The Wedding Reset

Valerie’s POV

“Wake up, child.”

The voice didn’t just reach my ears; it vibrated through the very core of my soul.

I groaned, my eyelids feeling like they were weighted down with lead. When I finally managed to crack them open, a flash of white—so pure it was blinding—slammed into my retinas. I winced, shutting them again as the agony of my final moments rushed back. The silver dagger. The cold cave floor. The smell of my own blood mixing with the damp earth. The crushing weight of betrayal as Declan and Lydia left me to rot.

It should have been over. The darkness should have been absolute.

“Finally, you are awake.”

I forced my eyes open once more, blinking rapidly until the radiance softened. This wasn’t a cave. This wasn’t death. I was sitting—or floating, I couldn't tell—in a realm of infinite, shimmering light. Standing before me was a woman whose beauty defied every law of nature. Her skin glowed with a soft, lunar luminescence, and her eyes were two perfect orbs of liquid silver, devoid of pupils but overflowing with ancient wisdom.

“Moon Goddess,” I whispered. My voice sounded hollow, like a bell ringing in a vacuum.

I tried to stand, but my legs felt like water, and I collapsed into a bow. My heart hammered against my ribs—a frantic, rhythmic reminder that I was, somehow, still sentient. I remembered the rogue attack. I remembered the screaming. I remembered the way my father’s life had been extinguished like a candle in a gale. Why was I here?

“Oh, child, don’t cry,” she said. Her voice was a soothing balm, a melody that settled the storm of grief inside me. She reached out, her fingers stroking my hair with a mother’s tenderness. “It is going to be fine now. Your journey was not meant to end in that darkness.”

I looked up, tears blurring my vision. “I failed everyone. My father… my pack… myself. Why am I in your presence?”

“Because of a wish,” she replied softly. She opened her palm, and a familiar object materialized in the air between us. It was the moon dagger—the heirloom my father had pressed into my hands before the world fell apart. It pulsed with a steady, rhythmic light, matching the beat of my heart. “This blade saved you. The true owner of this dagger is someone very special to me, and he has permitted this. He allowed me to grant your final plea.”

I tilted my head, my mind racing. “My father? He gave it to me…”

The Moon Goddess shook her head, a cryptic smile playing on her lips. “You will meet him in this lifetime. Do not worry about the who, Valerie. Worry about the when.”

“A second chance?” I breathed, the words feeling like a prayer. “You’re sending me back?”

“To correct your mistakes. To right the wrongs that led to your ruin. In this lifetime, I hope you break the curse that has haunted your line.” She leaned forward, her silver eyes locking onto mine with an intensity that made my skin prickle. “Use your knowledge wisely. Do not let the shadows claim you again.”

She reached out, her index finger pressing against the center of my forehead.

The world didn't just fade; it shattered.

A violent wave of dizziness crashed over me, pulling me down into a vortex of colors and sounds. My lungs burned as if I were drowning, and then, just as suddenly as the sensation began, I felt the world solidify beneath me.

“Valerie? Love, are you alright?”

The voice was like a bucket of ice water to my soul. I knew that voice. I hated that voice.

I opened my eyes and found myself staring directly into the face of Declan. He looked younger, his features devoid of the cruel sneer he’d worn in the cave. He was dressed in a pristine, tailored black suit, his hand resting on mine, stroking my knuckles with a gentleness that made my skin crawl.

The revulsion was immediate. It wasn't just a feeling; it was a physical sickness that boiled up from my gut.

I didn't think. I reacted.

I swatted his hand away with a violent jerk, my body recoiling as if I’d been touched by a viper. “Don’t you dare touch me!” I hissed.

The words cut through the air like a blade. Around us, the muffled conversations of the room died instantly. Startled gasps rippled through the air, but I didn't care. I was too busy staring at the man I had once thought I loved—the man who had orchestrated my death.

“Valerie—?” Declan’s expression was a mask of confusion and wounded pride. He reached for me again, his voice lowering to a soothing tone that made me want to scream. “You’re just nervous. It’s the big day.”

I ignored him, my head spinning as I looked around.

The realization hit me like a physical blow to the chest. The high ceilings, the floral arrangements of white lilies and roses, the rows of seated guests in their finest attire… I was in the Great Hall of the Pyreclaw Pack.

I was at my wedding.

My gaze drifted to the front row, and my heart nearly stopped. My father was there. He was sitting in the Alpha’s chair, his face full of life, his eyes watching me with a mixture of concern and pride. By his side were his Beta and Gamma—men I had watched die in a pool of their own blood during the rogue attack that should have happened a year from now.

I felt a sob rise in my throat. I wanted to scream his name, to run to him and bury my face in his chest, to tell him everything.

“Miss, are you unwell? Do you need some water?”

I stiffened, turning toward the voice beside me. It was Selina. She was wearing a blue silk dress that matched the color of her eyes—eyes that were clear and bright, not glazed and lifeless like the last time I’d seen her.

The meeting with the Moon Goddess hadn’t been a dream. I was back. I was three years in the past, standing at the very moment I had sealed my fate by tying myself to a traitor.

A sudden, agonizing heat flared in my left wrist. It felt like a branding iron was being pressed into my flesh. I gasped, clutching my arm as I pulled back the lace sleeve of my white gown. There, etched into my skin in shimmering black ink, was a tattoo of a dagger—the exact likeness of the moon dagger.

As the ink settled, I heard a sound that echoed only in the chambers of my mind. *Clang.*

It was the sound of heavy iron chains snapping. One by one, the invisible shackles that had suppressed my power and my spirit for years were falling away. A surge of warmth, primal and ancient, flooded my veins. My wolf—the part of me that had been silenced and broken in my previous life—wasn't just awake. She was roaring.

“It must be because Valerie is shy,” a sugary, melodic voice joked.

I turned my head slowly toward Lydia. My 'best friend.' She was standing just behind me, dressed as my maid of honor. She was laughing, playing the part of the supportive sister to perfection, but I could see it now—the flicker of disdain in her eyes, the way her smile didn't quite reach her gaze. She was already plotting. She was probably already sleeping with the man standing at my side.

“Valerie, darling,” Lydia whispered, leaning in close so only I could hear. Her breath smelled of mint and lies. “You’re making a scene. You need to say your vows. Everyone is waiting.”

Vows? She wanted me to pledge my life to a murderer?

I looked at Declan. He was forcing a smile, but I could see the irritation simmering beneath the surface. He thought he had me. He thought I was the same weak, infatuated girl who would do anything for his approval.

I turned away from him and looked directly at the priest. He was holding the ancient book of the Pack, his eyes wide as he waited for me to finish the ceremony.

“Go on, Priest,” Declan urged, his voice tight.

The priest cleared his throat, his deep voice echoing through the silent hall. “By the power bestowed upon me by the Moon Goddess, do you, Valerie, take this man to be your—”

“No way!”

The interruption was like a thunderclap. The priest froze, his mouth hanging open. The guests began to whisper, a low hum of shock filling the room.

“Valerie, what are you doing?” Declan hissed, grabbing my arm. His grip was tight, his fingers digging into my skin.

I looked down at his hand, then up at his face. The hatred I felt was so pure, so incandescent, that it felt like it could set the room on fire.

“I said, no way in hell,” I repeated, my voice loud and clear, carrying to the very back of the hall. I pointed a finger directly at his chest. “No way in hell am I marrying you.”

“Father!” I called out, turning toward the Alpha’s chair.

My father stood up, his hand covering his mouth, his eyes wide. “Ah— yes, Princess? What is the meaning of this?”

“I have come to my senses,” I said, my chin lifting with a royal grace I hadn't possessed in years. “I realized that I am the daughter of the Alpha, and I refuse to marry someone so far below my status. This man is not worthy of my hand, nor is he worthy of leading this pack by my side. The wedding is officially canceled.”

The silence that followed was absolute. Then, the hall erupted.

Declan’s face contorted, his mask of the charming suitor shattering to reveal the monster beneath. He lunged for me, his eyes blazing with a dark, feral fury. He grabbed my shoulder, his voice a low growl of pure rage. “How dare you speak to me like that? How dare you humiliate me in front of—”

*Clang!*

The final chain inside me snapped.

And then, a voice—deep, predatory, and entirely unfamiliar—echoed through my mind.

*He is here.*

I froze. It wasn't my wolf's voice. It was something else. Something older.

In an instant, the temperature in the room plummeted. The scent of the heavy floral arrangements was wiped away, replaced by an intoxicating, magnetic aroma. It smelled of rain on stone, of deep forests, and of a power so ancient it made the air vibrate.

“Hands off.”

The voice didn't come from the mind. It came from the entrance of the hall. It was a low, velvet growl that carried the weight of a thousand storms. My knees went weak just from the sound of it.

Before Declan could even blink, a blur of motion crossed the room. In a flash of silver and shadow, Declan’s grip on my arm was violently ripped away. He was thrown back several feet, crashing into the altar with a sickening thud.

A man stood between us.

The entire hall collectively held its breath. I stared at the back of the stranger, my heart hammering a frantic rhythm against my ribs. He was massive—a wall of solid muscle and raw power. He wore a dark, formal coat that couldn't hide the breadth of his shoulders.

He turned slightly, and I forgot how to breathe.

His hair was the color of moonlight, a stark, brilliant silver that fell over his forehead. His skin was pale, his jawline so sharp it looked carved from marble. But it was his eyes that caught me—piercing silver orbs that seemed to see through my skin and into the very marrow of my bones. Intricate tattoos snaked up his neck, disappearning into his hairline, marking him with symbols of a rank I couldn't even name.

The power radiating from him was primal. It was the scent of a king. Not just an Alpha—a King.

The stranger stepped toward me, and I found myself moving forward instinctively, drawn to him by a force stronger than gravity. The magnetic pull was so intense it felt like a physical wire was connecting our hearts.

He reached out, his large, calloused hand cupping my cheek. His touch was electric, sending sparks of heat through my entire body.

“Mate?” he growled lowly. It wasn't a question; it was a realization that shook the foundations of the room.

I took a sharp breath, my eyes fluttering as I fought the urge to melt into him. I didn't know who he was. I didn't know why he was here. But my soul knew him.

He pulled me against his hard chest, his other hand sliding around my waist to hold me firm. He closed his eyes for a fraction of a second, and when they opened, the silver had bled into a pure, blinding white—the same color as the Moon Goddess’s eyes.

“Mine,” he declared, his voice vibrating through my chest.

Inside my head, the intruder—the dark, powerful essence that had arrived with him—purred with a terrifying, primal satisfaction.

*Yours.*

I looked up into the silver eyes of the man who had just ruined my wedding and saved my life, and for the first time since my death, I felt a spark of something more dangerous than revenge.

I felt destiny.