Chelly's pov
My eyes snapped open and I sucked in a desperate breath.
Air rushed into my lungs so fast it burned. For a moment, I couldn't move. It felt like I had been buried alive and had only now clawed my way back to oxygen.
My chest rose and fell in uneven pulls as I tried to understand where I was.
"Stand up, child."
The voice was soft but carried through the space like a command. I turned my head slowly, still trying to steady myself.
And then I saw her.
A woman sat on a floating throne, glowing in a divine way that shouldn't be real. Her silver hair fell down her shoulders, her red gown clung to every curve, and on her head sat a crown shaped like a crescent moon.
The kind of thing I'd only ever seen in temple paintings or storybooks about the Moon Goddess.
My breath stalled when I took in the surroundings and the woman who sat divinely before me and realized…That was indeed the Moon Goddess.
Oh shit… was I dead?
"Stand up, beautiful one," she said again, cutting through my thoughts with the most alluring smile, and I immediately stood up.
She lifted her hand and beckoned me forward.
I took one step, maybe two, before something drifted past me, making me halt immediately.
I looked sideways to see what—or who—it was, and my eyes widened when my gaze settled on Sansa Riley.
She was wearing the most beautiful yellow gown I'd ever seen, floating gracefully toward the silver-haired woman.
When she reached the throne, the moon-crowned woman stood and hugged her warmly. Then she pulled away and pointed to her side, and another throne materialized.
I straightened immediately, thinking I would be next, but I was never called forth.
Instead, the two of them started conversing in a language I did not understand or recognize. They smiled as they spoke to each other earnestly, as though I wasn't even here.
Not able to bear being ignored, I decided to speak up.
"Hello…" I tried, but neither of them looked up.
"Hello?" I said louder this time, but they still didn't acknowledge me. Not a glance. Not even a twitch.
I was just about to yell in pure exasperation when they finally turned to look at me.
I straightened quickly and put on a polite smile, clasping my hands together. "I think there's been some kind of mistake. I'm not supposed to be here.. Where ever this is. And also…" I pointed at the omega.
"That's the omega. And I'm the Beta's daughter. I think you got us confused since… well, I'm standing here while she's sitting there."
The moon-crowned woman leaned forward slightly, her glow shifting like it responded to her mood.
"There is no confusion," she said. "My Beloved is sitting exactly where she should be." She turned to Sansa with a warmth that didn't match the cold weight in my stomach. "Where she should have been long ago, if she had not left my side to taste the human world."
I frowned. "I'm confused…" but before I could continue, Sansa spoke up.
"Just like you humans," she said quietly, "I have someone meant for me. I went to your world to live as one of you to know what it felt like, but I had a deadline.
I was supposed to return before I turned eighteen. And you happened to be there at the moment I left my body."
That was not the explanation I was looking for, but one sentence hooked into me and refused to let go.
"What do you mean I 'just happened to be there'?" I asked. "You were in my car. There was no 'happened to be' anything."
Her expression shifted in a guilty one. She looked almost apologetic.
"It is for your own good that you remain here."
The Moon Goddess spoke, and her voice pulled my attention away from Sansa.
It echoed through the chamber like it was part of the walls themselves. "You will serve my beloved as her attendant. You will adapt. You will find purpose here."
"No." My voice came out sharper than I intended. "I'm not going to be Sansa's assistant. Not here. Not anywhere. This is a mistake. Your 'Beloved' dragged me here without permission. Please be fair and just, Miss Moon, and let me go back."
The Goddess tilted her head slowly, almost as if she were studying an insect.
"Fair and just you said. Tell me, Chelly Morgan… what do you know of fairness? What do you know of justice?"
The once serene space dimmed at the edges, and a slow red glow began to spill over the floor like rising heat from a furnace.
"I have a life waiting for me," I said quickly. "I'm supposed to be the next Luna. I have a future. Please miss moon goddess, send me back."
"You wish for fairness, Child? Very well. I shall grant it." Her voice deepened, layered with something ancient.
I would have sighed in relief, if the heat didn't climbed higher, pressing against my skin like invisible flames.
"I will send you to damnation," the Moon Goddess said. "Because that is what you earned when you chose to torment my Beloved in your mundane school."
She lifted her hand toward me. Light gathered around her palm, forming streaks that looked like they were ready to strike.
Before the light could fully form, Sansa touched her hand gently. She leaned close and began whispering to the Goddess.
I couldn't hear a single word. I had no idea how long she spoke, but slowly the heat eased. The red glow faded. The air cooled enough for me to breathe again.
Relief rushed through me, even though fear still crawled under my skin.
Sansa pulled back. The Moon Goddess looked at me once more.
"I will grant you a second chance," she said. "But only if you promise repentance."
"Yes. Yes. I swear I will repent. Please send me back," I blurted.
Her gaze didn't soften. "There will be rules. You will not shift freely. You will not access your wolf unless you face true peril. And unless your repentance becomes complete."
I didn't understand what she meant. I didn't care. All I wanted was to leave this place and return to my life, so I nodded quickly.
"Good," she said. "Your future is no longer entirely your own, Chelly Morgan. Choose your actions wisely."
That was all? Easy. I almost smiled, thinking I had gotten off lightly.
Light gathered once more in the Moon Goddess's hand. It wrapped around me and pulled the world out of focus. The floor beneath me disappeared. My body felt weightless, suspended in nothing.
"Open your eyes," her voice said through the haze.
"My eyes are open," I whispered, unsure if the words even left my mouth.
"Open your eyes."
I tried again to speak, to tell her they were already open, but the haze thickened. Her voice boomed a third time, louder, sharper.
"Open your eyes."
My eyes snapped open for real and I shot upright, gasping for breath.