📕 Reborn: The Alpha’s Regret and the Serpent’s Queen
It was the Mating Ceremony, the most important day for our pack, but for me, it felt like walking to the gallows. I stood on the velvet carpet, waiting for Jacob, the Alpha heir, to claim me.
Suddenly, my younger sister Bella threw herself at the Elder’s feet, screaming that she and Jacob were in love. Jacob didn’t deny it. He looked at me with cold calculation, announced he chose her, and publicly broke our engagement.
In my previous life, this betrayal broke me. I had fought to marry him, only to become a “defective incubator” locked in a room. I remembered the bruises that never healed and the fire that eventually killed me. While I burned to death, Jacob only cared about saving Bella.
Now, standing in the same spot, the crowd mocked me as “damaged goods.” My father sneered, pointing to the back of the room where the “lesser” clans stood, telling me to pick a rat or a snake if I wanted to stay in the Pack House.
They thought they were ruining me. They didn’t realize they were handing me the key to my freedom.
I turned away from the smirking wolves and walked toward the darkest corner of the room. There sat Draco, the Serpent King, a man everyone feared and despised.
He was the only one who had tried to smash through the burning beams to save me in my past life.
I stopped in front of him, ignored the gasps of the crowd, and extended my hand.
“I choose you.”
Reborn: The Alpha’s Regret and the Serpent’s Queen Chapter 1
Clarice POV:
The Pack House smelled like a locker room doused in cheap cologne and desperation. It was Mating Ceremony day, the Super Bowl of our calendar, where wolves supposedly found their soulmates.
For me, it felt like walking to the gallows.
I stood on the edge of the velvet carpet, hands trembling. Not from nerves, but from phantom agony. I knew the script. Jacob, the Silver Moon Alpha heir, was about to claim me.
In my last life, that claim was a death sentence. I remembered the locked doors, the bruises that never healed, and the cold realization that to him, I was just a defective incubator.
“Father, please!”
A shrill scream cut through the ceremonial drums. The crowd gasped. I looked up, heart stalling.
Bella. My younger sister. The family’s golden goose.
She threw herself at Elder Thomas’s feet, her designer dress crumpling. Her eyes were wild, desperate.
“I can’t let Clarice marry Jacob!” Bella shrieked, her voice bouncing off the vaulted ceiling. “We… Jacob and I… we’ve already been together! We’re in love!”
Dead silence.
I stared at the back of Bella’s head. In my previous life, Bella had turned her nose up at Jacob. She’d married a wealthy Fox shifter, only to seethe with jealousy when I became Luna. She saw the crown, the jewels, the title. She never saw the blood I scrubbed off the bathroom tiles.
She’s been reborn, too. And she thinks she’s stealing a prize.
“Is this true?” Elder Thomas roared, turning purple. He looked at Jacob on the dais.
Jacob, the architect of my nightmares, looked smug. He stepped forward, letting his heavy Alpha aura roll over the crowd like a suffocating blanket.
“It’s true,” Jacob announced, his voice dripping with fake remorse. “Bella and I… the attraction was undeniable.”
He glanced at me. No apology. Just cold calculation. He wanted a breeder. He figured Bella, the healthy, spoiled princess, was a safer bet than Clarice, the ‘weak’ illegitimate daughter whose mother washed up on the beach half-dead years ago.
“Clarice,” my father barked. “Step aside. Release Jacob from the engagement.”
It wasn’t a request.
The crowd murmured. “Poor Clarice.” “Humiliated by her own sister.” “Damaged goods.”
I lowered my head to hide the smile threatening to split my face. They think they’re ruining me. They have no idea they’re handing me the key to my cell.
“I understand, Father,” I said, keeping my voice steady. “If it’s love, I won’t stand in the way of the Moon Goddess.”
Jacob frowned. He wanted tears. He wanted a scene. My calm pissed him off.
“Good,” Father huffed, eager to move on. “But the law stands. You can’t remain unmated in the Pack House.”
He waved a dismissive hand toward the back, where the “lesser” clans stood. The Bears, the Rats… and the Serpents.
“Pick one of them,” Father sneered. “Maybe a cold-blooded creature suits a frigid girl like you.”
Laughter rippled through the room.
I turned slowly. My skin always felt too hot in this place, a fever that never broke. I craved something else. My gaze swept past the Bears and Rats, landing on the darkest corner.
He sat on a high-backed chair, isolated. Shadows clung to him like a second skin. Pale, almost translucent, in a midnight-black suit.
Draco. King of the Serpent Clan.
In the fire that killed me last time, he was the only one who tried to smash through the burning beams. I remembered emerald eyes filled with rage before the smoke took me.
I walked past the smirking wolves. Past Jacob, who was already pawing at Bella.
I stopped in front of Draco.
Up close, he was terrifying. He didn’t smell like wet dog and musk. He smelled like rain hitting hot slate, crushed mint, and the deep, silent ocean.
Peace.
Draco lifted his head. Vertical pupils glowed with inner light. The temperature in the room seemed to plummet.
“Are you lost, little wolf?” His voice was a low rasp, scales sliding over velvet.
“No,” I whispered. “I’ve never been more found.”
I extended my hand. “I choose you.”
The music died.
“I, Clarice of the Silver Moon Pack, choose Draco of the Serpent Clan as my mate.”
Draco stared at my hand. A corner of his mouth quirked up-a predator acknowledging prey that willingly walked into the den.
He stood, towering over me. He took my hand.
His skin was shockingly cool. The moment we touched, the fever in my blood broke, replaced by a jolt of pure, grounding electricity.
Mine, a voice whispered in my head. Ancient. Serpentine.
Draco pulled me closer. “Accepted,” he hissed.
Reborn: The Alpha’s Regret and the Serpent’s Queen Chapter 2
Clarice POV:
The silence shattered as Bella let out a high-pitched, mocking laugh.
“Oh, Clarice,” she giggled, clinging to Jacob’s arm like a barnacle. “I knew you were desperate, but this? A snake?”
She stepped forward, dragging Jacob. Her eyes scanned Draco with undisguised disgust.
“Look at him,” she sneered. “Freezing cold. Do you even have a pulse? I hear your people live in dirt holes and eat rats because you can’t afford steak.”
The wolves roared with laughter. To them, the secretive Serpents were bottom-feeders.
“And look at you,” Bella continued, flashing the pile of furs and gold Jacob had given her. “I’ll be Luna. I’ll breed the strongest pups. You? You’ll be lucky if you don’t freeze to death in his bed.”
I looked at her. Really looked at her. Her scent was off. Usually vanilla-sweet, now it smelled muddy. Cluttered.
“Your scent’s changed, Bella,” I said quietly. “It’s… crowded. Been mixing with too many packs?”
Bella went pale. “How dare you!”
She grabbed a porcelain teapot and hurled it at my face.
I didn’t flinch.
Crack.
The teapot disintegrated in mid-air. Draco hadn’t moved his feet. He’d simply flicked his black cane. The shards rained down like harmless snow.
Draco stepped between me and the wolves.
The air grew heavy. Not the hot, aggressive pressure of an Alpha, but something crushing, like being dragged to the bottom of the sea.
Wolves whimpered, clutching their throats. Jacob took a step back, eyes widening.
“Careful,” Draco said softly. His voice didn’t echo; it slid into your ear. “You speak of wealth, little girl. But you don’t know the meaning of value.”
He snapped his fingers.
The double doors swung open. Six men in tailored suits glided in-Serpent guards. They set a blackwood chest inlaid with mother-of-pearl at my feet and opened it.
The room forgot how to breathe.
Inside lay a wedding dress that shimmered like liquid moonlight. It shifted colors-pale silver to sea-foam green.
“Dragon Scale Silk,” an elder whispered. “That’s a myth. One yard buys this entire Pack House.”
Bella’s jaw dropped. Her furs looked like roadkill in comparison.
“For my bride,” Draco said, eyes on me. “We don’t wear used clothes. And we don’t rush.”
He pulled a necklace from the chest. A massive, tear-shaped emerald on a platinum chain, pulsing with faint light.
“The Heart of the Forest,” Jacob choked out. “That was lost centuries ago.”
Draco fastened it around my neck. His cool fingers grazed my skin, sending shivers down my spine. “Never lost,” he murmured. “Just guarded. Until now.”
He turned to the crowd, pupils narrowing to slits.
“You wolves mate like dogs in the alley,” he declared. “You mark, you breed, you discard. The Serpent chooses once. And we choose for eternity.”
He bit his thumb, drawing dark crimson blood, and pressed it to my forehead.
“I, Draco, King of the Serpentine Order, swear a Blood Oath to Clarice.”
Magic hummed in the air-heavy, salty, ancient. A red mark flared on my forehead, then sank into my skin.
“If I betray her, may my scales rot. If I fail to protect her, may the earth swallow me.”
A Blood Oath. Irrevocable. Fatal if broken.
Jacob looked furious. He glanced at the cheap diamond on Bella’s finger, then at the artifact around my neck.
“You think money makes you a man?” Jacob snarled, claws extending. “She needs a warm-blooded male. Everyone knows snakes are cold. Can you even get it up?”
Draco smiled. It was terrifying.
“Pray you never find out what I’m capable of, pup,” Draco whispered.
He offered me his arm. “Shall we, my Queen? The air here stinks of wet dog.”
I took his arm, feeling the solid muscle beneath the silk. As we walked out, I glanced back. Bella stood amidst the shattered china, clutching her stomach. She looked victorious, but I saw the fear. She had won the battle for the Alpha, but she had no idea she’d just lost the war.
Reborn: The Alpha’s Regret and the Serpent’s Queen Chapter 3
Clarice POV:
The Serpent King’s castle wasn’t a hole in the ground.
It was a fortress of black stone perched on a cliff overlooking the churning ocean, hidden by mist. Inside, it was a cathedral of shadows and luxury. Heated marble floors, gold-threaded tapestries, the scent of ozone and incense.
It was our wedding night.
I sat on the edge of the massive bed, the black silk sheets cool against my legs. My heart hammered. Not fear. Anticipation.
Draco entered. He’d shed the suit for a loose silk robe. His chest was lean, defined by corded muscle, skin so pale it glowed in the candlelight.
He stopped, hesitating. The arrogant King looked unsure.
“Clarice,” he said, voice rough. “You don’t have to. The Oath binds me to protect you, not… force you.” He looked at his hands. “I am not like your kind. My body temp is low. My… anatomy is different. I don’t want to scare you.”
I stood up. The floor was warm, but I sought the cold.
“Draco,” I said. “Do you think I chose you just to escape them?”
“Didn’t you?”
“No.” I placed my hand over his heart. Thump… thump… Slow. Powerful. “I chose you because when the world burned, you were the only one who looked at me.”
I slid my hand up his neck, tangling fingers in his dark hair. “Show me. Show me your true self.”
Draco shuddered. A low hiss escaped him.
He kissed me. His mouth was cool, tasting of mint and danger. The spark wasn’t just physical; it was a lightning strike to the soul.
He lifted me effortlessly. As clothes fell away, I saw patches of iridescent scales along his ribs-beautiful armor. And when he moved over me, I realized the rumors about Serpent endurance were severe understatements.
“Mine,” he growled, eyes fully slitted.
“Yours,” I gasped.
He didn’t bite my neck like a wolf. He pressed his forehead to mine, and I felt his energy-cool, dark, infinite-pour into me. A spiritual marking deeper than teeth.
We moved together, fire and ice. For the first time in two lifetimes, the burning fever in my blood settled into a perfect, cool rhythm.
*
Three months later.
The summons arrived on heavy parchment. A “Celebration of Life” banquet at the Silver Moon Pack.
“You don’t have to go,” Draco said, braiding my hair.
“I want to,” I said, looking at my glowing reflection. I’d gained healthy weight. “I want to see her.”
The Pack House was raucous. Wolves drinking, feasting.
Bella sat on a throne next to Jacob.
She was massive.
“Clarice!” Bella called, voice shrill. She rubbed her belly. It looked like she was carrying a medicine ball. Impossible for three months. “So kind of you to come. Wanted you to see what a real Alpha heir looks like.”
She smirked at my flat stomach.
“Still nothing?” she cooed. “I told you. Snakes shoot blanks. Or maybe you’re just barren. Like always.”
I walked closer, Draco a silent shadow at my side. I sniffed the air.
Wolf pregnancies smell milky, earthy.
Bella smelled like rotting fruit and sulfur. And underneath… chemicals.
“That’s a very large baby, Bella,” I said. “Sure it’s… healthy?”
“Of course it is!” Bella snapped, eyes darting nervously. “It’s a strong boy. Alpha blood makes them grow fast! You wouldn’t understand.”
“Rapid growth usually implies instability,” I said. “Or external enhancement.”
Jacob slammed his goblet down. “Watch your tongue! You’re jealous my seed took root and your snake’s didn’t!”
Draco stepped forward. He stared at Bella’s stomach.
“That is not a wolf,” Draco said. His voice cut the room like a razor.
“What?” Bella screeched.
“I hear three heartbeats,” Draco said impassively. “None of them sound like a wolf.”
Bella turned white, clutching her stomach. “Get out! You’re trying to curse my baby!”
I saw her hands shaking. Her nails were bitten to the quick. She knew. She knew something was wrong, but she was too deep in the lie to stop.
“We’re leaving,” I said. “But Bella… don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
As we walked away, I felt a flutter in my lower abdomen. Not a kick. A swirl of energy.
I looked up at Draco. He was smiling a secret, knowing smile.
“Let them have their circus,” he whispered. “We have our own miracle.”