BACK HOME

SELENE'S POV

“We're almost there,” Seraphina, who was ahead of me on her horse with the emissary, who I recognized as Brian, rode beside her.

I had fallen behind as I stared pointedly at Brian's back. It was true. He had not recognized me.

Good.

We had been riding for a whole day now and I calculated about an hour's more ride before we would get to our destination.

“Don't screw it up, and don't in any way make him know you're the one,” Emelia warned in my head, but I was past words like that.

“Emelia, I'm gonna ask you a quick one,” I said back to her whilst grabbing a water skin from the side of my horse to drink from.

“What is it?” She asked impatiently, her words sincerely grating on my nerves.

“How stupid do you think I am on a scale of one to ten?” I asked her.

She was silent for a moment but I could feel her still there in my consciousness. “An eleven,” She said like it was a no-brainer.

Wow.

“I hate you” I whispered, lightly kicking the sides of the horse so we could keep moving.

She huffed but didn't reply, thankfully, and that was when I realized how silent the path was.

What happened here? I know the path wasn't overly lively, but there were usually little animals or something, but now… everything was too silent.

“What happened?” I called out to Brian who immediately fell back to match strides with my horse.

“Where, milady?”

“It's Seㅡ Nyx” I almost fumbled.

Emelia grumbled something about me messing this up.

He didn't seem to catch that because he was fixed on the path ahead.

“Is this how silent this path usually is?” I asked, knowing I had to behave oblivious to how this path usually was. After all, Nyx wouldn't know.

“No, after the plague worsened two days back after… after something happened in the pack, I don't know… It seemed to affect the forest or something. It's like all the animals scurried into hiding.” He was being vague, but I knew what he meant.

The Luna's death. My death. Or at least what they thought.

I felt bad for him. He looked really sad, a look that was foreign to someone like him. He was always so cheerful.

Taking this into consideration, I decided to keep silent and we continued the ride in silence. After about 50 minutes, we got to the gates of the pack, and the gates were opened.

Seraphina and Brian quickly rode inside but I lingered at the gates, staring at my home. My home. My pack.

“Nyx?” Seraphina called out from ahead, a confused look on her face.

“Coming, mum,” I called back before I started riding in, forcing a smile at the guard at the gate.

The man had a tired look on his face and I felt bad for him. Alan. I wanted to talk to him and assure him that it would be fine, but I held back. Nyx didn't know him. I was Nyx now. He didn't know who I was. I continued to ride in, an ache in my chest when I realized how empty the place was.

Of course, it was in quarantine. It looked so different from how it was a few days back when I had left it. No one. Just a silent pack. I looked to my left as we made our way to the main building where I usually had meetings with the pack elders and that was when I noticed the tents at that side.

Camping tents?

Brian's voice snapped me out of my thoughts. “Medic Nyx. You should go drop the supplies in the tents. That's where your goods should go before they'll be brought to the house where you'll stay. I'll inform the Alpha that you're here and I'll bring Medic Seraphina to the Alpha now. Think you can handle that?” He asked.

I looked back at the tents. “Is anyone there?”

“No, they should all be at the meeting now”

“A meeting? Do you all not know the first thing about quarantine? Nyx, wear the mask” Seraphina huffed, hopping off the horse.

Damn, that woman was strong.

I nodded and hopped off the horse, grabbing a mask out of my satchel which I quickly tied around my nose and mouth before giving a thumbs up to her.

“I'll go drop these there then,” I said. She gave me another worried glance then she walked off with Brian, her steps brisk and determined.

With a sigh, I tied my horse to a sturdy pole just outside the tent, giving the animal a quick pat on the neck before grabbing the satchel of medical supplies. The quiet was suffocating, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t right. But then, of course, that’s when Emelia decided to pop into my head.

“Are you sure you can handle this?” she asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “It’s not like you know shit about what you're carrying”

“Oh, please,” I muttered under my breath, as I stalked toward the nearest tent. “Like I can’t handle a few boxes of supplies. I’m practically a professional at this point. I studied on the way”

“Are you?” Emelia replied, the skepticism in her tone making my eye twitch. “Let’s see, you were practically killed and what did you do? Oh, right, you had a nice little ‘death’ party going on.”

“Shut up, Emelia,” I growled, half-expecting the wolf to actually scoff at me. “I didn’t ask to get killed, okay?”

“Maybe not,” she said with an exaggerated sigh. “But you wouldn't have stood so close to the water if you can't swim if you're so smart. Yeah, I looked through the memories you brought into Nyx's body”

“Oh, spare me the lecture. You’re not my mother.” I grumbled, rolling my eyes as I neared the tent. The last thing I needed was Emelia’s endless commentary on my life choices.

“Are you sure you know where you’re going? You can’t even keep track of your own thoughts sometimes. I swear, you—”

I snapped, muttering loud enough for anyone who might be within earshot, “God, you’re like a freaking mosquito, buzzing around in my head, never letting me get a moment of peace, you overgrown mutt.”

The words had barely left my mouth when I swung open the flap of the nearest tent—only to freeze, my mouth going dry.

Standing in the middle of the tent, shirtless, was a man. A very, very well-muscled man who was glaring at me like I had just interrupted his morning routine. His broad shoulders and toned chest were… distracting, to say the least.

I felt my face flush red, my eyes wide as they immediately darted down to his exposed torso. Oh no. Oh no, no, no.

“Apologies! I—sorry! I didn’t mean to—!” I sputtered, quickly looking away and stepping back, feeling like I was about to combust. “I didn’t—uh, I just... just... sorry!”

He didn’t seem to share the same embarrassment, his gaze locked on me with an intensity that made my skin crawl in all the wrong ways. He didn't even flinch as he hurriedly grabbed a shirt from a nearby crate, pulling it on with a speed that was almost alarming.

"Seriously?" he muttered under his breath, looking at me like I had just committed the gravest of offenses by walking into his tent.

I quickly turned my back, giving him privacy, though I could still hear the rustle of fabric as he dressed. "I'm really sorry! I didn’t mean to—"

I took a deep breath and tried to regain some semblance of dignity, though it was getting harder by the second. “It’s fine, you know, I’ll just—”

Suddenly, the man was standing right in front of me, looking down with his arms crossed. The casual air he had when he was shirtless was completely gone now, replaced by a cold, calculating stare. He looked at me like I was some sort of mystery he couldn’t quite solve, his dark eyes narrowing.

“Who are you?” he demanded, his voice low and firm.

I froze as I realized who I was staring at. He didn’t recognize me. Of course, he didn’t. Nyx’s body wasn’t mine, and the last time he’d seen me, I was… well, 18 years old. I barely managed to compose myself long enough to speak.

“Ronan?” I said before I could stop myself.

The second the name left my lips, I felt my stomach churn. Shit. Shit, shit, shit.

Ronan’s eyes widened at the mention of his name. He looked at me like I was some kind of ghost, a puzzle piece that didn’t fit. “How do you know my name?” he asked, a slight edge to his voice. “Who are you?”

I opened my mouth, but no words came out.

I had slipped up. It had been one stupid, careless mistake. My heart raced as I scrambled for an explanation, but nothing came to mind. The last thing I wanted was for him to recognize me as the Luna who had supposedly died—hell, even knowing me as Nyx was dangerous. He would figure out who I was, and that would be the end of everything.

Ronan Garrick. Alpha Ronan of Silver Hollow pack. The man who had requested to see me the night I had died. My biggest enemy ㅡ well apart from Davis and Elaraㅡ he was in the pack?

Anger filled my veins immediately as I stared at this man on the soil of my pack so casually; however, before I could say anything, I heard a very familiar voice behind me.

“Alpha Ronan. I was worried you got held up, the meeting is yet to begin. Ohㅡ you're here” The voice said.

I froze for the umpteenth time and slowly turned around to find myself staring at soft blue eyes. Davis Miles.

He had an air of authority around him and Beta Vesper was standing right next to him. They were both wearing masks and Davis had on black gloves.

“Alpha Davis Miles. I've met your mother, but I'm not sure we've been introduced yet.” He stretched his hand out.

My heart was pounding in my chest as I felt several emotions ㅡ pain, fear, confusion, and, most importantly ㅡ, hate. He had ordered Elara to get rid of me that night. Couldn't even do the job himself. He didn't know me now at least. Couldn't hurt me now.

Bastard.

With a fake smile plastered on my face, I took his hand, gripping it more tightly than considered normal before I spoke up, my voice coming out more measured than I had thought.

“Medic Nyx Sullivan” I introduced as I stared at him with piercing eyes.

His worst nightmare