Lunaria / Este~
The sun was coming up. I glanced at Lunaria who was watching the crack intently. I didn't want to fight her, she was just a girl who got caught in my mess. She deserved her body, her bond, her life.
But I deserved to live too.
"Will it hurt?" I asked. "Turning back."
Linaria hesitated. "I'm not sure. I've never turned before. Midnight was supposed to be my first time."
Somewhere deep in the void echoed a low growl. The crack was getting bigger.
"She's getting pulled back," Lunaria said. "It's starting."
I glanced at her and wondered if she was either pure of heart or extremely stupid. I didn't wait, I lunged at the crack before she could make her move. The void made a high pitched scream around me and Lunaria called my name from behind but I didn't stop.
I reached for the crack and touched it, but a force slammed into me with the weight of a mountain as it hurled me backwards. My back hit nothing and everything at once. The void pulsed and I was face to face with a pair of violet eyes which stared back at me. It was the wolf. She was being pulled back into the void but she didn't want to back down without a fight.
She looked exactly like Lunaria, not much like a wolf, but her expression was hostile, something Lunaria could never have. The wolf growled as she fought back but the force was stronger, it pushed her past me and a burst of light exploded.
I covered my eyes as my body was yanked towards the light and when I opened them again, I was no longer in the void.
I lay face up in the room. My chest rose and fell with shaky breaths. For a moment, I couldn't move, everywhere hurt. I slowly blinked as I adjusted my eyes to the light that filtered through the opening. It was morning.
I sat up slowly and looked at my hands, they were pale and slender, and not scarred. I scrambled to the fountain as I gazed at my reflection. Silver hair, violet eyes, I was Lunaria.
I glanced around me, the nightgown I'd been wearing when I shifted was in pieces on the floor. I looked down at my body, I was naked. I saw the robe I'd been given earlier at one end of the room, I crawled to get it and wrapped it around me.
Footsteps echoed behind me. I rose to my feet as the door rattled. It flung open and revealed my, no, Lunaria's parents.
"Lunaria!"
My, no, her mother's voice cracked as she rushed into the room, her father wasn't far behind. They both rushed to pull me in for a hug.
"You did it," her mother whispered as tears shimmered in her eyes. "Thank the Moon Goddess, you turned."
I felt an itch in my throat, the way they looked at me, as if I was theirs, as if I was their miracle.
Lunaria's father smiled at me. "How do you feel?"
"Sore," I admitted. "I'm tired too."
"That's normal," her mother said as she brushed away strands of hair from my face. "Your first shift is always the hardest. Especially when the wolf fights it."
"Can you remember anything?" her father asked. "Anything at all?"
"Perhaps your wolf? Do you remember seeing her?" her mother added.
I nodded.
Both of them heaved a sigh of relief.
"That means your bond has formed. You're truly one now," her mother said.
I wasn't sure that was entirely true but I didn't correct her either.
They led me out of the room.
"I'll have the servants run a bath," Lunaria's mother said. "You must be tired."
Lunaria's mother held me by my shoulders as we entered my bedroom.
"Today is a day of rest as you've finally crossed into womanhood. Now, your betrothal to Alpha Rowan can finally begin."
I didn't know what to say so I just nodded and let her blab on. She turned to the maids that gathered near the door.
"See to it that she's bathed, fed and pampered," the Queen said before placing her lips on my forehead.
"Yes, Your Majesty," the maids chorused.
Lunaria's mother gave me one last kiss to my forehead before exiting the room. The moment she was gone, Mielle, Alya and Eira led me to the bath chambers.
I went into the water without protesting, I had other matters on my mind. I remembered how calm she was in the void. She hadn't yelled at me, she had only asked why I didn't consider what she wanted.
I sighed.
I was scrubbed, dressed and fed. Now, I lay on the bed thinking about how I could return Lunaria's body back to her.
She didn't fight me, she didn't even try to fight for the right to her body. I rolled onto my side and stared at the door.
I had no magic, so how was I even supposed to give her back her body? I squeezed my eyes shut. This wasn't like me, getting sad and depressed like this.
I sighed again. The maids had informed me that I had school tomorrow, and it was going to be my first day as an awakened wolf. They also mentioned that it was the perfect time to break my bond with Kieran.
But I wasn't the one who made the bond, it was the real Lunaria, and so, the decision to break it wasn't in my hands. So much for Elena being a maid here, I hadn't seen her once.
I'd asked about her but the maids were sketchy with their replies. But from the way they spoke, she was definitely just a maid.
So why did Lunaria agree to switch identities in school?
I got out of bed and stared at my reflection through a mirror. Silver hair, violet eyes, a striking appearance. Lunaria truly is beautiful.
I placed a hand against the mirror.
"I didn't mean to take everything away from you, Lunaria. I just… didn't want to live like that anymore."