I was dead.
But I stood there watching myself.
My body lay cold and lifeless on the stone altar of the Moon Temple, pale beneath the flickering light of blue spirit flames. The scent of death mingled with wolfsbane and something far older… something that reeked of destiny.
My own lifeless form looked peaceful too peaceful for what had been done to me. My throat constricted, fury rising like a storm inside me. My wolf, once silenced, now stirred in the void.
A low hum rippled through the air. The candles lining the ancient walls quivered, their flames stretching toward me as if recognizing the Alpha blood that still pulsed faintly within my dead veins.
Then, I heard it a whisper, deep and otherworldly.
"It isn't over."
The flames burst one by one, until the entire chamber drowned in shadow. The silence that followed pressed against my ears until I could hear nothing but the furious thrum of my own spirit refusing to fade.
If my soul vanished… would there be any justice in this cursed pack?
No.
The Moon Goddess had turned away from me, the mate bond had been shattered, and my name defiled by those I trusted most. Julian. Camilla. My pack. My family. They had stripped me of everything my rank, my voice, my life.
And yet, I could not let go.
I did not want peace.
I did not crave rest.
I did not wish for mercy.
What I wanted… was vengeance.
The debts of this life would be repaid with blood.
If I had to crawl out of the Underworld itself, I would make them all bow before me.
The ground beneath me trembled. The darkness coiled tighter, wrapping around my soul like chains. But instead of dragging me under, it began to tear apart fracturing, spinning, breaking.
Then came the wind.
A violent, furious howl split through the void, carrying the echoes of the ancient Alpha spirits. My wolf instincts roared awake, her growl mingling with mine. I could feel the cord that bound me to Julian the traitorous bond that once tied my heart to his tighten painfully around my essence.
I leapt from the altar, defying the pull of death itself.
The invisible chains of our bond strained, then snapped.
Pain sliced through me. The world bent and twisted, colors bleeding into one another until reality cracked apart like shattered glass.
And then… I heard her.
A woman's voice, faint and broken, whispering through the darkness.
"Life is exhausting…"
"I don't want to marry that cripple…"
"Mom, this hurts so much. Will the pain stop if I die?"
"Mom, please don't cry. I can't keep going. I love you…"
Her words were soaked in despair, raw and human. But her soul shimmered faintly wolf-born, fragile, and fading.
Who was she?
Before I could ask, the world tilted again. The ground rushed up to meet me. My senses split between two worlds mine and hers until the transition burned through every nerve.
Then… agony.
A sharp, real, bleeding agony.
My eyes flew open.
I gasped, lungs aching, as I shot upright in a bathtub filled with cold water, crimson with blood and wilted rose petals. The metallic scent clawed at my nostrils. My wrists stung, open and raw, proof that this wasn't a dream.
My heartbeat thundered. I could hear the echo of a wolf's growl deep inside my chest mine. The body trembled, but it was breathing. Alive. Beating. Mine.
I wasn't Elena, the betrayed Luna who died on the altar.
And yet… I was.
The girl whose body I now inhabited had given up on life. But I had not.
I wasn't sure how or why but the Moon had granted me a second chance.
And I didn't have time to waste.
Death was still too close.
I gasped, my lungs filling with air that burned like frostfire. The metallic scent of blood and roses clung to my skin. My wolf howled deep within me weak but alive, demanding I move.
I pushed myself up from the crimson water, my hands slipping against the porcelain of the large soaking tub. Blood streaked down my arms, slick and bright against pale skin that didn't feel like mine. My heart thudded erratically. My limbs trembled not from weakness, but from the shock of being back in a living body.
I stumbled out of the tub, my bare feet hitting the cold marble. The ache in my wrists pulsed with each heartbeat. My wolf stirred, sending flickers of heat beneath my skin, urging me to heal but the wound was too deep, the body too drained.
Not yet. I needed help.
I grabbed a nearby towel and wrapped it tightly around my wrist, pressing hard to slow the bleeding. My breath came in ragged bursts. My eyes scanned the unfamiliar bathroom a place of sleek design and cold luxury, far removed from the wild lands of my old pack.
On the sink, a small glowing screen caught my eye. A phone.
With trembling fingers, I snatched it up and pressed the emergency number. A female voice answered, calm and distant.
"I… I've been attacked," I lied, my throat raw. "I'm bleeding badly. Please, send help."
"Miss, can you tell me where you are?"
I froze.
I didn't know.
This wasn't my den. Not my territory. Not my pack.
The mirror reflected a stranger a girl with silver-threaded hair and haunted eyes. The scent in this place wasn't my own. It was faintly floral, layered with human perfume. Whoever this girl had been… she was gone now. And I was inside her.
"I… I don't know where I am," I whispered.
The operator hesitated, suspicion dripping from her tone. "Miss, is this some kind of joke? If you don't "
"No!" I snapped, desperation cracking my voice. "I swear, I'm not lying. I'm "
But before I could explain that I was reborn, that the Moon had ripped me from death itself, the line went dead.
Silence.
Only the sound of my own labored breathing filled the room. My pulse was fading. My wolf's voice growled in my head Move, Elena. Move now.
I staggered toward the door, every step leaving faint red smudges on the pristine white tiles. The air outside the bathroom hit me like ice. The house was silent no servants, no guards, no pack energy humming through the walls.
It wasn't a home. It was a gilded cage.
I moved through the hallways until I found the front door. When I stepped outside, winter's breath struck me full force. Snowflakes drifted lazily from the sky, settling on my damp skin like shards of glass.
The estate stretched out before me massive, secluded, surrounded by pine and moonlit frost. Whoever had lived here belonged to old money and darker secrets.
Barefoot and trembling, I stepped onto the frozen ground. My nightgown clung to me like second skin, soaked through with water and blood. The cold bit into my flesh, but it felt… grounding. Real. Proof that I wasn't dead anymore.
I started walking. Then running. My instincts screamed that if I stopped, I would fade again that death was stalking me, waiting to drag me back to the void.
Then, in the distance, I heard it.
The low growl of an engine.
A black vehicle approached slowly along the snow-covered road. My heart lurched. Salvation or danger. I didn't care. I needed life. I needed warmth.
I stumbled forward, waving my arms weakly. The van slowed. Headlights cut through the darkness, illuminating me a bloodied stranger in the snow.
"Please…" I rasped, pounding on the window. "Help me."
The side door slid open. Warm air spilled out, thick with the scent of wolf. Dominance. Power.
Without thinking, I dragged myself inside, collapsing against the smooth leather seat. My body trembled violently, my vision tunneling to black.
Then I felt him.
A powerful presence filled the confined space his aura pressing against mine like the weight of a storm. Alpha. Every instinct in me recognized it before my mind did. My wolf whimpered low in my chest, caught between fear and desperate longing.
I blinked up, my vision swimming.
Tailored black trousers. Polished boots. Strong hands reaching for me steady, commanding, warm.
Then his face came into view.
Julian.
His scent hit me like lightning cedar and smoke, the memory of dominance and betrayal. My breath caught, and for a fleeting moment, his eyes locked on mine.
Sharp. Cold. Familiar.
And beneath all that control… a flicker of something else.