2. Alpha's Blood

If she was in a pack, then how and why...

They couldn't have captured her to be tortured. She wasn't even restrained.

Unless... she had possessed a werewolf body? Just from the thought, her brows knitted in disgust.

Her gaze dropped to her hands.

No, the injury was still there. If she were in a werewolf body, it would have healed by now.

Was she a normal human? Her body felt weak compared to her former one.

The slow creak of an opening door cut off her thoughts, and she turned sharply toward the sound.

A woman in her forties stood in the doorway, her expression stern. The air itself seemed to grow colder, as though she drained the warmth from the room.

She wore a white long-sleeved shirt with a wide neckline and a flowing linen skirt that reached her feet. Her hair was pinned into a neat bun.

"Obey. She is Gamma." the voice warned, tension heavy in every word.

She didn't need to understand its meaning. The threat was clear. A werewolf.

The woman's nose twitched, then her gaze moved to Nalath's hand, stained with blood. Small lines formed on the woman's face.

She stepped closer, her movements calm as she scanned the room in silence, her eyes stopping at the cracked mirror.

Without turning, she asked, "What happened?"

The silence in the room deepened.

The woman turned to her and coldly said, "I never taught you to stay silent when I ask a question."

She looked at the woman, who showed no reaction to the voice. So she was the only one who heard it, or the woman simply didn't care.

In the middle of her thoughts, a heavy palm crashed against her cheek. Heat exploded across her face, and the taste of blood filled her mouth as she hit the floor.

For a moment, the room spun.

"Do you have any idea how hard it was to find you after you left the pack?" the woman said darkly. "Ten days. I had to send men after men just to search for a foolish dog."

The witch gritted her teeth and pushed herself to her feet. To be struck down like that—when had she ever suffered such humiliation? It burned through her chest.

The mysterious voice cut through her rage. "That's the Gamma. Just plead."

She couldn't fight the woman, nor kneel for anyone. So the only thing she did was watch, her jaw tightened.

Her stillness only deepened the woman's anger. She seized the witch's hand, dragged her forward, and slammed her head against the table.

Her ears rang as the woman pinned her there.

She struggled, fighting to break free.

The woman's grip tightened. "Do you think you're capable now?"

But she also knew the woman wouldn't kill her, not while she believed she was Nalath, not after going to such lengths to find her.

She stopped struggling and gripped the edges of the table, hands trembling with rage.

"In an hour, there is a banquet. The Beta's son's birthday. There will be guests from all the packs. Go and show them you are the rightful owner here."

With that, the woman threw her aside.

"I don't expect any mistakes. Don't be late."

The woman turned to leave. As she did, the woman's expression tightened. Something was wrong with Nalath. But for now, she only kept it in mind.

Nalath's eyes burned as she stared at the door.

Then she remembered and glanced at the empty room. "Who are you?"

That voice, whoever owned it, if it wanted her dead, it would have acted already. Either it couldn't hurt her, or it needed her alive.

Silence lingered before a low growl answered, clear and strong.

"I am her wolf. Nalath's wolf. Zaphyra."

Her brows furrowed.

That voice belonged to Nalath's beast? It had been speaking to her this whole time, from inside her mind?

Cold crept beneath her skin. Was she... in a werewolf body?

She growled. "What did you do to me?"

"Evil witch. You wronged Nalath. You will regret it."

Her chest tightened. Why couldn't she have been reborn as a witch? She had almost believed this was her second chance...

Her eyes sharpened. No, she was close to the enemy. What better opportunity than that?

"They did right getting rid of you," Zaphyra roared.

"Is that so? Then you will witness how they pay for what they did."

So it could hear everything she thought. She had heard that werewolves carried two consciousnesses, a beast and a human.

But from what she knew, the two were inseparable. The beast should have vanished with its master.

Her brows furrowed. A curse.

A low growl rumbled through her mind. "Not cursed."

She refocused on the problem before her and asked, her voice rough, "What are you? An Omega?"

"Alpha blood! True Luna." Zaphyra snapped.

She glanced at the room's worn walls and dust. This was no Luna's chamber. Who was this beast trying to fool?

"Luna as the Alpha's mate?" she added, not hiding her contempt.

"Nalath had Alpha blood. She would have led the pack if we could shift."

The room fell silent again. She stood still as the minutes passed, taking in everything that had happened since she woke up in the strange body.

After a while, she approached the mirror and stared at her new body.

Werewolf or not, it didn't matter. How weak the body was, that wasn't important. It responded to her now. She looked at her fingers and slowly curled them.

She would use it well.

Zaphyra’s voice trembled. "She's alive. I feel her. If she dies, then so do I. I’m still here… Nala is alive.”

The only annoyance now was that beast inside her, one that could read her mind. Nalath was alive? What a pity, she had no plans of handing this over. Not until they regretted everything with their lives.

But for now, she had to play along as Nalath. Enduring things like what happened earlier would be a small price to pay for what was coming for them.

She shouldn't be late for the banquet, wasn't that what the woman had told her?