Chapter 5

~CAMILLE~

Ugly! You are shapeless! I accept you, Camille Mullen, as my mate. I saved you from shame. Ah!!! Cassius Slade!!!

Different voices echoed in my ears even when I was already dead. I guessed the trauma would follow me to the deepest part of the grave. Although it was pathetic that I had to end things the way I did, that was the only helpful action in that situation. Getting killed by Cassius was not my will. If I couldn’t get the best life I wished for, I should get the best death I wanted, and I did.

My eyelids parted for a second. Everywhere was white. This would be a different world. Is reincarnation real? Have I really been taken to a different place? Why was everything white?

“Why isn’t she awake yet? It’s been three days.” This authoritative tone hovered in my ears. What was that? Do I need to wake up again?

“I’m sorry, Alpha. I will run a quick checkup one more time to see why she isn’t awake yet.” Another soft, monotonous voice wafted into my ears. What was that? Is this how everyone sounds in my new place?

Warmth swept over my body, and that was when it clicked. If I were dead, would I be able to feel? No way.

My eyes flung wide instantly. Again, I was welcomed with a sparkling white panorama.

“She’s awake, Alpha. She has opened her eyes.” The second voice rang, laced with relief and elation.

Slowly, the sparkling white sight turned blurry and slowly cleared. The warmth spread through me again, but this time, it was warmer.

Soon, my blurry eyesight became evident. It was a domed ceiling of obsidian glass shimmering with silver veins, the Alpha crest glowing faintly at its heart. I was certainly in a different environment. Could this be the Grim Reaper’s house?

Still numb, I shut my eyes and opened them again. This procedure was repeated many times, but I wasn’t convinced. There was no way I would survive the fall from a high cliff into a deep sea. I pinched myself. The pain coursed through me aggressively, and I let out a groan.

I could feel pain. Did that mean…

My eyes widened and roamed over the room.

“Am I alive?” It was supposed to be in my head, but it came out anyway.

“Yes, my lady,” the voice responded. “Can you tell me how you feel right now so that I can continue your treatment?” For the first time, I stared in the direction of the voice that had been speaking with me, and it turned out to be an unfamiliar face. I had never seen that in my life.

“How did I survive?” Again, it wasn’t meant to be said out loud, but it happened.

“It just happened, although shocking,” the first voice that wafted into my ears responded, propelling me to look at him. He was also unfamiliar, but his look could make one wet under there. Strong jawline, straight nose, and eyes so piercing they seemed to strip away every secret you had. His presence was magnetic—sharp jaw, storm-gray eyes, and a smile that felt like both a promise and a threat. His abs were what I could lie my head on forever and have a good dream.

“And you are?” I asked, my eyes hovering around me like a hawk. Trusting anyone was out of the plan. Cassius was an obsessive bastard; who knows if he was the one who brought me here so that I could be tortured by him? He shared a glance with the woman whom I identified as the pack’s healer, and she left the room afterward, leaving both of us in the room.

“Dante Steele,” he responded. “Alpha Dante Steele. The Alpha of Moonveil Pack,” he added.

“And how did I get here?” I questioned without restriction despite learning he was an Alpha. I didn’t think anything worse could happen anymore. I had stared into the eyes of death. What worse could possibly happen after that?

I saw his expression shift, but it was just for a blink of an eye. “I brought you here because I found you at the shore of a sea, half dead, half alive,” he answered back calmly, eyes fixated on me and hovering over me.

“Why did you rescue me? Did I beg to be rescued? You should have minded your business,” I said. What point was it? I was revived so that I could continue devouring suffering like it was meat and pork. He should have allowed me to go. The few days I was unconscious were the best days of my life. I had nothing to worry about. No thoughts. It was just me, with no mind, doing nothing, and oblivious to whatever others were doing.

“I cannot leave my mate in the condition I met her. What would that make me? A cruel mate?” he revealed, and at that moment, Lyra growled, “Mate! Second chance, mate! We are so lucky, Camille.”

I was stupefied. I heard him right.

But has that ever happened? Getting a second chance mate when you are yet to get rejected by your first mate?

His scent became so strong that every weak part of my body rejuvenated. Stronger than Cassius’s.