Chapter 1

At the wedding, my wife, Sophie Gilbert, brought a million-dollar purebred Tibetan mastiff as part of her dowry.

I turned around and called a vet, and had the dog neutered that same night.

All because I had been reborn.

In my last life, Sophie tied that dog to the side of our bed every single night.

I assumed she'd just grown too attached to her pet, so I swallowed my disgust and let it happen.

But every time I woke, I felt drained dry, weaker by the day.

Countless nights I had nightmares of turning into a dog, my whole body covered in fur.

It wasn't until I died in my sleep, sudden and unexplained, that I heard that mastiff speak in a man's voice.

"Sophie, you've suffered so much for me."

"To find me the right body, you spent two whole years with a piece of trash like him."

...

My body was still warm.

But Sophie only kicked me aside and quickly threw back the boards under the bed.

A young man in a hospital gown crawled out from beneath it and pulled her into his arms.

It was Garry Black, her boyfriend from college.

My soul drifted in the air, watching my own body slowly go cold.

And the wife I had cherished for two years was sobbing in another man's arms.

The devotion on her face was something I had never once seen in all our years together.

"It worked! The old mystic was telling the truth!"

"Just possess this mastiff, drain his life force every day, and you'll recover."

Garry toyed with her slender fingers.

"After the crash left me a vegetable, I thought all I could do was wait to die."

"Lucky I had you. You found some fool born on the same day, same year as me, so the life force could pass to me clean."

They burned through the whole night together, and the next morning they tossed me and the mastiff into a crematorium on the edge of town.

The moment the flesh burned away, I opened my eyes again.

Back on our wedding night.

Sophie, cheeks flushed, walked into our bridal room leading a mastiff with a glossy black coat.

She said its name was Iron Fist, and that from now on it was part of this family.

She nestled against me and cooed.

"I've raised Iron Fist since he was a puppy. He's the most important family I have. From now on, you have to love him the way you love me!"

"And a stud dog is worth a fortune. Lend him out for breeding once and you can pull in tens of thousands."

In my last life, I fell for her sweet talk too.

Figured it was just a dog, so I went along with whatever she wanted.

But now I had been reborn.

I let out a soft laugh and eased her off me, smooth as anything.

"If you love Iron Fist so much, why bother getting married?"

"You and that dog could just spend your whole life together."

Sophie's face fell, and her voice shot up sharp.

"Keith Harding! What is that supposed to mean?"

The mastiff arched its back, snorting and baring its teeth, ready to lunge at me any second.

The whole room dropped to freezing.

I looked the two of them over, amused.

"It was just a joke. Why are you getting so worked up?"

The relief on Sophie's face was plain as day as she wrapped her arms around my neck.

"How are you jealous of a dog? You know you're the one I love most."

"Tonight's our wedding night, you know. I've got a sailor outfit and white stockings ready for you."

Then she went off to shower, humming, leaving me alone with that ugly mastiff.

I texted a friend to help me look into a few things, and a rank, urine stench suddenly drifted up to me.

I looked up. The mastiff had its right hind leg raised, pissing on the suit I'd taken off.

The groom's boutonniere pinned to the lapel was crushed dead center under its paw.

Sensing my eyes on it, the mastiff cocked its head and bared its teeth at me, mocking.