[ 3 ]

NIARA'S POINT OF VIEW

My breath was suffocating, coming out in sharp, broken gasps as the nightmare still clung to me like it was real.

I couldn’t breathe.

My chest tightened painfully, my fingers clutching at the sheets as if I was still there… still burning… still screaming.

“What the hell!!”

I screamed and sat up abruptly, my whole body was trembling. My eyes darted around in panic. I was in my room. My room.

The same walls, the same curtains, the same bed… everything looked exactly the same, untouched, calm, as if nothing had happened.

As if I hadn’t just died.

“What the hell has happened…” I muttered under my breath, my voice shaky and confused.

My heart was still racing uncontrollably, sweat dripping down my neck as I tried to process everything.

Suddenly, a loud knock echoed through the room.

“Miss Niara?”

My body stiffened at the familiar voice.

“Y…yes,” I replied, still sweating, my voice uneven.

The door opened slowly, and the old maid stepped in.

She smiled softly the moment she saw me, her eyes filled with genuine concern. She walked closer without hesitation and gently touched my face, her warm hand grounding me in a way nothing else could.

“Are you alright, love…?” she asked, her voice soft and worried.

I stared at her, my mind spinning, my breath still not steady.

“I… I, Ana, I’m alright… it’s just…” My words came out fast, almost stumbling over each other. “How can I? How… how am I here?”

“What do you mean? Did you have a nightmare?” Ana asked gently, her brows knitting with concern as she looked at me.

“Nightmare?” I whispered, the word feeling strange on my tongue.

No.

It didn’t feel like a nightmare. It felt too real. Too vivid. Too painful to just be a dream.

The screams, the silver, the betrayal… it all still lingered inside me like it had just happened.

But I bit my lips and slowly nodded, forcing myself to agree.

Ana let out a small sigh of relief.

“It’s okay,” she said softly. “I can understand the excitement. It’s your 18th birthday today, and you have your big celebration tonight. If the Moon Goddess blesses you, you might find your mate… and meet your wolf.”

My heart skipped.

“18th… birthday?” I repeated, my voice barely above a breath.

That didn’t make sense, that couldn’t be right.

I was twenty-six and had lived years beyond this moment.

I had died. My fingers tightened around the bedsheet as a chill ran down my spine.

How could I be eighteen again?

“Okay, now get ready for the ceremony fast. Alpha Cedric and Luna Serene are waiting for you,” Ana said softly before walking toward the large curtains of my room.

She pulled them apart gently.

Golden sunlight spilled through the windows instantly, flooding the room with warmth.

The light touched my skin, my bed, the walls, everything looked painfully alive.

Ana smiled at me one last time before leaving the bedroom, quietly closing the door behind her. The moment the door clicked shut, the air around me suddenly felt heavy and my chest tightened.

My eyes slowly lowered toward the pendant resting against my collarbone. The silver moon-shaped pendant.

My breath hitched.

'It’s a mate suppressor, Niara.' Logan’s voice echoed inside my head so clearly it made my stomach twist violently.

I froze. Then I suddenly pushed myself off the bed and rushed toward the mirror.

My trembling fingers moved the hair away from my neck.

No scars. No burns. No melted flesh from the silver.

Nothing. Not even the mark where the chains had torn into me during the execution.

I stared at my reflection, breathing heavily.

“This can’t be real…” I whispered.

Suddenly everything went dark. The sunlight disappeared and the room vanished. My breath caught in my throat as the mirror before me slowly changed.

The reflection staring back at me was no longer mine. A woman stood there instead.

Her silver hair flowed like moonlight itself, her glowing white gown moving as though touched by invisible wind. Her eyes held something ancient, cold, and unbearably powerful.

The Moon Goddess.

I stumbled backward in shock.

“M-Moon Goddess…”

Her gaze stayed fixed on me.

“You remember your death,” she said calmly.

It was not a question. My throat tightened painfully and ears instantly burned my eyes.

“I…” My voice trembled. “I died…”

“Yes.”

That single word shattered whatever denial I still held onto, pain crashed into me all over again.

The silver.

The betrayal.

Logan.

Helena.

My execution.

And him.

My real mate.

My knees weakened.

“Why…” I whispered brokenly. “Why did this happen to me?”

The Moon Goddess remained silent for a moment before speaking again.

“Because you trusted the wrong people.”

Her words were cold, but not cruel. I clenched my fists.

“They lied to me…” Tears slid down my face. “They destroyed me.”

“And you let them.”

I looked up at her sharply. Her glowing eyes softened only slightly.

“You ignored your instincts. Your wolf cried for years, yet you silenced her for a man who never belonged to you.”

My hand slowly moved toward the pendant again. The Moon Goddess looked at it with clear disgust.

“A chain disguised as love.”

Suddenly the pendant around my neck began glowing faintly. I gasped as pain shot through my chest. The necklace tightened on its own.

“What...”

The Moon Goddess lifted her hand and the clasp snapped open instantly.

The pendant fell into her palm. The moment it left my skin, something inside me cracked open violently. Air rushed into my lungs and my body shook.

A strange warmth spread through my chest so suddenly it almost hurt.

My wolf.

For the first time in years… I could feel her properly.

I fell to my knees, gasping.

“T-this…”

“The suppressor weakened your bond, your instincts, and your wolf,” the Moon Goddess said. “It kept you blind.”

Hatred flooded me so hard my hands trembled.

“All those years…”

“Yes.”

The Moon Goddess looked down at the pendant before crushing it slowly in her hand. The silver turned into dust.

My chest tightened painfully at the sight.

So many memories had been tied to that necklace and every single one of them had been fake.

“You were meant to meet your true mate long ago,” she said quietly. “But fate was tampered with.”

A sob escaped my lips.

“I found him too late…”

At that, something unreadable crossed her face.

“You still found him.”

My heart ached violently remembering the way he held me while I died. The desperation in his voice, the pain in his eyes.

“I want to go back,” I whispered suddenly. “Please… please let me change it.”

The room fell silent then the Moon Goddess stepped closer to the mirror.

“This is your second chance, Niara.”

My breath stopped.

“But fate is not easily rewritten.”

She opened her palm again and another pendant appeared. It looked exactly the same. The same moon shape and same silver chain.

My eyes widened.

“You must wear this.”

She held it out toward me.

“It is fake. Harmless.”

I stared at it in confusion.

“Why?”

“Because if Logan notices the real suppressor is gone before you are ready, he will become suspicious.”

Fear crawled down my spine. The Moon Goddess gently placed the fake pendant around my neck.

It felt lighter. Empty and not suffocating anymore.

“You will pretend,” she said calmly. “You will smile. You will survive.”

My fingers slowly touched the necklace.

“And this time?”

Her silver eyes met mine.

“This time, choose the man who would burn the world to save you… not the one who handed you to the flames.”

I nodded slowly, my fingers still trembling around the pendant.

Then suddenly everything around me faded again. The silver glow disappeared. The air returned and the mirror slowly changed back, showing my reflection once more.

I stared at myself for a few seconds, my breathing uneven.

“Niara!”

I froze.

Something snapped open deep inside me. A warm rush spread through my chest so suddenly it almost made me fall.

“Woah, woah, woah!!!”

The voice sounded inside my head again, playful yet emotional at the same time. My eyes widened instantly.

“It’s me, Zulia… your wolf!”

For a second, I could not even react then tears flooded my eyes.

A broken laugh escaped my lips as I touched my chest desperately, trying to feel her again.

“Finally…” My voice shook badly. “Finally my wolf…”

More tears rolled down my cheeks.

“I was begging for this my whole life,” I whispered painfully. “I was tortured… insulted… humiliated for not having a wolf…”

I smiled through tears.

“And now I finally have you.”

“I know, Niara,” Zulia said softly inside my head. “I know everything. I was trapped too… but I’m here now.”

My chest ached with happiness. Real happiness for the first time in years.

“I can’t wait to shift!” I said excitedly, almost laughing despite everything.

“Me too!” Zulia replied instantly before her tone suddenly became serious. “But first… we have to make every single person who wronged us pay.”

The warmth inside me slowly turned colder.

Darker.

My fingers clenched slightly.

Logan.

Helena.

Everyone who stood there and watched me die.

“And,” Zulia added excitedly, “we have to meet our mate today!”

My heart skipped violently.

Mate.

My real mate.

Alpha Draven.

The man who held me while I died.

“Yes,” I whispered slowly.

“Yes!”

Tonight was the ceremony. The grand celebration of my eighteenth birthday. Every powerful creature from different territories had been invited.

Alphas.

Lunas.

Witches.

Dwarfs.

Fairies.

The entire kingdom would gather under one roof tonight.

And Alpha Draven would come too.