelming, like fire racing across my back. I felt myself falling, the world tilting sideways as warmth spread across my dress. The marble floor rushed up to meet me, cold and unforgiving.

Through the haze of pain and shock, I could hear Axel's voice, desperate and frantic. "Maren, are you hurt? Are you okay? Talk to me!"

I tried to speak, to tell him I was the one bleeding, but no sound came out. My vision blurred, darkness creeping in from the edges.

Then, cutting through the chaos and pain, I heard something impossible. A voice in my mind, deep and rich like aged whiskey, carrying the scent of pine forests and summer rain.

"Found you, my true mate."

The voice wrapped around me like a warm embrace, and for the first time in two lifetimes, I felt truly safe. As consciousness slipped away, I held onto that voice, that promise, that hope.

Somewhere in the darkness, my real life was finally about to begin.