The Duke's Daughter's Revenge I Gave Up the Crown Prince and Won Everything

On my deathbed, as the slow poison ate through my veins and my wolf lay silent and still inside me, the Alpha Heir himself rode to the Silverpeak Mountains to gather snow lotus for the remedy that would save my life.

The whole realm praised Alpha Heir Aldric Valdris for his devotion to me.

Yet this devoted prince was, at that very moment, in the side hall with my elder sister, debating whether they should hold their mating ceremony during the mourning period after my death or wait a full moon cycle for the scandal to die down before she moved into the Heir's Den.

Augusta's voice trembled, soft and frightened: "If anyone finds out we swapped the snow lotus with wolfsbane-laced spirit-mallow blossoms to kill her, I'm ruined."

"And now I'm carrying your pup. What we've done to Seraphina Ashvane... it isn't right."

The Alpha Heir kissed her. "Don't be afraid. If anyone's to blame, it's her. She's the one who shot the Ivory Spirit Fox at the Mate Selection Hunt. That kill was meant to be yours."

"She was nothing but a thief who stole your place as Luna."

When I opened my eyes again, I had been reborn, back at the Mate Selection Hunt. I shifted the aim of my arrow.

……

High Alpha Hadrian Valdris's decree still echoed in my ears: "Whichever she-wolf brings down the Ivory Spirit Fox today shall become the Alpha Heir's Luna."

The white fox stood just ahead, beside a great tree deep in the forest. Its fur shimmered faintly, touched by something older than moonlight. One arrow was all it would take. With my aim, I would not miss. The title of Luna would be mine for the claiming.

But the memory of that bone-deep, soul-shredding agony from my past life made me clench my teeth. The phantom taste of wolfsbane still burned at the back of my throat, and deep within me, my wolf stirred with a low, warning growl. In this life, I would never let myself become the Alpha Heir's Luna again.

I knew Augusta was close behind me. In my previous life, I had shot the fox first and claimed the title, and that was what set everything in motion. That was why she and the Alpha Heir had conspired to poison me.

They had despised me for it. Because I shot the Ivory Spirit Fox, Augusta could never mate into the Heir's Den. So when I fell gravely ill, they switched my remedy and let me die choking on bitterness and regret.

What if, this time, I let her become the Luna instead?

But Augusta was petty to her core. The hatred from a past life's poisoning was not something I could simply forgive and forget.

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of a rider galloping toward me at full speed. Augusta Ashvane, right on my heels, just as she had been before.

I pretended not to notice and let out a startled cry. "The fox!"

Then I tilted my arrow just slightly and sent it sailing past the fox, into the tree trunk behind it.

"Out of the way!" A sharp shout made me dodge aside. Two feathered arrows streaked toward the Ivory Spirit Fox. One struck it dead center. The other went wide and lodged in the hind leg of a rabbit nearby.

I let out a sigh of feigned disappointment. "How did I miss?"

The riders trailing behind us broke into cheers. "Magnificent shot!"

A sentry leapt from his horse and retrieved the fox. He examined the arrow's fletching. The sigil etched into it bore the Ashvane crest.

"A young she-wolf of the Ironhold Pack has felled the Ivory Spirit Fox!"

His voice carried through the trees and echoed across the hunting grounds beyond.

Augusta sat tall in her riding leathers atop her horse, looking down at me with triumph blazing in her eyes. "Little sister, I'm so sorry. The Luna title is mine." She wheeled her horse around and rode off, radiating satisfaction.

Out on the hunting grounds, Luna Supreme Lenora Valdris examined the white fox presented before her, her face alight with pleasure. The scent of red amber and dried rose petals drifted from her as she leaned forward. "As expected of a daughter from the Ironhold Pack. Superb horsemanship, flawless aim, a killing blow straight through the eye without so much as a scratch on the pelt."

Then she turned to me with a warm smile, extending her hand. "Seraphina, come here, dear. You've taken the Ivory Spirit Fox. I shall issue the decree myself and proclaim you Luna-designate before all the realm."

Below the platform, the Alpha Heir watched me with a face carved from ice, and Augusta stood at his side, preening.

The moment the Luna Supreme's words left her lips, every she-wolf in attendance turned to me with envy in their eyes. Augusta's gaze went red at the rims.

I looked at the Alpha Heir's expression, growing darker by the second. Then I stepped forward and sank gracefully to my knees. "Your Eminence, I must confess. The Ivory Spirit Fox was not my kill. It was felled by my elder sister, Augusta Ashvane."

"I would not dare claim credit that is not mine. I beg Your Eminence to see the truth."

"The title of Luna rightfully belongs to my elder sister, Augusta. I would never presume to take what is hers."