Kira POV:

A dizzying, almost hysterical wave of relief washed over me, immediately followed by fragments of my past life flooding my brain. The impact was so intense that my knees buckled. Clara rushed forward to steady me, a worried expression etched on her face.

"Are you alright, My Lady? You've gone completely pale."

I shook my head, forcing myself to breathe.

Inhale. Exhale.

"Clara, I had a nightmare. A very, very long nightmare..."

In that dream, after being poisoned by Sienna, I became a wandering soul.

I saw Donavan guarding my corpse, weeping for what felt like an eternity, spewing endless words of regret. But thinking of the atrocities he had committed against my pack, his words felt utterly hypocritical and nauseating.

I also saw Lord Andreas Stark, a reclusive and formidable Lycan Lord, infamous for his icy demeanor and obsessive germaphobia.

In my vision, I watched him kick Donavan across the room, before snapping Donavan's fingers one by one like a madman.

He unleashed hellish retribution upon the Chambers Pack, exposing Donavan and Sienna's crimes to the entire werewolf nation.

He even spent an immense amount of time gathering evidence to clear my family's name, ultimately executing Donavan and Sienna's entire families for framing the Atkinsons.

Afterward, I saw him standing before my humble, unmarked grave, his expression filled with a profound, bone-deep sorrow.

I watched him live out his long Lycan life entirely alone, never taking a mate, eternally guarding the memory of a girl he barely knew—a girl rumored by the outside world to be wolfless.

I honestly didn't understand why he had avenged me. Why would such a powerful Lycan Lord care about me?

In my past life, I barely knew him. We might have exchanged a few polite pleasantries at formal banquets, but that was it. He was a distant, intimidating figure.

But none of that mattered now.

What mattered was that I knew now. In this vast, cruel world, someone had genuinely mourned me. Someone had fought for me.

That realization settled deep within my soul like a core of solid steel. It fortified my resolve. I would not let his sacrifices be in vain. I would not repeat the same mistakes.

I opened my eyes. The girl in the mirror was gone. That naive, gullible fool was dead and buried.

In her place stood a woman forged in fire and reborn from the ashes.

And the very first thing I needed to do now was figure out how to cancel this damned Mating Ceremony.