Reborn The Alpha's Downfall

I am Sarah Miller, Luna of the Ridge Pack. I was reborn to the moment before all the tragedies began. In my past life, my Alpha husband, Ethan Brooks, and his mistress, Lydia Hayes, slaughtered my entire family. My father's gruesome death, the humiliation of my daughter, my own agonizing demise—every horrific memory was etched into my soul. I used to believe he loved me. I believed the Moon Goddess made us fated mates. Until he destroyed everything we had for that woman. Given a second chance by the Moon Goddess, I brought back an ancient power. And I was going to make him pay. "Ethan, does Sarah know you came with me to try on wedding dresses? Isn't her mother's funeral today..." Lydia's voice was dripping with fake guilt. Ethan quickly reassured her, "It's fine. Sam is gone. Whatever he owed you, I'll make up for it. He was my brother! Don't worry, Sarah understands. Besides, it's just her mother. My presence doesn't matter anyway." "Oh, thank you, Ethan." Lydia wrapped her arms tightly around him. A pack warrior witnessed the entire scene and immediately mind-linked me. I knew Lydia had deliberately let her see it, just so the news would reach my ears. Just like in my previous life, she knew exactly which buttons to push. Except I wasn't the same woman anymore. I cut into the mind-link and answered, "Don't worry. I know you're grieving your fiancé. I sent my Alpha to keep you company. I'm not upset at all." Then, I reached out to Ethan through our bond: "Ethan, take good care of Ms. Hayes. Tell her not to worry." After that, I ignored them completely. Once my mother's burial rites were finished, my father looked at me, his eyes bloodshot. I forced a small, reassuring smile. "Dad, resign from the Elders' Council." My father froze for a second, then realization dawned on him. He nodded quickly. "Alright. I'll wrap things up as fast as I can. Then we'll head to the Timber Creek Pack together. I've already spoken with your uncle." "Okay." Without speaking a word of it, we both knew we had been reborn. After parting ways, I took my daughter back to the Alpha's residence. To my surprise, Ethan was already home. When he saw me, a flicker of panic crossed his face. "Honey, don't get the wrong idea. I was just afraid Lydia might do something reckless, so I—" "I get it," I cut him off smoothly. "It hasn't been easy for you to run the pack for us. Sam was your best friend, and he died saving you. Taking care of his fiancée is the right thing to do." "Honey, you..." Ethan stared at me in disbelief. Of course he was suspicious. In our past life, I despised Lydia with every fiber of my being. Even when Sam was still alive, I couldn't stand her. I had always sensed she had an ulterior motive with Sam, but Ethan had dismissed it as petty jealousy. "Just because Lydia is prettier than you, you call her scheming? Sarah, you disappoint me." That had been our very first fight over Lydia. "Honey, are you really not mad?" Ethan pressed again. I nodded gently. "I'm not." Seeing that I wasn't pretending, Ethan breathed a visible sigh of relief. I seized the moment to slip a pack resource transfer document among a stack of regular paperwork, asking for his official paw print seal. Guilt-ridden as he was, Ethan stamped his paw print without even glancing at the pages. Looking at the fresh seal on that document, hatred flared behind my eyes. Ethan, since you destroyed my family for that woman in our past life, I'll gladly step aside for you in this one. Let's see what you choose when it comes down to pack power versus your little mistress. After that, Ethan played the part of a devoted father, even offering to drive our daughter to school. I knew, however, that Lydia wouldn't stay quiet for long.That evening, hours passed after Ethan picked up our daughter, yet they never showed up. No matter how many times I reached out through the mind-link, Ethan blocked me. Terrified, I was about to rush out into the night to search for them. The moment I pulled open the front door, Ethan was standing on the porch. His face was thunderous. Tina wasn't with him. Before I could ask, his hand came down hard across my face. The crack echoed through the foyer. "Sarah Miller! Here I thought you were finally being reasonable, and you pull this behind my back? Using our daughter to target Lydia? How low can you sink?" I didn't know what had happened, but it wasn't hard to guess. Lydia was playing the victim again. "I didn't do anything." Ethan didn't believe a word. "Where is my daughter?" I demanded. He sneered. "When a pup misbehaves, she gets punished." My heart dropped into my stomach. Ethan glared at me with pure disgust. To keep him calm, I held my tongue and apologized. His expression softened slightly, and he demanded that I apologize to Lydia in person. I went. Lydia hid behind Ethan, trembling like a frightened doe. In the end, I had to kneel in the pouring rain through the cold night before Ethan finally let it go. Only after I brought my daughter back home did I learn what really happened. I couldn't believe Lydia would stoop so low as to frame a little girl. Tina told me through tears that Lydia was already in the car when Ethan picked her up. Tina hadn't done anything, but Lydia suddenly cried out that she couldn't breathe, claiming she was having an allergic reaction. Ethan immediately blamed Tina, convinced she had poisoned Lydia's drink. Looking at my daughter's swollen, tear-streaked eyes, my heart broke. In that moment, my desire to tear them both to shreds reached its peak. After that night, Ethan stayed away to comfort Lydia, which gave me the peace I needed. What I didn't expect was that when he returned, he brought Lydia along with his luggage. "Lydia's old rental with Sam is filled with painful memories," Ethan announced bluntly. "Our estate is massive. One more person won't hurt." It wasn't a request. It was an order. I said nothing, merely staring at Lydia. The surrounding pack members quickly gathered, whispering about how noble Alpha Brooks was for taking in his fallen brother's fiancée. "Alpha Brooks has such honor," they praised. "Sam was truly blessed to have a brother like him." Even Lydia chimed in, wiping away fake tears. "Yes, I'm so grateful to Alpha Brooks. If it weren't for him, I don't know if I'd still be alive." The moment she broke down, Ethan pulled her into his arms, holding her tight. He seemed to have completely forgotten where he was. This was the Alpha's residence, and I was his Luna. The onlookers went silent, shifting uncomfortably. Realizing how it looked, Ethan quickly released Lydia. "Honey, take care of Ms. Hayes for now. I'm going to visit Sam's grave." He stepped forward and kissed my forehead. "Thank you for understanding, honey." That shut everyone up. Nausea churned in my stomach, but I kept the gentle, submissive smile plastered on my face. Ethan gave Lydia one last lingering look before heading out. Once he was gone, Tina looked up at me. "Mom, does she really have to stay here? I hate her." I didn't know how to explain our rebirth to a child. When I first woke up in this life, Tina had clung to me, sobbing uncontrollably. "Mom, I had a nightmare," she had cried. "Dad was with Auntie Lydia, and Dad killed us because of her. I'm so scared..." It had taken hours to soothe her. From that day on, she refused to go anywhere near Ethan. Before Lydia showed up, our family was Ethan's entire world. He used to fight rogues with his bare life to protect me. When a rogue once held a blade to my throat and asked him, "Only one of you walks out alive. Who do you choose?" He hadn't hesitated for a single second. "Kill me. My Luna must live." When I suffered complications giving birth to Tina, he had wept by my bed. "Honey, never again. No more pups." That day, Ethan became a legend at the Healer's clinic. Everyone talked about the fierce Alpha who passed out from crying because his mate was in pain.You see, when a male wolf loves you, his devotion is real. But when he stops loving you, his cruelty is just as real. Ethan once told me, "Honey, my parents died when I was young. Your parents are my parents." Yet later, he butchered my father and mother with his own hands just to please Lydia. Ethan was far more deserving of death than she was. "Tina, do you remember what Mommy told you?" My daughter nodded cautiously. I smiled, stroking her hair. "Then listen to Mommy. Don't show that you dislike Auntie Lydia. Very soon, Mommy and Grandpa will take you far away from here, okay?" "Okay." Tina was a good girl; she asked no more questions. Soon, a message arrived from my father. He had successfully stepped down from the Elders' Council. In two weeks, we could leave the Ridge Pack behind. I already had the resource transfer document with Ethan's official paw print, along with secret pledges from several elders and elite warriors to back me at the pack assembly. With that document, Ethan had unwittingly signed away total control of the pack's stockpiles and armory. Killing him right now would be too easy. I wanted Ethan to understand what true, agonizing despair felt like. As soon as Ethan left the property, Lydia dropped her innocent mask. The helpless, fragile woman turned into a venomous snake the moment we were alone. "Sarah Miller, I really underestimated you," she sneered. "Ethan's feelings couldn't be more obvious. Why haven't you broken the mate bond and gotten out of my way?" Looking into her predatory eyes, I chuckled softly. Desperate for the Luna title, aren't you? Fine. I'll hand it to you on a silver platter. Before they arrived, I had secured the final piece of the puzzle: sworn testimonies from key pack warriors. These two were truly ruthless. Ethan was right about one thing: Sam had saved his life during a rogue ambush. And Ethan had murdered him in cold blood. "Sarah Miller, if I were you, I would have killed myself by now," Lydia hissed. "Is that so? A whore who seduces her dead fiancé's best friend hasn't died yet. Why should I?" I didn't back down an inch. Since Ethan wasn't here, there was no need to pretend. We stared each other down like predators until the maids finished hauling her luggage upstairs. Watching them carry her things into the master suite's east wing, I didn't say a word. I was leaving soon anyway. If she wanted to warm that bastard's bed, she was welcome to him. I was sick of sleeping next to a monster. That night, while Tina and I were eating dinner, a piercing scream erupted from upstairs. The front doors slammed open at the exact same moment. Ethan was back. He stormed straight past the dining room without sparing us a glance. Minutes later, he marched downstairs, radiating murderous fury. Sensing his hostile aura, I shoved Tina behind me. In the next second, Ethan's heavy hand clamped around my throat, lifting me off the floor. "Sarah Miller! You dare play sweet to my face while pulling vile stunts behind my back?" Staring into his bloodshot eyes, air was ripped from my lungs. I clawed frantically at his iron forearm, but his grip didn't budge. It wasn't until Tina threw herself at his legs, screaming and crying, that he finally tossed me onto the hardwood floor. "Mom!" Tina sobbed, wrapping her tiny arms around me. The physical pain was nothing, but seeing my baby girl terrified broke my heart. Tears spilled over my cheeks. "Sarah Miller, you assigned Lydia to that room! Why did you hide silver blades under her mattress? Did you want her dead?" Hearing that ridiculous accusation, I laughed raspy breaths into the air. "Me? Hide blades?" "Who else?" "Call the housekeepers," I rasped. "Let's confront them right now." As soon as I said that, Lydia, who was crying at the top of the stairs, froze. "Y-You bribed the staff, didn't you?" "This is the Alpha's house. I am the Luna. Who else would they answer to?" My sharp retort backed her into a corner. "Fine, let's see how sick you really are," Ethan barked, turning to summon the staff. Lydia rushed down and grabbed his arm. "Ethan, please, don't! Don't fight with Sarah because of me. It's fine, really..." She whimpered endlessly. Ethan listened with tender concern, not forgetting to glare at me. "Sarah, you should learn a thing or two from Lydia's grace." Looking at the two repulsive hypocrites, I almost threw up. I swallowed the rage down. Nothing else happened that night, except Ethan slept in Lydia's room.Over the next week, I turned a blind eye as Lydia and Ethan flaunted their affection openly. On the surface, I became the picture of the obedient, submissive Luna. I was unfailingly polite to Ethan and overly accommodating to Lydia. I even acted small and meek around her. Ethan saw everything. Gradually, guilt began eating away at him. The way he looked at me softened. Sometimes, he even ignored Lydia's demands just to appease me. Realizing that my docility was getting under her skin, Lydia tried to play the victim harder. Her favorite trick was framing me for petty accidents. Unfortunately for her, having lived through this once, I knew all her dirty games. When she tried to stage a tumble down the stairs and blame me, I threw myself backward instead. She landed with a bruise. I landed in a pool of my own blood. When Ethan found me drenched in blood, what could he possibly say? He scooped me up and rushed me to the Healer's clinic himself. Every time, Lydia was left behind, stomping her feet in fury. Taking advantage of being alone with Ethan in the recovery room, I positioned my loyal warriors outside the door, letting them report Lydia's arrogant taunts directly to him. Then, I weakly gripped his hand, tears pooling in my eyes. "Honey, I know Lydia only acts out because Sam died. I don't blame her. Please don't be hard on her. She's suffered so much." "Tina and I are fine. We will help her heal." My broken, selfless act completely reeled Ethan's wandering heart back toward me. The night I was discharged from the clinic, he pulled me toward the bed, his breath hot with sudden desire. Panic flared in my chest. I quickly knocked a vase off the nightstand, shattering it loudly. Right on cue, within three seconds, Lydia burst into the room. "Ethan! My chest hurts so bad... Can you take me to the clinic?" "Have the guards take you!" Furious that his intimate moment had been interrupted, Ethan snapped at her, his face dark with irritation. Lydia looked like she had been slapped. Playing the saintly Luna, I gently touched Ethan's arm. "It's alright. Go with Ms. Hayes. If Sam is watching from the heavens and sees us neglecting her, he'll be heartbroken." The mention of Sam struck a nerve. Reluctantly, Ethan pulled away from me and got out of bed. A minute later, the two of them hurried out of the estate. Standing on the balcony, I watched their car disappear into the dark before heading straight into Tina's room. My daughter was already dressed, a tiny backpack sitting beside her. A bright smile lit up her face. "Mom, is it time?" I nodded. After two weeks of humiliation, our time had finally come. Nobody knew how agonizing it had been to endure Lydia's smug taunts and the pack's pitying glances. Now, it was time for them to pay the price. The night before our departure, I stood alone in the moonlit courtyard. Silver light washed over my skin. Suddenly, something inside me stirred. It felt like an ancient, slumbering power waking up beneath the call of the moon. Instinctively, I raised my right hand and spread my fingers wide. Before my eyes, my hand began to shift. My nails lengthened into razor-sharp black talons. The bones in my knuckles thickened, and sleek, silver-gray fur rippled across the back of my hand. I gasped. This wasn't a standard wolf shift, nor was it a human form. It was a legendary intermediate state—a partial shift. I clenched my fist, feeling a terrifying surge of raw power coursing through my veins. I tried to push the transformation further, but like a groggy beast, it retreated back beneath my skin after a brief stretch. I tried a few more times, but couldn't trigger it again. Still, I wasn't discouraged. I knew it was there. That was enough. The next morning, Tina and I slipped toward the pack border. My father was already waiting in a hidden vehicle. Right before we crossed, a mind-link pinged from Ethan: "Honey, Lydia's condition is complicated. Go to sleep without me." Hearing his voice in my head, I smiled coldly. What an actor. He had no idea that Lydia had just sent me a smug text: [Your Alpha belongs to me tonight.] I didn't reply to either of them. Instead, I sent out a pre-scheduled pack-wide broadcast. Once the command was transmitted, my boots crossed the Ridge Pack border line. The heavy weight on my chest vanished instantly. At the exact same moment, Ethan, who was sitting by Lydia's hospital bed, received an urgent mind-link from his Beta. "This better be important," Ethan growled. "Alpha Brooks! You need to get to the Great Hall right now!" Annoyed, Ethan rushed back to pack headquarters. The second he stepped through the doors, his face drained of all color. "No... This is impossible!"