The slap caught me completely off guard. Not because I didn’t see it coming, but because it actually hurt. Usually, it takes a lot more than some Omega’s backhand to make me flinch, let alone feel the sting of it. I had just woken up in a bed so large it could have fit ten of me, with silk sheets and velvet curtains that spoke of the kind of luxury I had only ever seen when raiding the estates of rich packs.
And now this woman, this screaming, green-dressed woman who claimed to be my mother, was raising her hand to me like I was some common street urchin. “Lysandra Evangeline Victoria, if you think for one second you can act your way out of this marriage! ”
I slapped her back, hard. Or what should have been hard.
Instead of sending her sprawling across the room like my usual hits did, the woman just yelped and stumbled back, clutching her cheek. Something was very, very wrong here. But I was not about to show weakness, not even in this strange, delicate body. I growled my threat, promising that if she dared raise her hand to me again, she wouldn’t have any hands left at all.
My supposed mother just stared, her eyes wide with shock. When I tried to get out of bed, my legs nearly gave out, my center of gravity completely wrong. Even my wolf felt different inside me, softer, more docile, like it had been tamed. The maids caught me before I could hit the floor, fussing and clucking like anxious hens.
They mentioned the king wanted to see me. The Alpha King Micah. My heart nearly stopped. I was captured.
This couldn’t be happening. I was Arya, the demon wolf, the rebel who had been raiding his supplies and attacking his guards for years, the most wanted enemy in his territory. I should be in chains in his deepest dungeon, not being catered to in a fancy room. A tiny, impossible hope fluttered in my chest.
Maybe no one had recognized me yet. Then they forced me to look in a vanity mirror. I was ready to take a hostage and make my escape plans, but the face staring back at me stopped me cold. An Omega girl, dainty and perfect, with a heart-shaped face and huge baby blue eyes.
I raised my hand; she raised hers. I frowned; she frowned. It took me a moment, a horrifying, heart-stopping moment, to realize I was looking at my own reflection. I was stuck in the body of some princess called Lysandra.
And from the way everyone was talking, I was set to be mated to Prince Raphael. Rafe. My most hated rival. I was engaged to the man I had sworn to destroy.
The next morning was a blur of rose-petal baths and expensive coffee, and before I knew it, I was being paraded into the great hall to meet the Alpha King. I kept my head down, trying to play the part of the shy, delicate Omega, all while my mind raced with escape plans and the sheer irony of my situation. Micah barely glanced at me, and something in my new body bristled at being dismissed so easily. That was when the guards announced a visitor.
The world stopped turning when Kai walked in. My best friend, my brother in all but blood, the wolf I had pledged my life to. He was carrying something wrapped in bloodstained linen, and the sickly sweet scent of death filled the room. He bowed to the tyrant, swearing allegiance, claiming his mother had been foolish.
My blood turned to ice. He was betraying everything we had built. Then he spoke the words that shattered my entire existence. “I’ve rid you of your greatest enemy.
” He pulled back the linen, and I was staring at my own dead face. My real body, dark hair matted with blood, multiple stab wounds in the chest. He had killed me. He had murdered me in the forest, and now he was presenting my corpse as a gift.
I wanted to scream, to claw his eyes out, but all I could do was stand there in this fragile, useless body and watch everyone celebrate my death. They even brought Rafe forward to identify the body. I braced myself for his smug satisfaction, but there was nothing in his face but cold indifference. He didn’t smile.
He didn’t gloat. He just knelt beside my corpse with a look of quiet, controlled fury. And then he said something that stopped my heart all over again. “She always spoke very highly of you.
” That couldn’t be right. Rafe was my enemy, my rival, the one wolf I loved to hate. Why would he say that? Why would he look at my dead body like he had lost something precious?
But the room was spinning now, and black spots danced at the edges of my vision. The last thing I saw before everything went dark was Rafe’s hand resting on the linen covering my dead face. The days that followed were a fog of panic and plotting. No one, not even Rafe, seemed to suspect that the sweet, fragile Omega Lysandra was actually the demon wolf, Arya Storm.
They saw only the pretty face, the delicate scent, and the future Luna of the pack. I was right in the heart of enemy territory, perfectly placed to gather intel, to stop Kai from revealing too much, and, most importantly, to end the bastard myself. He thought he could stab me in the back and walk away a hero. Not on my watch.
I would play my part, bat my eyelashes, and be the perfect little Omega, all while plotting his downfall. My resolve hardened when I encountered Kai in a corridor. The scent of him, white amber and frost, made my stomach turn. He used the same pet name on me that he had used in the forest as he killed me.
“No need to look so frightened, pet. I know I’m the enemy here, but I’d never harm such a pretty little thing. ” It was the final confirmation. I was nothing to him.
He was a traitor, a murderer, and I would make him pay. Later, when Rafe found us, the look of possessive fury on his face made my wolf purr. It was madness, but a part of me felt safe with him near. Getting into the council meetings to spy on Kai proved impossible.
Where I came from, women fought alongside men, and my opinion was valued. Here, I was a decoration, a fragile flower to be protected. My frustration boiled over when I ended up at the training grounds, criticizing the warriors’ form. I knew fighting, even if this weak body didn’t.
When the captain challenged my knowledge, I did the most stupid, reckless thing imaginable. I asked to spar. My technique was perfect, but this body was soft, weak, untrained. I landed a few clever hits, but I was ultimately pinned in the dirt.
Instead of mocking me, the captain offered me a hand up, his eyes gleaming with respect. “That was impressive. You have a good eye. Would you like to train with us?
” He was treating me like an equal. It was so foreign to me, I didn’t know what to do. That night, I found myself at a tavern with the captain and his men. The drinks were flowing, and for the first time since I had woken up in this nightmare, I felt something other than rage and grief.
I was laughing, flirting, feeling dangerously free. I remember sprawling across the captain’s lap, babbling about how beautiful Rafe was and how he didn’t think I was pretty. Then, like a phantom summoned by my thoughts, Rafe was there, his voice sharp enough to cut glass. He didn’t say a word to me.
He just growled, a deep, possessive sound that I felt in my bones, and lifted me into his arms. The way he held me, protectively, dominantly, made my wolf sing. I babbled nonsense about being on a mission to seduce him and tried to kiss him in the hallway. He carried me to my room and laid me on the bed.
The moment my head hit the pillow, every dormant instinct in this new body surged to the surface. I was ravenous for him, driven by a desperate, primal need only he could satisfy. I pressed my mouth to his, moaning at the sheer perfection of the contact. For one heartbeat, he gave in.
His hand cradled my face, his kiss turning firm, commanding, and I melted. Then he pulled back. “You tried to take your own life only a few days ago, Lysandra. I understand I haven’t been very welcoming.
” The words were a bucket of ice water. Landre had tried to kill herself because of some boy named Thomas. The realization made me feel sick, but I couldn’t process it. I was too drunk and too lost in the fog of my own trauma.
The next morning, I woke up to a hangover that could kill a horse, and my ‘mother’ storming in with accusations about my behavior. She mentioned Thomas, and the fury in her voice made me realize how little she cared for her own daughter. She handed me a glass of some drink, forcing me to take it before telling me Rafe had asked to see me. I was still reeling from the revelation that Landre had tried to end her life because of a worthless man when I was led out to a terrace for breakfast.
Rafe was there, an apology on his lips. He was surprisingly sincere, telling me he was looking for an equal partner in his mate. It was everything I wanted to hear, and it scared me. I wanted to attend the meetings, to get close to Kai, but Rafe said I would only be able to join once we were mated and he became Alpha.
The mating ceremony was in two weeks. Two weeks to stop Kai or be bound forever to my greatest enemy. A part of me, a traitorous, weak part of me, didn’t hate the idea of being mated to Rafe. He was more compassionate than I had ever dreamed.
But the thought of being trapped made me want to fight or run. That evening, a scent I hadn’t expected to find in the palace walls hit me like a physical blow. Willa, one of Zara’s most trusted spies, was posing as a maid. If she was here, it meant Zara had sent her, which meant Kai was planning something big.
I knew I couldn’t confront her, but I could follow her. I changed into a maid’s uniform, my heart hammering in my chest. I trailed her through the palace servant’s passages until she stopped outside a balcony. Kai’s balcony.
I climbed the rose trellis, my weak arms trembling with effort, and pressed myself against the wall outside his window, listening to their voices. “Your mother is pleased. It was on her orders that I sacrificed Arya after all. ”
The words drained every ounce of strength from my body.
My fingers went numb on the branch. Zara. The woman who had found me as a starving pup, who had raised me, trained me, called me a daughter. She had ordered my death.
My whole life, my entire existence, had been built on a lie. I was just a pawn in her games. Kai bragged about killing me, about how I had accepted my fate because I loved him, belonged to him. Horror crawled up my spine.
This wasn’t the Kai I knew. This was something twisted, wearing my best friend’s face. “She’s mine,” he said, his voice low and reverent. “Mine to kill and mine to keep.
”
“It doesn’t matter,” he continued, turning to Willa. “Your mother is concerned about my cousin’s upcoming marriage to the Omega. Soon that won’t matter. I’ll be Alpha of this pack, and Lysandra will be my mate.
Just you wait. ”
The branch snapped. I hit the ground hard, knocking the wind from my lungs. Miraculously, I didn’t break anything.
I lay there in the bushes for what felt like hours, the memories flooding back, each one twisted with new understanding. Zara’s hands forcing me to watch my first kill. Kai’s voice, always soft, always in my ear, calling me his perfect pet. The night after a raid when his hand had slid under my clothes and I had mumbled no.
All the nights I had let him use me because I thought it was loyalty, because I thought it was love. It was never love. I was a weapon, a toy, something for him to play with and break when he got bored. I was sobbing in the dirt when the guards found me.
They carried me inside, and the maids bathed me, murmuring about the poor thing being traumatized again. Rafe came, and his touch, God, his touch was different. There was no ownership in it, no demand. He just held me while I cried, his scent of woodsmoke and warm oak wrapping around me like a promise.
“You’re safe now,” he murmured, and for the first time since I had woken up in this body, I believed I might be. The days that followed were a blur of quiet grief. Rafe visited me every day, just sitting with me, his presence an anchor in my storm. A week later, I found him standing at the edge of the estate, where ancient oaks gave way to open meadow.
A pyre burned against the star-strewn sky. He was giving my body a warrior’s funeral. I stood beside him, my throat tight, and asked who had died. “A great warrior,” he said.
“Arya Storm. ”
I couldn’t breathe. I asked him if he had known her. A sad smile tugged at his lips.
“Yes and no. She lived her whole life fighting battles that weren’t even hers. She deserves peace now. ” He pointed to the hills, to hundreds of tiny lights scattered across the darkness.
“Her people. Everyone who could come. She gave them hope. ” All those people had come to honor me.
They thought I was strong. They thought I had a light. But I was just a broken toy that had been thrown away. “She was betrayed,” Rafe said quietly, “by someone she loved.
I should have seen what Kai was planning. ” He was blaming himself for my death. I reached for his hand, desperate to comfort him, but he shifted away, telling me he wanted to be alone. He was grieving for me, and I couldn’t even tell him I was right here.
As I walked away, I glanced back one last time. I knew one thing for certain. Rafe wasn’t like the others. He was the kind of Alpha both sides deserved.
The mating ceremony was in a few days. I had one plan to stop Kai: I would catch him alone, with witnesses, and frame him for assaulting the Alpha’s fianceé using a heat trigger my ‘mother’ had given me. It was a terrible plan, reckless and dangerous, but I was out of options. That night at the ball, the effects of the elixir my ‘mother’ had slipped into my drink began to take hold.
My skin felt too tight, and the smell of Rafe across the room was driving me insane. He danced with me, his hand on my back leaving trails of fire. I felt like I was drowning in his scent. Then Kai approached, his eyes trailing over my body like he already owned me.
This was my chance. But every instinct was screaming at me to run. He asked me to dance, and I placed my hand in his. He pulled me close, my heat-sweet scent washing over him.
“I must say,” he purred, “the rumors of your beauty hardly do you justice. ” I forced myself to simper, to play the shy little Omega, even as my stomach churned. We danced, my mind screaming, my body burning. He leaned in close, his lips brushing my ear.
“Soon, you’ll be mine,” he whispered. “Rafe won’t live to see the ceremony. ” I felt his hand rest on my hip, far too low. This was it.
This was my opening. I just needed it to go a little further. But the heat was working, and Rafe was looking for me. I caught Rafe’s eye across the dance floor as he saw me in Kai’s arms.
He dismissed the lord he was speaking to and began to work his way toward us. He looked furious, a vein thrumming in his temple. His anger was my signal. I had to stall.
“Tell me more about your plans, cousin,” I breathed, making my voice sound fascinated, my hand resting on his chest. “You seem like a man who knows exactly what he wants. ” Kai’s grin widened, a predator’s smile. “I know exactly what I want, little one.
I want the crown, and I want you on my arm when I take it. ” He was about to lean in for a kiss, and I let him. I let his lips touch mine, just for a second, before I heard the thunderous growl that shook the chandeliers. Rafe ripped Kai away from me, his hand wrapped around his throat.
The entire room gasped, and a ring of guards surrounded us. “Father,” Rafe snarled, never taking his eyes off Kai. “Arrest this traitor for assaulting my fianceé. ” For a moment, Kai’s eyes widened in shock.
Then, a slow, terrible smile spread across his face. “It wasn’t assault, cousin. She wanted it. ” He looked at me with a knowing glint.
“Isn’t that right, my lady? ” I drew in a shaky breath. I was supposed to play the victim here, but the look in Kai’s eyes told me he wasn’t done. He knew something, or he was about to make everything worse.
The guards moved in, gripping Kai’s arms. He didn’t resist. He just laughed, a cold, hollow sound. “You’ll regret this, cousin,” he promised Rafe.
“I have allies you don’t even know about. ”
As they dragged him away, I swayed on my feet. Rafe was at my side in an instant, his arm around my waist. “Are you alright?
Did he hurt you? ” I shook my head, unable to form words. The heat was still raging in my veins, and his touch was pure fire. He scooped me into his arms and carried me to my room.
“The ceremony will happen tonight,” he said, his voice tight. “I can’t let you out of my sight. ” He laid me on the bed, and I saw him hesitate. The heat was an inferno now, and I needed him.
I reached for him, but he stepped back. “This isn’t right,” he gritted out. “You’re not thinking clearly. ” I bit my lip, forcing a nod.
“I know,” I whispered, “but I need you, Rafe. I need you to help me with something. ” I took a steadying breath and looked him dead in the eye. “I know how to stop Kai.
I know everything he’s planning. But I need you to trust me. ” His eyes searched mine, full of confusion and concern. “Who are you?
” he asked. I smiled, a broken, watery thing. “I told you, I’m your fiancee. But I’m also your greatest enemy.
And I’m the only one who can save this pack. “
