Second Chance

CHAPTER 2

I jerked upright, my heart pounding hard against my ribs.

The music was way too loud. People filled the room, laughing and drinking, pressed together in sweaty groups. The smell of old alcohol and cheap perfume made me feel sick.

Cassian stood right over me, looking annoyed.

"Finally," he groaned, running a hand through his dark hair. "You passed out right when I was saying something important. Did you even hear me?"

My mind was screaming.

I had just been in a wrecked truck. I was dying. My parents were dead next to me, blood everywhere, and I couldn't reach my mom's hand...

But now I was here. On a leather couch in the VIP student lounge. Heavy bass shook the floor and Cassian was talking like nothing happened.

I sat up fast and looked around. This was the back-to-school party at the private club near campus. I saw the same elite students from my classes. Marcus from advanced biology was talking to some girl in a fancy dress. Sarah from English was laughing too loud by the bar. Across the room, my roommate Chloe was chatting with a group like everything was normal.

I touched my arms, my face, my neck. No pain. No broken bones. No blood.

I was wearing the same simple black top and worn jeans from that night three months ago. My phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out with shaking hands and checked the date.

My stomach dropped.

It was the exact same night. The night Cassian Vance first demanded I accept the mate bond.

"Are you okay?" Cassian sat down next to me, too close. "You look pale."

I barely heard him. This could not be real. I died. I felt the cold take over, my vision going black. But the leather couch felt real under my hands. The music vibrations were real. Cassian's woody cologne was real.

Then a strange pull tugged at my chest. The mate bond. That wrong, invasive feeling was back.

"Eva." Cassian's voice brought me back. He sounded so sure of himself. "I've been thinking about this for a while. Us. The bond."

I stared at him. He looked just like he did that night, handsome, arrogant, certain I would say yes.

"You feel it too, right?" He leaned in closer, his golden eyes flashing. "The mate bond between us. It's strong. Strongest I've heard of for a scholarship girl like you. I want you to accept it. Officially. Be mine."

I remembered this moment perfectly.

In my first life, I tried to let him down easy. I said I wasn't ready, that I needed to focus on my scholarship and work-study job. I thought being nice would work.

It didn't.

He kept pushing. Kept cornering me. Kept saying the bond meant I belonged to him.

And when I kept saying no, he destroyed my family.

This time I knew better. Being nice would get us killed.

I stood up fast, surprising him.

The students nearby went quiet. They could feel the change in the air. The rich crowd loved drama, and heads were already turning.

"I will never accept the bond with you," I said loudly so everyone could hear. "I don't want you, Cassian. The bond doesn't mean I belong to you. Leave me alone."

Cassian's face went from shock to pure anger in a second. He stood up, towering over me, pushing his heavy Alpha aura at me.

"You don't mean that. You're just scared," he hissed. "The bond is intense, I get it. But we're meant to be together. I know you feel like you're not good enough for me because of where you come from. I'will probably have to marry someone of equal status later for the family line. But even then, you'll always be the first. Just give it time and you'll…"

"No."

He blinked, stunned. "What?"

"I said no. I'm not giving it time. I'm not changing my mind. I don't want to be your side piece, Cassian. I don't want you. That's it."

His eyes flashed dangerous gold. His wolf was close to the surface. People were whispering now. Phones were coming out to record the Vance heir getting rejected.

I saw the same old pattern starting. Cassian refusing to hear no. In my first life, I just ran away after this. It didn't work.

This time I needed to make the rejection hurt. Make it so public he could never spin it.

I looked across the crowded room. There, near the dark corridor to the private exit. The same tall man from my memories. Broad shoulders in a tailored charcoal suit. He stood alone, back to the party.

I didn't think twice. I walked straight to him.

Behind me, Cassian shouted, "Eva, wait!"

I reached the stranger and tapped his shoulder. As he started to turn, I grabbed his crisp lapels and pulled him down into a hard kiss.

For a second, the man froze completely.

Then he kissed me back. His big hand slid to my waist, fingers pressing in with strong control. His kiss was deep and commanding. His scent hit me hard. It made my head spin.

This was just a move. Nothing more.

I pulled away after a few seconds, keeping my eyes down so I wouldn't see his face. I turned around.

Cassian looked ready to explode. His eyes were dark, fists clenched tight, body shaking with rage.

The whole room was staring. Phones caught every second of the scholarship girl breaking the mate bond and kissing someone else.

I smirked at him, letting him see the hate in my eyes, and walked straight past the crowd toward the exit. I didn't look back at the man in the suit. I just left like I owned the place.

The cold night air hit me outside. My legs gave out.

I barely reached the concrete curb before I sat down hard. My hands shook badly. The adrenaline was gone and the full weight of everything crashed over me.

I was alive.

I was back.

I had exactly three months before my parents would die on that mountain road. Three months to change everything. To save them. To stop Cassian.

But the memories were still so clear. My mom's empty eyes. The blood on the dashboard. The terrible cold.

What if I couldn't fix it? What if trying something new just made it worse?

My phone buzzed in my hand.

I opened it with shaky fingers. Text from an unknown campus number.

It was short and cold: "You just made a big mistake of your life."

I didn't need to guess who sent it.

Cassian.