Chelly (Now Sansa) POV
My chest heaved until the air finally settled in my lungs. I blinked hard, trying to make sense of the shapes around me.
I expected a hospital room or even the crushed remains of my car, but instead I saw trees.
Familiar ones that had thick pines and old oaks that bordered Moonshade.
I pressed my palms into the earth and pushed myself upright. My legs trembled a little, but they held.
I looked up at the sky, breathed in the night air, and a relieved laugh slipped out.
I was back in Moonshade pack. I was back alive.
I lifted my arms and stretched, testing every part of me, and a small jump of excitement escaped before I could stop it.
That tiny moment shattered when something cracked under my foot.
I stiffened and slowly stepped back.
My heart dropped when I saw what I'd stepped on.
My phone.
The screen was cracked into a spiderweb of glass, but it still flickered to life when I picked it up. I brushed dirt off and squinted at the faint glow.
The only thing I could make out was the time.
11:47 PM.
At first, the time didn't register.
Then it did, and my eyes widened. It was almost midnight. Which meant the mating ceremony would be over soon.
"No… no, no, no."
I turned in frantic circles, looking for my car, the road, anything recognizable. Nothing. Not even tire marks. It was like I'd just been dropped in the middle of nowhere.
Fine. I'll shift. I thought to myself. I could run there faster than any car anyway.
I braced myself to shift, already reaching for that instinctive pull in my body… and nothing happened.
The Moon Goddess's warning hit me then. She'd forbidden me from shifting unless I was in real danger. And as far as I was concerned, this situation definitely qualified.
But no matter how many times I tried to push the change forward, my body stayed frustratingly human.
I forced myself to stop and think of another option, but that was when the sound reached me. It began as a dull, distant vibration until it grew clearer and rhythmic.
It wasn't just noise, but music.
And close enough that I could follow it.
I pushed forward, slipping between trees and brushing off branches as the sound grew louder. My hearing felt unusually muted, which only made it harder to track.
I made a mental note to see the pack doctor later. Maybe the accident had affected me more than I realized.
When I pushed aside the last cluster of branches, I finally saw it—the building the music was coming from.
The mating ceremony hall.
A relieved sigh slipped out of me. The Moon Goddess had been kind enough to drop me close after all.
I glanced up at the moon. "Thank you."
I didn't waste a second after. I headed toward the building in a quick, uneven rush somewhere between a walk and a run.
But the moment I reached the entrance and tried to step inside, a guard shoved me back hard enough to knock me straight onto my backside.
I looked up to see him planting himself in front of the doorway.
"How dare you do that to me?" I snapped. That was when I noticed something about my voice. It was lighter and not quite mine. But before I could make sense of it, the guard spoke.
"The mating ceremony is open for everyone. The after-party isn't."
I pushed myself to my feet. "And you don't think I know that? I'm the Beta's daughter. Let me in. I need to speak with someone."
He snorted. "Yeah, try again."
"I'm serious. I am the Beta's daughter."
He snorted again but didn't say anything to acknowledge what I had just said.
"You don't believe me? Fine. I'll tell you something you'll believe. I know who you are, Malvric. I hooked up with your brother, and you tried making a move on me two years ago."
The color drained from his face, and he stepped in close, lowering his voice.
"I don't know what that bitch told you, but if you repeat any of this to anyone, I'll make sure you regret it. Understand?"
I let out a scoff. "Save your threats for someone who cares. I just need you to let me in. If you do… maybe I'll return the favor later tonight."
There was no universe where that was happening because once I found Lucien, Malvric wouldn't dare come close to me. But I needed him to let me in right now, so saying anything he wanted to hear just to get in was no biggie to me.
Malvric leaned in. "I'm into blondes, and you're not one," then he shoved me to the side harshly. "So step away so I can let worthy people in, Omega."
"Omega?" I shrieked at what he had dared to call me. "I know I look rough right now but I am not an Omega! And take a good look at my hair.. I am blonde.."
I grabbed a lock to show him…but froze when I noticed my hair wasn't the silky blonde I spent years obsessively maintaining.
In its place was a dull, lifeless curly brunette that looked like a nest.
"My hair…" The words scraped out of me.
Panic shot through my chest. I looked around for a window—anything reflective—but spotted only the fountain at the far corner of the building. I rushed to it, leaned over the water, and stared into the surface.
I felt air leave my lungs.
It wasn't just the hair that seemed to be a problem.
It was the full, unmistakable reflection.
Sansa Riley's pathetic self was staring back at me.
A sound tore out of my throat. It was somewhere between a scream, a choke, and a dying kettle.
I leaned closer to the water, hoping the reflection would magically correct itself, but it was still Sansa, and not me.
As I kept gaping at the fountain, something else caught my eye. The moon reflected beside my unwanted face. I looked up at the sky, and right then, the damn thing flickered.
A soft, smug little twinkle.
"Did you just wink at me?" My voice pitched louder. "You did this to me, and you have the nerve to wink at me?"
I was just about to hurl every curse I knew at the moon when someone spoke behind me.
"Hey."
I shifted my gaze from the sky and turned sharply. The anger on my face dropped the second I saw who it was.
Lucien.
My chest loosened on its own, and I let out a breath I didn't even know I was holding.
He stepped closer and pulled me in by the waist, holding me like he had been waiting to do it all night.
"I've been looking everywhere for you," he said. "I called, I texted. You had me worried."
Then he began to lead me farther away from the building. I wondered why he was taking me to the woods, but the thought of him having a special thing planned out for us, excited me.
After he halted, bringing me closer to himself, I found myself lost in his touch. I thought I'd never have this again. For a moment, I just stared at him. My head spun with the most ridiculous hope. Maybe he knew. Maybe he still recognized me somehow because he is my mate.
"I'm sorry," I said. "I wasn't here on time and my clothes are not exactly the best and I just.."
He cut me off by kissing me.
I leaned into it without thinking. The warmth and spark that flooded through me exactly how I had imagined my first kiss with him as my mate would be.
He pulled back slowly, and I smiled at him, relieved. At least he knew it was me thanks to the mate bond. At least…
"It's okay, Sansa," he said. "You look good wearing anything."
The smile on my face dropped.
I stepped back a little.
"Wait, what?"