Darkness pressed against me like a second skin.
Cold stone under my palms. The taste of iron on my tongue. A heartbeat hammering in my ears that didn't feel like mine.
I gasped for air, dragging breath into lungs that weren't mine either. The scent hit me first—wolf musk, smoke, the faint tang of blood. Not the crisp air of the city I remembered, not my little apartment, not the life I lost.
I opened my eyes.
Moonlight poured through an open window, washing the chamber in silver. Tall stone walls, a high ceiling, a heavy wooden door bolted shut from the outside. A table stood in the center, and on it… a dagger.
The blade gleamed like it had been waiting for me.
No—waiting for her.
Because I wasn't me anymore.
I was her.
Ayla. The villainess of the story I once read. The cursed she-wolf who betrayed her Alpha and died by his claws. I had pitied her fate then, cursed her choices, sworn I would never be so foolish.
And now my soul lived in her body.
The night she was meant to betray him.
My hands trembled. I touched the gown clinging to me, silk black as midnight, too heavy, too soft. Not mine. None of this was mine.
Then it came.
A voice. Cold. Mechanical. Crawling into my skull.
> [System activated.]
Mission One: Betray the Alpha King. Complete within the hour or face termination.
My blood ran cold.
I spun, looking for the source, but the voice was inside me. It wasn't human. It wasn't kind.
"No," I whispered. My voice cracked. "No, I can't. If I do that… he'll kill me. He'll kill me anyway."
The silence stretched, heavy, suffocating. Then the voice returned, sharper.
> Failure to comply will result in punishment.
My throat closed.
"Shut up," I hissed, clutching my head. "You think I don't know how this ends? I've seen the story. He rips her throat out. He doesn't forgive. He doesn't forget."
The System paused, as if considering. Then—
> Alternative Mission unlocked: Earn the Alpha King's trust within seven days. Success grants survival. Failure results in termination.
Seven days.
Seven days to win the trust of Ronan—the ruthless Alpha, the man who hated Ayla more than poison, the one who believed betrayal was her only truth.
It was impossible.
But it was also the only chance I had.
My legs trembled. My stomach churned. I wanted to scream, to claw my way out of this nightmare. But before I could think, before I could breathe—
Footsteps.
Heavy, deliberate. Boots striking stone.
The door was unbolted. The sound echoed like a death knell.
The air shifted, charged, as the door opened.
And he entered.
Ronan.
The Alpha King.
He filled the doorway, tall and broad, his shoulders like a wall, his eyes glowing gold in the dark. His presence was overwhelming, a storm wrapped in flesh.
Every instinct screamed at me to bow, to submit, to hide.
But I was trapped.
His gaze landed on me first, then slid to the dagger gleaming on the table. His lip curled, a cruel smile with no warmth.
"You were going to try it again, weren't you?" His voice was low, calm, too calm. A predator's voice. "You never learn."
I froze. My heart hammered so hard I thought he could hear it.
The dagger might as well have been covered in blood already—my blood.
My lips trembled. Words stuck in my throat. Finally, I forced them out.
"No."
He tilted his head, the golden glow in his eyes flaring. "No?" His tone was mocking, like he was humoring a child. "That's all you can say?"
Every nerve in me screamed to run. But I couldn't. The System hissed in my head, reminding me of the mission.
So instead, I stepped forward. One step. Another. My knees were weak, but I didn't stop.
"I wasn't going to hurt you," I said, my voice breaking. "Not tonight. Not ever."
The words hung between us. Fragile. Pathetic.
He stared at me, silent, unblinking. Then he laughed, short and cold.
"Lies."
The sound cut deeper than a blade.
But something in me snapped. Maybe desperation. Maybe defiance. Maybe the truth that this wasn't my life, but I refused to die for her sins.
"Then kill me now."
His brows rose. A flicker of surprise, gone as quick as it came.
"If you believe I'll betray you, if you believe I'm poison, then end it." My voice shook, but I forced it out. "Do it with your own hands. But know this—I'm not the same Ayla you remember."
The silence after that was unbearable.
Then he moved.
One step. Another. His boots echoed like thunder.
And suddenly he was there, towering over me, shadows and moonlight wrapped around his frame. His hand shot out, closing around my throat.
Claws grazed my skin. Not deep, but enough to promise what he could do.
My breath hitched. My pulse pounded.
His golden eyes bore into mine. "Not the same?" His voice was a growl now, low and dangerous. "What are you, then?"
I almost said it. The truth burned on my tongue—I don't belong here, I was reborn, I know your story, I know your pain.
But the System's hiss stabbed my skull.
> Do not reveal the existence of the System. Violation will result in immediate punishment.
My teeth sank into my lip. Blood filled my mouth. I swallowed the truth and whispered instead, "Someone who doesn't want to hurt you."
For a moment, his grip faltered. His eyes narrowed, studying me, searching me. Like he could strip away my lies and see what I really was.
Then he released me.
I stumbled back, gasping, clutching my throat. My legs gave way, and I hit the cold stone floor.
"Pathetic," he muttered, though his eyes lingered a fraction too long. Something sharp flickered there—confusion, hesitation.
Then he turned. His cloak brushed the floor as he left. The door slammed, the lock snapping into place.
I collapsed fully, shaking. My throat ached where his claws had grazed. My body quivered, sweat soaking the silk gown.
And then—
Pain.
It ripped through me, searing, like fire beneath my skin. I screamed, curling up, nails digging into stone.
> System warning: Incomplete mission progress. Punishment engaged.
The fire became knives, stabbing bone, ripping muscle. My vision blurred. Blood filled my mouth where I bit my tongue to keep from crying out too loud.
Finally, it stopped.
I lay on the floor, trembling, drenched in tears and sweat.
Seven days.
That was all I had.
Seven days to make a ruthless Alpha trust me. Seven days to rewrite a fate that ended in blood.
I dragged myself to the window, clinging to the stone. Outside, the moon was high, the forest below black and endless. Wolves howled in the distance, their cries echoing like warnings.
And then, faintly, through the walls, I heard him.
Ronan's voice.
Low. Furious. Speaking to no one.
"She's changed… but I don't know why."
My blood went cold.
He noticed it.
And if I failed, if I slipped even once… he would kill me with his own hands.