Freya's mouth refused to close after muttering the name. Her eyes widened as she peered at the lady.
The shape of her face, the way she carried herself, even the way she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear: it was all heartbreakingly familiar. And when the pair walked closer to the manor, passing directly beneath a torch that illuminated their faces clearly, Freya felt like she had been struck by lightning.
"No, that's... That's impossible." She whispered, shaking her head vigorously.
The woman walking with Alpha Grimfang didn't just resemble Freya's dead twin sister.
"That is my twin sister..." Freya was convinced.
Panic and desperate hope warred in Freya's chest as she pressed her face against the cool glass, trying to get a better look. But there was no mistaking those features she had memorized during eight years of their shared childhood.
"Soraya!" She breathed out and without thinking, she rushed to the door and began pounding on it with both fists.
"Let me out! I need to get out of here right now!" She called out to the guards.
"You can't leave the room, miss. The Alpha's orders were clear." A baritone voice replied from the outside.
"There is someone down there I need to see... Please, just let me..." Freya was saying desperately but the guard interrupted sharply;
"You can't leave that room, miss. Stop making a fuss."
Freya's fists went limp as she heard that. She turned her back on the door but her legs wouldn't move from the spot. Her head was pounding as she tried to process the meaning of what she had seen outside there.
Her twin sister's body had been found. She was present at the funeral even though she didn't know it was a funeral that day as she was too young. She'd spent ten years believing Soraya was dead.
"So how is she here now, walking around looking so full of life?"
Driven by desperation and the need for answers, Freya made a decision that would have seemed insane under any other circumstances.
She walked briskly to the window then called upon her wolf, feeling the familiar surge of power and strength flow through her human form. Her fingernails extended into claws, her muscles coiled with supernatural strength, and her senses sharpened to their peak.
Without hesitation, she drove her fist through the window.
The glass shattered and Freya quickly cleared away the remaining shards, ignoring the small cuts on her hands and arms.
She climbed onto the windowsill, took a deep breath to steady herself, and jumped.
The landing was harder than she'd anticipated. She hit the ground and rolled, her shoulder taking most of the impact, but managed to avoid any serious injury. Adrenaline and desperate hope pushed her through the pain as she scrambled to her feet.
The couple was still walking along the path, only about twenty feet away now. Perfect timing.
She could see them both clearly now—Alpha Grimfang with that unprecedented smile still lighting up his face, and the young woman who looked so much like... She didn't wait to check anymore, she broke off in a run.
"Stop!" Freya called out as she reached them.
Both figures turned at her shout, but their reactions couldn't have been more different.
Alpha Grimfang's expression immediately shifted from joy to fury as he recognized her. He quickly stepped in front of his companion, shielding her with his body while his eyes spat anger.
"What the hell do you think you're doing? How did you get out of that room?" He demanded loudly.
The young woman behind him showed no fear at all. She simply stepped slightly to the side so she could see around Alpha Grimfang's protective stance, regarding Freya with curious but calm blue eyes.
Eyes that were the exact same shade as Freya's own.
Freya completely ignored Alpha Grimfang's question, her attention focused entirely on the woman behind him. She took a step closer, her heart hammering so hard she could hear it in her ears.
"Soraya?" She whispered, her voice barely audible.
Alpha Grimfang's anger seemed to intensify at what he clearly interpreted as jealous possessiveness. He began to snarl, spreading his arms wider to keep Freya away from his companion;
"Back off! I don't know what kind of game you think you're playing, but..."
"Please, I just need to see her face. Just for a second." Freya interrupted, desperation making her voice break slightly.
She tried to step around Alpha Grimfang's protective stance, but he moved to block her again, his expression growing increasingly dangerous.
"You need to get back to that room you are supposed to be, before I drag you there myself. This jealous display is pathetic, even for a rogue." He threatened.
Jealous? Freya almost laughed at the absurdity of his assumption. This wasn't about him at all.
When reasoning failed, desperation took over. Freya darted forward and managed to grab the young woman's hand before Alpha Grimfang could intercept her.
The moment their skin made contact, Freya gasped and stumbled backward as if she'd been struck.
It was her. It was really her.
The small mole beneath her left eye, exactly where Freya remembered it. The tiny mole on her lower lip that Soraya had always been self-conscious about. The daisy tucked behind her ear, Soraya's favorite flower that she'd worn in her hair since they were children. Even the few silver strands woven through her black hair, a trait that both twins had inherited from their father, Alpha Nightshade.
And most conclusive of all, those ocean-blue eyes that were identical to Freya's own, staring back at her with polite confusion but no recognition whatsoever.
"How is this possible?" Freya whispered, her voice filled with awe and confusion.
Alpha Grimfang took advantage of her momentary shock to firmly place himself between them again, his protective instincts clearly in overdrive.
"That's enough." He declared with finality. Then, to Freya's complete bewilderment, he wrapped his arm around the young woman's waist and looked at her with an expression of pure adoration.
"Seraphina, this is the rogue I was telling you about. The one the Moon Goddess decided to burden me with as a so-called destined mate." He said, his voice full of disdain when he looked at Freya. But when his gaze returned to the woman beside him, it softened completely.
"But you are the woman my heart truly yearns for. The only one I could ever want by my side."
"Seraphina? Why is he calling her Seraphina?" Freya's head was spinning.
Alpha Grimfang's expression hardened again as he addressed Freya directly.
"You can keep your position as my destined mate if you must since I can't fight the Moon Goddess's will entirely. But understand this: Seraphina is my chosen woman. She owns my heart completely, and that will never change."
Freya barely heard his words. Her entire world had narrowed to the face of the woman standing before her—the face she'd mourned for ten long years.
"Soraya, It's me. It's Freya. Don't you remember?" She whispered again, taking another step forward.
But the young woman—Seraphina, according to Alpha Grimfang—looked at her with nothing but polite confusion. There wasn't even a flicker of recognition in those familiar blue eyes, no sign that she had any idea who Freya was or why this stranger was staring at her with such desperate intensity.
"I'm sorry, but I think you may have me confused with someone else. My name is Seraphina, and I don't believe we've met before." Seraphina said softly, her voice melodic and gentle.
The words hit Freya like physical blows. This was impossible. This was Soraya—she was certain of it. Every detail of her face, every gesture, even the way she spoke was exactly the same.
So why didn't she remember her own twin sister?
"How is this possible?" Freya repeated, more to herself than to anyone else, as she continued to stare at the face that haunted both her dreams and her nightmares.
How could Soraya be alive when Freya had seen her body buried with her own eyes?