I pressed a hand to my chest, forcing myself to breathe.
Why moon goddess….why??
Why Jasmine? Why me?
I remembered her from my past life as Kira. Jasmine….the mistreated daughter of Alpha Tristan. She was nowhere near as clever as her cunning sister, Amara, and maybe that's why their father favored Amara more. Even omegas mocked Jasmine behind her back.
But why was I reborn as her? Her life wasn't any better than mine.
And I f my memory was right, Jasmine had been sold by her own family to pay off the pack's debt. Sold to the one wolf everyone feared…
The Devil Alpha.
At the thought of that name. I felt all the blood drain out of my body
The…..the devil alpha???
Could it be…..that insanely handsome man from earlier?!!!
No….please no.
I had heard the stories back as an omega. The beast whispered about in kitchens and training grounds, the monster who crushed packs beneath his heel, who ruled with blood and shadow. Alpha of the Nightshade Pack…Even the strongest Alphas flinched at his name.
Alpha Lucian.
Cold. Calculating. Feared.
And yet… my body had recognized him.
My mate.
I flinched back against the headboard, mind screaming no, even as every nerve in me pulsed yes.
I could have been better of dead..This wasn't mercy. This wasn't rebirth.
This was punishment…Maybe the Moon Goddess had a sick sense of humor.
Two broken girls. Two wasted lives.
"Jasmine!"
The door slammed open and a high-pitched voice rang out.
A familiar face rushed in…
Jasmine's best friend, Sylvia, the gamma's sister.
"Oh my goddess, Jasmine, you scared us all half to death!" she sobbed, pressing a hand to her chest in exaggerated concern. "You've been unconscious for weeks. Everyone thought you were gone for good. I was so worried"
Her tone was sweet, dripping honey. A voice no one would ever suspect…
She didn't look at me like a friend relieved to see me alive. She looked at me like a vulture circling prey that refused to stay dead.
I knew that look.
Because I'd seen it before.
"It was Alpha Lucian's fault," she cooed, voice dripping venom. "He truly is a beast for putting you through all that torment…"
And just like that, a memory flashed…me, Kira, mopping floors as Amara's servant. I had overheard Sylvia many times, whispering to Amara how much she hated Jasmine. How she wanted her gone.
Amara used Sylvia as a pawn to destroy jasmine's life….feeding her with poison dressed as advice and information.
Jasmine had never seen it. She was too naïve, too desperate for a friend. She'd clung to Sylvia like a lifeline, blind to the knife at her back.
But I wasn't Jasmine.
I forced a weak smile. "I'm fine Sylvia …" My voice shook, but not from fear….this time, it was fury I swallowed down.
"How could you be fine?" she pressed, inching closer, her hands fluttering like she wanted to fix my hair. "You're trapped with a beast like Lucian. You need to run away again. I have a better plan."
Run away?
I almost laughed.
From what I remembered from Jasmines memory…Sylvia had told her to escape the last time….which had only ended in disaster…awakening the Devil Alpha's wrath, and Jasmine's suffering.
Every plan Sylvia ever gave her had only dug her grave deeper and worsened her relationship with him…
Leading to endless torture for her…
"Jasmine…wait for me, I'll come back for you," she said with false pity, patting my hand before sweeping dramatically out the door.
The moment she was gone, the fury inside me snapped loose.
Jasmine hadn't been stupid. She'd been desperate, broken, betrayed. Just like me. Two girls with no choices.
But now?
Now I had one.
Maybe the Moon Goddess really had heard my prayer. Maybe this was her twisted mercy…giving me Jasmine's body, her chance, her enemies.
I clenched my fists, nails digging into my palms.
If the Moon Goddess wanted me to live in Jasmine's body, then so be it.
I would not waste it.
Not again.
Plus, I had lived close to Amara. I knew her games, her plots, her secrets.
This time, I wasn't the prey.
This time, I would turn the trap on them.
And this time…they would all suffer.
A wicked smile formed on my face….
This was going to be fun..
....
After a short while… The door creaked open, and a maid stepped inside, eyes glued to the floor.
"Luna… the Alpha summons you. Dinner is waiting."
My stomach tightened at the name. Alpha Lucian. The Devil Alpha. Just the thought of him sent a shiver crawling down my spine.
I went to the restroom and splashed water on my face, scrubbing until the makeup bled into the sink. When I lifted my head again, the mirror was merciless. Pale scars, blemishes, hollowed cheeks.
For a moment, my breath hitched.
Jasmine.
Once, her beauty had been the kind that turned heads, a face whispered about with envy among she-wolves. I remembered from my past life….platinum blonde hair like spun moonlight, features fine enough to rival a goddess. No wolf could ever stand beside her without paling in comparison.
But the reflection staring back at me now was unrecognizable.
No wonder they had mocked her. No wonder even the omegas sneered behind her back, calling her the "ugly sister."
And yet… despite this, despite all of it… she had still been chosen by the Devil Alpha himself.
What did he see in her?
I clenched my jaw..steadying myself.
If the Moon Goddess wanted me to wear this face, then fine. I would wear it. I would not crumble. I would not hide.
The corridor was busy with omegas carrying trays and guards standing at attention. But the moment their eyes landed on me, everything slowed.
Conversations died.
One maid dropped her gaze so quickly I thought her neck might snap. Another froze, clutching the tray so hard her knuckles turned white. Fear….or maybe disgust?….flickered in every pair of eyes before they bowed hastily.
"L–Luna," one whispered, but her voice trembled.
The word felt more like an insult than a title.
I kept walking, every step echoing. Their whispers followed me like shadows.
"…she's awake?"
"…the Devil Alpha's bride?"
"…she looks even worse than before."
I swallowed the lump in my throat and kept moving, until voices ahead made me stop.
Downstairs in the dining room..
"Tell me, brother, with your status, name, looks and body" he said, his voice low but filled with disdain. "Why her? She's weak, barely a wolf at all. Rejected by her own mate, And her face…." he paused, then scoffed.
"I understand wanting to try something different…. but not her, She will shame this pack. People already laugh behind your back."
A silence, heavy and sharp.
Then Lucian's voice….cold, dangerous.
"My choices are not yours to question…Edmund."
His words should have comforted me. But there was no warmth in them, no defense, no denial.
Only authority.
Only indifference.
And yet… when I forced myself to peek into the dining hall from the shadows, my heart stumbled.
His crimson eyes were already on me.
Not with love.
Not with anger.
But with something darker.
Something that promised I wasn't free.
Not from him.
Not ever.