The moment I saw her, my world stopped, and my tears dropped. Immediately.
She stood on the front steps of our old packhouse—my daughter. Mira.
Eight years old now, much taller than I remembered, her wild dark curls tied back in a neat ponytail. So cute, so precious, my whole heart softened. She had my eyes. Damon’s mouth. Her legs were too thin for a child her age, and she was barefoot. But she was alive, breathing, real.
My legs moved before I could think. I dropped my prison-issued bag onto the pavement, heart thundering against my ribs. “Mira!” I called out, my voice catching on the name I’d whispered to myself every night in that cold cell.
Her head jerked up. Our eyes met.
For a split second, she stared at me. My heart leapt with hope.
But then she screamed.
“NO! Daddy—Daddy!! HELP!!”
I froze in my tracks, hands halfway to reaching her.
What...?
The door burst open. A man whose scent I couldn’t feel more familiar stepped out.
Damon, my mate, my Alpha.
I hadn’t seen him in five years, but I’d know that face in a dream. Broad-shouldered, jaw clenched, golden Alpha eyes scanning me with something colder than hatred—indifference.
But before I got to greet him, I froze. Because he wasn’t alone.
A woman followed behind him. Tall. Slim. Effortlessly elegant. Her dark hair fell in waves, and in her arms she cradled a toddler. Beside Damon stood a boy about Mira’s age, clutching his father’s hand like it belonged to him.
Like... they were a family.
My breath caught in my throat. My knees nearly gave out.
“Damon…” My voice was a whisper. “What...what is this?”
His expression didn’t change. “Who are you?” he said flatly, pulling Mira behind him.
“Are you… Kidding?” I took a step forward. “It’s me. Serena. Your mate. Mira’s mother.”
The woman slid her arm around his waist, eyes glittering. “I think you’ve made a mistake,” she said with a pitying smile. “This is our home. You should leave.”
"No!" I turned to Mira again, panic rising. “Sweetheart, look at me. It’s Mommy. Remember? Your third birthday—your stuffed wolf, the pink cake with the strawberries? You used to sleep with your feet on my stomach.”
“I don’t know you!” Mira screamed, clinging to Damon.
“Damon,” I begged, “what have you told her?”
He stepped forward, voice steel. “You’re a psychopath. My daughter’s afraid. If you don’t walk away right now, I will call the enforcers.”
“She’s my daughter!” I shouted. “You said you’d wait! You promised I’d always be your Luna! Your daughter’s mother! You swore!”
Stillness. His gaze didn’t even flicker. “I don’t know you. My Luna’s name is Lilith. You’ve mistaken me for someone else.”
I snapped.
I shoved past him, reaching for Mira. “Mira, look at me, look at Mama! It’s me, I bought you a—”
Then I was flying.
Damon moved too fast to see, his Alpha strength slamming into me with a single blow to the shoulder.
My back hit the stone steps, then my head. A sickening crack echoed in my skull.
The sky fractured. Mira’s crying blurred into white noise. I saw her face—distorted by tears—as she was pulled inside by the strange woman.
I reached out, blood warm on my fingers. “Damon…” I whispered. “Why...?”
Darkness took me.
-
A violent jolt snapped me back to consciousness. My head throbbed, my vision swimming as I tried to orient myself.
Metal walls. The rattle of chains. The stench of silver and wolfsbane.
"Transport 12 arriving at Lycan Court," a gruff voice announced. "Wake up, prisoner. We're here."
I blinked, disoriented. A prison transport? But I'd just been released. I'd just seen Damon, seen Mira...
The officer's face came into focus as he leaned down to check my restraints. "On your feet. The Council is waiting."
"I don't understand," I whispered, my voice hoarse. "I served my sentence. Five years..."
The officer frowned. "What are you talking about? Your trial hasn't even started yet."
My heart stopped. Trial? But that would mean...
I looked down at my hands, at the silver shackles that bound them. The same shackles I'd worn when I first confessed to Damon's crimes. When I'd first been taken away.
Five years ago.
The world spun around me as impossible realization dawned. Somehow, I had gone back. Back to the beginning. Back before everything fell apart.
Back before Damon betrayed me.
