Chapter 2
"Miss Lina, did you have a nightmare?" Ana asked me, looking worried and bringing me back to reality.
I swallowed, still having a hard time believing my eyes. What if this was all a dream, a brief moment before my death?
"Umm, I'm fine," I whispered, slowly getting up. I needed to look at a mirror; I needed to know if this was real. But I froze mid-step as I sensed my wolf.
"Carla, are you there?" I called out to her, my heart trembling as I waited for her response.
"I'm here. How are you feeling?" she responded, making my breath hitch. My wolf, she was really back. Tears blurred my vision; this couldn't be a dream.
I took hurried steps to the mirror, wanting to look at my reflection. My unscarred face stared back at me, as beautiful and clear as back then. Nothing like what it had become when hot water was poured on my face while I was asleep, during the time I lived as an omega and a lowly maid.
I could no longer hold my tears back as they flowed down my face. I lifted my hand to touch my skin, tracing the cheek that had once been ruined, barely believing my eyes. I was really back in the past. I had the chance to make everything right this time.
After several seconds of staring at my reflection, I let my hands drop to my side, and my expression instantly turned cold as I recalled all I had gone through at the hands of the people who had betrayed me. This was my one chance, my chance to make them pay, only that this time, I would always be one step ahead.
I quietly wiped away my tears and turned to Ana, who was obviously confused by my strange actions just now. "I won't be meeting my mom. If she comes, find an excuse to give her and send her away," I said sternly, my tone unhesitant.
My parents always saw me as nothing but a pawn to climb up the ranks and raise their status. As long as I could remember, they had always raised me as a potential Luna. People treated me with such respect and regard, believing that I would one day become Kain's Luna, believing that I was his fated mate.
They weren't wrong, though. I was his mate, until he decided to reject and ruin me and pick some low-rank wolf as his Luna. I clenched my fist, remembering what they had both done to me.
Today was the day everything had gone wrong, but I had a chance to make things right now.
Ana hesitated at the door. "Miss… are you sure? Your mother will be angry if you refuse to see her."
"She's always angry," I muttered. "And I no longer care."
She blinked, startled by the sharpness in my voice, but nodded before leaving quietly.
The moment the door shut, I let out a trembling sigh of relief.
Eight months of misery… erased.
Eight months of humiliation… undone.
Eight months of pain, scars, betrayal… all rewritten.
A slow smile crept up my face as tears flowed down my eyes. I couldn't explain what I was feeling at the moment, relief? Joy? Excitement? I just knew that I was insanely happy to be alive.
I went to my wardrobe and opened it. The clothes were still there, the beautiful dresses I once wore proudly. Dresses that ended up being burnt by my parents in order to erase my traces from their lives. I ran my fingers across them, remembering how this morning in the past, I had cried because the servants whispered that Kain had found his love interest.
And by evening… in front of everyone, he had rejected me. Fuck him!
My stomach twisted, but I forced the emotion down. I had already died once. Nothing could break me now.
"Carla," I whispered to my wolf, "do you remember everything that happened in my past life?" I asked, curiously waiting for her answer.
She hummed softly in response. "I remember everything, and that is the same reason my connection with you has become stronger than before. Not only that, because my spiritual energy has increased, you're twice as strong, Lina."
My heart raced with excitement. "Twice as strong, huh," I murmured, gripping the edge of the wardrobe. "What are the chances?
Carla, what do you say… let's show them."
A knock sounded at the door, interrupting my thoughts. I held my breath as I waited for the person to speak.
"Lina?" A woman's cold voice called. Of course, it was my mother. She must have stormed over after Ana told her I didn't want to see her.
I inhaled sharply and opened the door only halfway. She stood there in a green gown, looking elegant and annoyed, just like the day it all happened.
Her eyes swept over me. "Why are your eyes red? You look terrible. Did you forget Lord Kain is expecting you later?"
The way she said Lord Kain, made my jaw clench.
"I'm not meeting him," I said simply.
Her eyes widened in disbelief. "Have you gone insane? This is the day he will announce you as ..."
"No." I cut her off sharply. "This is the day he throws me away."
My mother froze, eyes narrowing. "What nonsense are you saying?"
"I won't beg for a place in his life," I continued, steadying my voice. I couldn't let my emotions show. "And I won't walk into that hall just to be humiliated."
She grabbed my wrist. "You will go. Our family depends on this. You owe us,"
I jerked my hand back, shocking her. "I owe you nothing."
The silence that followed was sharp. I could sense her shock. I had never spoken to her like this before. Not once.
"Lina…" she said slowly, "what has gotten into you?"
"Reality," I replied. "And I'm finally done being your puppet."
Before she could react, I stepped back and shut the door in her face.
Her stunned gasp echoed from the hallway, followed by angry banging.
"Lina! Open this door! You are acting like a child! Do you want to ruin us?!"
I leaned against the door, calm and cold. They had ruined me first. Maybe it was time to let them have a taste of what they had put me through.
"Carla," I whispered to my wolf, "what should we do next?"
A low, fierce growl vibrated through my mind. "Prepare."
She was right.
I still had to attend the Luna selection. I needed to reject him as my mate, that was the only way I would be completely free from his hold on my soul and move on.
I straightened my dress, lifted my chin, and looked into the mirror again. My eyes were no longer full of fear. They were full of fire.
"Come, Kain," I whispered to myself.
"I'm ready for you."