Pain.
That was the first thing I felt.
A deep, bone-chilling ache spread through my body like fire. But it wasn't the sharp, crushing pain of being hit by a truck. No, this was different, duller, heavier, like I had been trapped inside a frozen tomb for years, and only now was my body remembering what it meant to be alive.
I tried to move, but my limbs felt stiff, foreign, like they didn't belong to me. My fingers twitched, brushing against rough fabric, a blanket? No, it was too thin, too worn, like something meant for prisoners.
Prisoners.
The word sent a spike of fear through me. Suddenly, the heaviness in my body didn't matter anymore. My eyelids felt like lead, but I forced them open.
Darkness.
The room around me was dimly lit, flickering torchlight casting twisted shadows on the damp stone walls. A cold draft crawled over my skin, making me shiver. The air smelled of mildew and something metallic, like blood.
Funny enough I wasn't in a hospital.
I wasn't in my foster home.
Panic surged through me like a tidal wave, and I sucked in a sharp breath only to freeze when I heard it.
A gasp.
Not from me.
From someone else.
My gaze snapped toward the sound, and for the first time, I realized I wasn't alone.
A girl stood at the far end of the room, her eyes wide with terror. She wore a simple, rough wool dress, and her hands trembled as she clutched a bucket of water.
She looked like she had just seen a ghost.
"You..." she whispered, her voice barely above a breath. "You're alive."
What does she mean, I'm alive?
I tried to speak, but my throat was dry, my voice cracking. "Where...where am I?"
The girl took a shaky step back as if my words had somehow confirmed her worst fears. If you're asking then, no, it isn't funny.
"I have to get the Alpha," she murmured, her hands shaking so badly that the bucket slipped from her grasp. Water splashed across the stone floor, soaking my bare feet. She didn't even stop to clean it. She just turned and ran, her footsteps echoing down the long hallway. Gosh this place looked so… old.
Alpha?
The word rattled in my mind, unfamiliar yet strangely… uhm… important.
I pressed a hand to my chest, trying to steady my breathing, and that's when I felt it.
A body that wasn't mine.
My hands were smaller, softer. My skin was pale, delicate, nothing like the rough, calloused hands I had in my old life from years of pushing a wheelchair.
My hair spilled over my shoulders in long, silky waves, brushing against my bare arms. It wasn't supposed to be this long.
I turned my hands over, staring at my trembling fingers.
This wasn't me.
I wasn't me.
A wave of nausea churned in my stomach as memories that weren't mine flickered through my mind. A castle. A throne room. Cold eyes staring down at me.
Chains. Pain.
Death.
I inhaled sharply, my fingers pressing against my temples as if I could force the images away. But they wouldn't leave.
I have been here before.
I died here before.
The room swayed as I tried to piece it together, but my thoughts were cut short by heavy, echoing footsteps.
The girl had returned.
And she wasn't alone.
A tall figure strode into the room, his presence was almost suffocating.
I had never seen him before, but the moment his gaze locked onto mine, my heart lurched in my chest.
He was terrifying.
Dark hair. Piercing, icy eyes. A face carved from stone, every angle felt sharp enough to cut. He was dressed in black, his broad shoulders framed by a thick fur cloak, his posture radiating with authority.
He didn't look at me like a person.
He looked at me like an anomaly.
Like something that shouldn't exist. I shouldn't exist?
His gaze swept over me slowly, and then his lips parted.
"You were… you are dead," he said. His voice was low, but men, I could hear something dangerous.
The way he said it wasn't a question. It was a fact.
I swallowed hard, my throat dry. "I..." I didn't know what to say.
I didn't know what I was supposed to be.
A mistake? A ghost? A second chance?
I didn't get the chance to decide. Or was he maybe the warden in hell? This definitely couldn't be heaven… right?
The man moved faster than I could react, his hand wrapping around my throat as he slammed me back against the stone wall.
Panic exploded in my chest as I gasped for air, my fingers clawing at his wrist.
"You were dead," he repeated, his grip tightening. "I killed you."
Terror shot through me, but beneath it was something else.
Rage.
I didn't know who he was. I didn't know what had happened before I woke up in this body. But now I knew one thing, he had hurt me. He had killed me.
I forced my shaking hands between us, shoving against his chest with all the strength I could muster.
"Then maybe you didn't do a good enough job," I rasped, glaring up at him.
His eyes flashed, something dark and unreadable crossing his expression. And then, just as quickly as he had grabbed me, he let go.
I slumped to the ground, coughing, my throat feeling raw.
He took a step back, his eyes never leaving mine.
"You spoke back at me," he muttered. "You..."
I didn't know what that meant, but something in his voice made my stomach twist.
He turned to the guards who had entered behind him. "Take her to the palace."
The girl from before gasped. "But, Alpha…"
"Now."
The guards hesitated, but then one of them stepped forward, gripping my arm tightly.
I wanted to fight, to struggle, but my body was still weak. They lifted me, half-dragging me toward the door.
The man, Alpha? King? Executioner? Whoever he was watched me go, his expression
still unreadable.
I didn't know what awaited me beyond these walls, but I knew one thing.
This time, I wasn't going to die so easily.