CHAPTER ONE ANNALISE With shaky hands, I gingerly lifted off the silver-coloured shawl that covered my face, revealing a charred skin. My reflection stared back at me as I lifted my eyes to look at the expansive looking glass in front of me, darkened and mangled. One eye peered back at me as the other eye was blind. My fingers traced the contours of my burnt face that had been the object of revulsion until I'd learned to cover her face each time I went out. For a moment, I imagined myself the pretty girl I had always been. The girl who had always been at the receiving end of affection. The radiant girl who had no one turning away in revulsion from seeing her face. The beautiful girl, daughter of the Alpha of Black Blood Pack with the silver-colored hair and emerald green eyes mirroring the resplendent foliage of a blooming rose, and lips that were to die for. Now, only one of those dark green eyes stared back at me. And those beautiful lips? They were
CHAPTER TWO I brought my hands to rub my stomach that was still quite flat. "My baby, my precious baby" I whispered, massaging the stomach. I was nothing now and I had nothing. I didn't even know the gender of the child. No one would accept a revolting woman like myself, let alone mate her. What could I do? There was only one thing to do to save myself. The test reports I had kept as a surprise for Edwin lay there on the floor. I only had to give it to him. Maybe he would take me back, he had loved me so much. He had said several times how his love for me could never die. There was no way his feelings for me would be gone so suddenly. With a renewed hope, I crawled to where the results lay and I picked it up. My hands traced the part where it said pregnant. Yes, I was truly pregnant. I had a chance after all. Deciding to leave the shawl and the mask on the floor since everyone had already seen me, I crawled to the door. My wheelchair had been taken from
CHAPTER THREE. The door pushed open and I looked up. To see the new Luna, Constance Avery and Edwin Lane outside the door, their lips locked together in a kiss, their hands groping each other. My hands shook. "Gosh... You're so, so sweet!" Edwin said in-between their kiss. I sat frozen. My mind couldn't wrap around what I was seeing at all. I was shocked. I was shocked with the enthusiasm Edwin showed. In the five years I was married to him, he had never shown this much eagerness in bed. I clutched the paper in my hand tightly as the couple stopped to glance at me. Then, like I was no one at all, they turned back to each other to resume their deed. My insides twisted in raw agony and my wolf howled in anguish for the umpteenth time today as I watched them. "Yes, right there..." Constance moaned as he began kissing her neck, and Edwin moaned in return. Constance turned her face in my direction and then, she smirked at me. "Let's do it here, baby..." She told him and E
Chapter Four: Five Years Later - Rebirth I awoke in a room bathed in soft, golden light. The luxurious bed beneath me felt plush, and my body felt strangely whole. I blinked, trying to process the unfamiliar surroundings. Then it hit me - I looked different. My once disfigured face was now flawless, and when I sat up, I discovered that my legs were fully functional. Rising from the bed, I cautiously approached a full-length mirror. Staring back at me was the Annalise of my dreams, unmarred and beautiful. Confusion mingled with disbelief as I touched my smooth skin and ran my fingers through my silver-colored hair. I was the same Annalise, just with a very slight difference. "How did this happen?" I questioned, still in disbelief. After saying the word, I was glued to the spot for a while. "Did I just speak?" I finally found my voice. "I just did! I spoke! I just did!" I screamed excitedly as I jumped around the house. I rushed back to the mirror and stood there, admiring
CHAPTER FIVEELARAI realised that River was in love with me. And even though I didn't love him back, I decided to use his love to my own advantage. I called River that morning to inform him that I wanted to see him. I lay in bed thinking about the possibilities of getting my revenge as soon as possible when I heard a soft knock on the door. I knew at once that it was River. He was the only one I was expecting. I stood up from my bed and walked towards the door. I grabbed the key, turned it in the hole, and pulled the handle backwards."Good morning, Annalise," he greeted me. "Elara," I corrected him. "Good morning, Elara," he took correction. I opened the door widely and let him come in. "I can see you have changed a lot in your room," he said as he sat on the couch. "That shows that we both have different tastes," I responded. I sat down on the bed facing him. We stared at each other awkwardly for some time without saying a word to each other. I cleared my throat and began."I could b
CHAPTER SIXELARARiver held my hand and took me around the seats of the pack elders. I had to bow in front of them and receive their blessings. After greeting the elders, we began to walk towards other pack officials. The beta, gamma, and others. As we greeted them, and River introduced them to me officially. I could see in their eyes that they had a lot going on in their heads. They had their doubts about me being their Luna. They also had questions I could see clearly in their eyes. Like, where did she come from? They were shocked and perturbed about the fact that their alpha had brought a mate out of the blues. In all of these, I ignored everyone and greeted them politely. I couldn't tell if it was just me or River saw it too. I decided to play cool, still. "She's... she's pretty," one of them said. "Like a ghost that she appears to be."I swallowed hard and continued walking. "Are you sure you know what a Luna is?" Another one teased me. "This is not a model house for fashion par
CHAPTER SEVEN ELARAThe ceremony was over. River and I walked together to his room. Everyone else in the hall had also begun to disperse, so we weren't left behind. He led me to his room, and I sat on the couch when we got there."I'll have a shower first," River told me. "The stress in there was something else.""I know, right?" I replied with a forced smile.River walked towards his wardrobe, undressed behind it, and soon came into view with a towel tied around his waist. I looked away, not wanting to see his bare chest."It won't take too long, I promise," he told me. "Just take care until I return."I was getting impatient, wanting to tell him to just get into the bath already. I rolled my eyes and shook my head. I heard his footsteps towards the bathroom and only raised my head when I heard the door close."Urgh!" I groaned, standing up. I took off my shoes and wore one of River's unisex slippers. I sneaked out of the room, heading to the guards' quarters. Although River knew ab
.CHAPTER EIGHTELARAI was back on that horrible day. I could see the day my previous mate announced my best friend as his Luna. The smiles on their faces and the rejoicing from the pack members. I felt the heartbreaking moment once again. I folded my fist in a blow as I watched the scene, and instead of the sorrowful aftermath, I felt a super of revenge instead. I felt two hands grip me and release me in the lake. Immediately, I landed in the water. I gasped and sprang awake. It was all a nightmare, after all. I was breathing heavily and sweating profusely. Even though the AC in the room was on, I was still sweating all over, and my hands were holding the sheets firmly. I heard sounds of shuffling nearby and looked up to see River wearing his clothes in a haste. I was surprised as I moved my eyes straight to the wall clock. It was only a few minutes after 1 am. I wondered where River planned on going at the time of the night. Why was he dressing up? Well, the only way to find out was b
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-FIVE RIVER I walked behind the soldiers with Elara in my arms. She had a glowing smile all over her face. I was smiling, too, because I was proud of Elara. She carried out her plans within a very short while, and it was successful. Constance and Edwin were moved to the pack field where they would be stoned to death. "Do you want to watch them die?" I asked her. She shook her head. "I'll only watch them get burnt," she replied. "At least, I wouldn't have to hear them screaming and calling me to forgive." I nodded in agreement with what Elara had said. "Where's Harrison?" She asked me. I turned to her. I wondered why she asked me about Harrison. "He told me what happened," she said to me. "Why didn't you let him explain?" "He stole from the pack," I informed her. "What is there to explain?" Elara slapped her forehead. "I was secretly replacing it from here," she whispered. My eyes widened. "I bet he didn't tell you t
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-FOUR CONSTANCEI was shocked about the fact that Oma called me sister, but of course, that wasn't the main issue. I shoved it aside and hurried to meet Edwin, who was still seated in his chair. "What happened here?" I asked him. He stared at me for a while. He was rolling his eyes continuously. I suspected that he was going to lose consciousness if nothing was done. I walked over to him and placed my hand around his head."Why did she call me sister? What is going on?" Edwin began to narrate his conversation with Oma to me. He told me how she was Annalise and that was why she called me sister. I scoffed. "You and I know that this is impossible, right?" I asked him. "We killed Annalise. There's no way she would be alive."Edwin was about to speak again when he finally lost consciousness. I rushed outside and called the guards to carry him to the room. I placed a wet towel on his forehead and massaged his feet until he was finally well. "Where is O
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-THREEELARAIt's been up to two days since the plan. I decided to begin the execution. I walked towards the court lady. She was standing in the garden and giving out instructions to the gardeners. "Greetings to you," I greeted her. She turned around and pushed her nose when she saw me. I was aware of the fact that she disliked me. A lot of maids seemed not to like me. They had this unexplainable hatred for me. "What do you want?" She demanded. "I need to get something from the closest supermarket, " I informed her. She looked at me from my head to my toe and up to my heart again. "You can go," she replied grudgingly. "Thank you," I appreciated and walked away from her. I walked towards the gate, and everyone seemed to be keeping tabs on me. I knew I needed to act as fast as I could. I didn't want to get blown up before I even knew it. I walked out of the gate and took a cab to a pharmacy far from the pack house. I looked around the place, ma
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY ONE RED BREEDER PACK ELLA"You have to force yourself and eat something," I told River. "Punishing yourself like this would not work."He didn't respond. He just kept staring into space. I didn't see Harrison this morning, and it seemed like River was worried about scenting. I shoved it aside. He was probably worried about the pack. The maids had come to report to me earlier that River had refused to eat, so I came all the way to force him. Although, I already had plans to check on my elder brother and know how he was doing. My phone began to vibrate. I dipped my hand in my pocket and brought out my phone. It was the guard I sent after Elara. I turned to River, who was still staring into space. He didn't seem to notice that I got a call, so I was relieved."I will be right back," I told River. I stood up and walked away from the room. I stood in the hallway and picked up the call. "Anything new?" I asked the guy. "Elara has a mission in this pa
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTYELARA After all the talking and hugging and all. It was finally time for Lucy and I to dress the bed and get some rest.I pulled out the blanket, and a note fell off the bed. I immediately bent down to pick up the note, and an envelope was with it. I was a little surprised. I turned to Lucy, and she raised and lifted her hands in a questioning manner. I picked up the envelope and note and placed the note on the bed first. I opened the envelope. It was a picture of Edwin and Constance pushing me into the river.I scoffed. How did this picture get here? It was a picture of when I was murdered as Annalise, and whoever took this picture and placed it on this bed today knows my true identity.Lucy moved closer to me, and I handed the picture over to her. She breathed in heavily and took it from me. She gasped when she saw the content. I picked up the paper on the bed and decided to see for myself what was written in the note. I opened it up, and my han
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-NINEEDWIN I let out a smirk after the maid walked out of my office. There was something fishy about her, and she was foolish to think that I wouldn't know. Maybe I appeared dumb to her. An alpha of a whole pack. "You can leave," I waved off my servants, and they all walked away from my office. I placed both legs on my table and leaned backward with my finger on my chin. "That stupid little rat would think that she outsmarted me."I scoffed. I knew she was hiding something. She was only using her mom's illness as an excuse to perpetrate evil, and I would expose her soon. Whatever she was planning, although I didn't know it yet I was sure that she was up to some mischief. I would kill her very soon. I'd do that before she accomplishes whatever her mission was in this pack. The door opened, and Clinton walked in with a smile all over his face. "We were victorious this time," he announced excitedly. My eyes went wide in shock. "How do you mean?"
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-EIGHTRIVERIt wasn't long after Elara walked out of the room, and Ella walked in. "You are awake!" She exclaimed and gasped. She rushed to me and hugged me tightly. She stayed with me for a while before pulling away from the hug. "I'll get the doctor," she told me. "The nurse already came to check on me," I stopped her. She sighed and sat on the chair in front of me. "How are you feeling right now?" She asked me.I nodded. "I feel better."She smiled. Ella held my hands and stared at me for a while. I haven't been like that with her in a while now. I wasn't too close with Ella. I missed her when she was away, and I only got to love her from afar. We never really showed or told each other how much we loved each other. But I knew deep down that the love was there. I was also aware of the fact that Ella loved me too and that she always meant well to me. She suddenly paused and sniffed. She looked around the room and continued to sniff in. "Are y
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SEVENELARABefore I could say or do anything, the guards dragged me and began pulling me away. My heart skipped, but I tried to stay calm. I didn't want to show any signs of weakness or panic, or else they'd say I did something wrong. I had to play smart and pretend to be innocent. "What have I done?" I asked them. "Why are you seizing me, and where are you taking me?"None of them gave me any replies. They kept pulling me forcefully. I noticed that we were headed towards Edwin's office. My heartbeat increased, but I tried to control it. I didn't want to be overly nervous. "I didn't do anything wrong, let me go."They formed deaf ears to everything I said. I struggled with them for a while and stopped struggling when I realized that I wouldn't be able to free myself from their grip. They carried me into Edwin's office and released me once I was standing in front of him. I quickly began to rehearse in my heart, what I would say to Edwin. "Where ar
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SIX ELARAI watched River as he slowly opened his eyes. I gasped for joy and hugged him. I wrapped my arm around his neck. He quickly grabbed my hands and pulled me off gently. "I'm so sorry," I apologized. "I was just too excited that you are awake."My heart beat fast for joy. I couldn't explain the excitement I felt about the fact that River was awake. "I'm so happy that you're awake!" I told him. "I can not die easily," River told me with a smile. "It would take a lifetime to kill me."I smiled. I stood up to my feet and wiped my knees. "I would get the doctor to check on you," I told River. I didn't wait for him to respond or react, I just began to run towards the door. I stopped abruptly when I got to the door and turned around. I shouldn't let anyone know that I was here. Not even the doctors of the red breeder pack. I turned to River, and he gave me the "see?" Look. I smiled. I didn't think about that earlier. I was completely carried a