A NEW LIFE

SELENE'S POV

“You have 3 months, don't waste it. Your original body has been preserved… It is now somewhere away from Blackthorne Vale aㅡ”

I woke up with a start, my body drenched in sweat as I looked around me, breathing heavily.

A woman with slightly graying hair was leaning over me, but she was startled as I suddenly sat up, and she fell on her butt.

The house was cozy and warm, the scent of herbs and wood filling the room.

Where the fuck was I?

I looked around me, wondering how I had ended up; I was right in the lake when I heard that voiceㅡthe voice?ㅡ What did it say?

The sound of the old woman's voice brought me out of my daze and I snapped my head back to look at her.

“Nyx…” Her tone was relieved and tears filled her eyes as she quickly enveloped me in a hug.

I stiffened at once in her embrace and I quickly pulled away, my eyes wide as I stared her down. “Who are you?” I managed to croak, my voice slightly higher than normal.

I immediately clasped my hand over my mouth, my eyes wide. Something felt very off.

The woman stared at me in confusion for a second then she smiled in understanding. “It's okay, Nyx. It's just the fever. I made some broth. Give me a moment.” She stood up surprisingly fast and scurried out of the small room.

My hair was slightly layered across my face and I swept it to the side, my eyes widening when I realized my hair was a light brown. When did it get so light?

No.

All of a sudden, I could remember everything: the cold, murky water I was drowning in, flailing about in, and then the light.

Was this the afterlife?

Everything had gone blank and then when I opened my eyes, there was nothing but darkness all through till I heard the voiceㅡ Whose voice?ㅡ Suddenly I could hear the voice loudly in my consciousness.

“Selene Arden… I have heard your wish and I have a proposal for you… 3 months in a new body, you have 3 months to take back your pack and get revenge on those who wronged you. I have heard your plea. Your original body is preserved with the soul of another; you will take her body and fulfill your vengeance plan, but be warned… if you die in her body, you will not be reborn and vice versa. Keep her body safe, and she will keep yours. But don't forget… three months and if you're not done with it, you both die. If she's not done with hers, you both die too. Do you agree?” A sweet melodious voice had said.

I hadn't seen who was speaking, but somehow, I knew I had received a favor from the moon goddess, and be damned if I was going to let it go to waste.

Without thinking, I scrambled up, my body weak as hell, but I struggled to stand up to look into the mirror, and I was shocked by the person staring back at me.

Sharp blue eyes, sharply defined cheekbones, messy brown hair. Whoever this was had beautiful features; she was as beautiful as an angel, and she looked meek. What did the woman call her? Nyx?

My eyes darted to the table, and I saw a small locket; I quickly grabbed it, toying with it until it sprang open to reveal a name.

Nyx Sullivan.

I didn't know what to think about rebirth. I had always thought it was such bullshit when I read about it in history books but now… I was staring at the name of the woman whose body I had now occupied and who now occupied mine.

Where was she? My guess was that the body was no longer in Blackthorne Vale. The moon goddess had said something about it being preserved and safe. What was her goal? Revenge too?

“Nyx, here” The old woman scurried back in, her soft face lined with worry and concern as she dropped a steaming bowl of soup in front of me.

She quickly sat next to me, her eyes teary as she stared at me. “Eat up, you got me worried. I told you not to bother trying to treat those rogues, but as always, you didn't listen. Then I had to watch you unconscious for two weeks; you scared me,” The woman was saying, but I was looking around the small room.

I suddenly heard a voice in my head and I jerked slightly, the woman stopping too seeing my reaction.

“I'm fine” I quickly croaked before the woman could say anything.

“She's a med,ic” The voice in my head repeat,ed and I frowned, not recognizing the voice. That was not my wolf, Diane.

There was a sharp knock on the door in the adjoining room and the woman stood up, casting me another worried glance before she went to answer whoever was there.

“Who are you?” I whispered back to the voice in my head while I grabbed the bowl with shaking hands.

Was that…herbs? I took another sniff and then dropped it on a table just as the voice spoke up again.

“The name's Emelia, Nyx called me Lia but you..can call me Emelia not Lia” The voice said sharply making me realize I was speaking to Nyx’s wolf.

I took another sweep of the room in one glance before replying the haughty wolf who didn't seem to like me. Mutual.

“Why didn't you get involved in the soul swap?” I asked confused as I struggled to my feet, trying to look around to get a feel of the place.

Shouldn't she have followed Nyx to my body?†

“Newsflash, I don't know how the moon goddess works and besides… I'd say it's to confuse the both of you, give her your wolf and give you hers so that you have to form a bond and work together or guess what?” She paused, waiting for me to guess.

I found a small bowl filled with dry leaves on a small table and I paused, staring at it. “I don't know… we don't get to go back to our original bodies?”

“No!” She shrieked. “You die”

Oh.

“Well that's one way to put it but I won't die. I have never failed. I won't fail now” I muttered back to her while trying to listen in on the conversation coming from the next room where the woman was.

“Her name is medic Seraphina. She's Nyx's mother and a renowned medic around here. You're a Luna or someone of high status, I can tell that much but it'd be a shame if you never heard of Blackheart”

I froze. Everyone knew that name. She was the medic I was supposed to have called on in the morning for the supposed plague happening in the pack.

This was her?! I was in her daughter's body?!

“Your silence is letting me know that you do know her and your heart rate spiked. According to my deductions, they will call on her and this is where you get your chance to go back to your pack. I've been briefed by the moon goddess and unfortunately I have to keep you safe if I'm going to get Nyx back” Emelia said in one breath, pacing about my consciousness.

Could she never shut up? Diane was always silent and only spoke when spoken to or when necessary but this one… this one could drive me nuts at this rate.

The room smelled of herbs and something faintly metallic. I glanced around at the shelves lined with vials and jars filled with colorful concoctions. Some were bright green, others dark purple, and there was one that had a swirling golden sheen. It looked like someone had put all the ingredients of a forest into glass.

I could feel the weight of Emelia’s voice in my head, constantly buzzing like an annoying fly that wouldn’t go away.

“Seriously, how do you not know anything about what’s happening right now? It's a soul swap. It's basic stuff,” she muttered.

“I know, I know!” I said under my breath, trying to focus on anything other than the fact that I was no longer in my own body and—worse—there was some complete stranger living inside mine. “But how is it that you don’t know anything about this? I thought wolves were supposed to be, you know, in tune with their surroundings.”

Emelia huffed, clearly offended. “Well, I'm a wolf, not a historian, so excuse me for not having my spiritual pamphlet memorized. Besides, this whole thing seems too easy. The moon goddess must have some other agenda or something. Your problem not mine”

“Emelia, you’re in my head right now, so you’re officially a part of my problems,” I muttered, rolling my eyes. “At least keep quiet while I try to figure things out.”

There was a pause, followed by a sarcastic chuckle from Emelia. “Sure, no problem. I'll just sit here in my imaginary cage. It’s not like I have anything better to do than watch you stumble through this. Enjoy your moment of 'revelation'.” I could feel her stomping about and I instantly realized it was going to be hard to get anything done with her.

Ignoring the snarky wolf, I turned my attention back to the room. The walls were lined with small shelves, each holding something that looked important. Vials of liquids, herbs, and dried plants filled every available space. The warm amber light from the small fireplace flickered, casting strange shadows across the room.

I picked up one of the vials, a pale blue liquid swirling inside it. It seemed harmless enough, and I half expected it to glow or do something dramatic.

“Don't drink that,” Emelia's voice snapped into my head, pulling me out of my thoughts. “That’s sleeping potion, it’ll knock you out for days. Not like you need help with that, right?”

“I wasn’t going to drink it,” I muttered, setting the vial back down carefully. “Maybe I’ll need it for later, though.”

I continued to explore the shelves. Small jars of salves and ointments lined another section of the wall, their labels written in an elegant script. There were books stacked haphazardly on a table, some open to pages filled with diagrams of human anatomy and herbal remedies. The old woman—Seraphina, Nyx’s mother—had clearly spent her life studying healing. But I hadn't and apparently the woman would expect she was still working with her daughter who is supposed to know all these stuff.

I was screwed.

The faint sound of footsteps outside the room brought me back to the present. My thoughts were interrupted when I noticed the steaming bowl of soup placed on the low wooden table beside me.

"Drink the soup," Emelia said, practically ordering me now. "You need your strength. Trust me, you don't want to piss off Seraphina. She's intense when she's mad. Just drink it."

I rolled my eyes. "Fine. It's no big deal." I grabbed the spoon, hesitated for a second, then took a careful sip.

The taste hit me like a hammer to the face. It was awful. Bitter, metallic, and... revolting. I instantly regretted it. My throat recoiled, and I spat the soup back into the bowl, gagging. My eyes watered, and I immediately began coughing, trying to rid my mouth of the taste.

“Ugh!” I wheezed. “What is this, poison?”

The door creaked open, and Seraphina stepped back inside, her eyebrows shooting up in alarm as she saw me coughing and sputtering.

"Nyx?" she asked, voice trembling with concern. "What happened?"

I froze, panic flooding my chest. I needed a good excuse. Fast.

“It’s... it’s just too hot,” I forced out, grabbing the spoon and waving it in the air like it might help prove my point. “You know, I didn’t expect it to be so... uh... hot.”

Seraphina didn’t seem convinced, but she took a step closer, scooping it from the floor and setting the bowl down on the table, patting my back gently as I continued to cough, trying to force the taste out of my mouth.

"You're still feverish. You need to rest," she said softly. "That soup should help bring your fever down. Please, just try again."

“I’ll be fine,” I croaked. “It’s just... really hot.” I tried to clear my throat, but I could feel the burn from the bitterness still lingering.

Seraphina sighed, her expression softening. "You're not fooling anyone, Nyx. Now drink up, please. We have more important things to worry about. You’ll need your strength."

As she moved to pack something up in the corner, I took the opportunity to gather myself and try to get my bearings again. While she was distracted, I seized the moment to ask the one question that had been burning in my mind.

“Who was the person who just came here?” I asked, my voice quieter now.

Seraphina paused, glancing over her shoulder as she continued to pack. “Another pack with the LID. I've been hearing reports all over and they've been plagued for five days now. It’s been getting worse, though. That’s why I’m being called in. The Alpha of Blackthorne Vale… he’s desperate for a cure.”

Blackthorne Vale.

I froze, my heart skipping a beat. My pack.

Five days. That meant I’d been unconscious for three days now, after everything went wrong at the lake. Davis had gone on with the summoning of the medic I had mentioned and Alpha? He was still basking in the position of Alpha? I would kill him myself. Him first. Elara next.

The Moon Goddess had given me three months. That was more than enough time.

Seraphina turned to face me again, her eyes soft with concern as she eyed the bowl once more. “Please, Nyx, drink it. I have to help. We have to help them. The emissary was quite specific with how urgent it is”

I glanced down at the bowl of soup, mentally cursing the taste but forcing myself to take another sip. This was my moment. I had no time to waste.

Emelia’s voice was quiet now, but I could still feel her frustration. “I told you it wasn’t going to taste good.”

Ignoring her, I turned my attention back to Seraphina. “So... this emissary,” I began slowly, trying to keep my voice calm, “he’s from Blackthorne Vale, you said?”

Seraphina nodded, her brow furrowing. “Yes. He’s an emissary, a messenger sent to request our help urgently.”

Urgent, huh?

The room seemed to grow colder as the realization settled deep inside me. They’d messed with the wrong Luna.

I would make them pay.

For everything.