Chapter 3.

"Are you okay, Raven. Do you need me to call a human doctor for you?" Kieran asked, his piercing gaze still etched on me.  

I swallowed hard as I thought of my response. Telling the truth was far from what I thought of right now, if I did, the chances that they would lock him up or kill me again were slim owing that I was trapped in his mate's body. 

"No, I'm fine. You do not need to call a—human doctor!" I answered and swallowed again. 

The weight of the truth pressed down on me like a crushing force.  

"In that case, we're going to leave you to rest more but I'll be back to check up on you." Kieran said in his still cold voice as he and the other men filed out of the room. 

I waited until I heard the sound of the door closing before I turned to look at the mirror once again. 

I wasn’t Selene Carter anymore, the investigative journalist who had spent months chasing a story about powerful werewolves. I wasn’t the woman who had uncovered more than she was meant to, who had run for her life only to be hunted down beneath the full moon.  

I should have been dead.  

Instead, I had woken up in Raven Blackwell's body, Mate to the Alpha of the Silvercrest Pack. The woman who, according to every report I had read, had died in a rogue attack just days ago.  

But if Raven was dead… then what the hell was I doing here?  

I forced myself to breathe as I stood stiffly in front of the mirror, staring into a face that wasn’t mine. Mate to the Alpha of the Silvercrest Pack. The woman who, according to every report I had read, had died in a rogue attack just days ago.  

But if Raven was dead… then what the hell was I doing here?  

I forced myself to breathe as I stood stiffly in front of the mirror, staring into a face that wasn’t mine. My dark hair, that was once cut into a practical shoulder-length bob, was now long and silky and falling past my waist. My eyes—her eyes—were a piercing shade of green, framed by thick lashes. The face looking back at me was hauntingly beautiful, but unfamiliar.  

I struggled to make my way across the room toward a chair. The moment I sank into it, the door creaked open and I immediately got tensed, meeting the reflection of the man standing in the doorway.  

It was Kieran Wolfe again, My supposed mate.

My heart thumped each time I remembered that he had been the one to sink his claws into my neck that killed me. 

His presence filled the room before he even spoke. Tall, broad-shouldered, and devastatingly intense, he watched me like I was a puzzle he couldn’t solve. His dark eyes were unreadable, his jaw set in an expression that might have been indifference—if not for the deep suspicion buried beneath the surface.  

He didn’t believe I was Raven.  

I didn’t know how I knew that, but I did.  

He stepped closer, the scent of pine and something darker—something wolf—curling around me. I swallowed hard, gripping the arms of the chair.  

“How much do you remember?” His voice was smooth, but there was no warmth in it.  

I had prepared for this question. Ever since waking up in Raven’s body, I had been scrambling to piece together a response that wouldn’t expose me.  

“Not much,” I said, forcing my voice to remain steady. “It’s all… fragmented. Blurry.”  

His eyes narrowed slightly. “Do you remember the attack?”  

I hesitated, then nodded. “Yes.”  

It was the safest answer. If I said no, he might press harder. If I said yes, I might say the wrong thing.  

Something flickered in his gaze. Doubt.  

“You were dead.” His voice was quiet, but it carried the weight of something heavy.  

I swallowed hard. “I don’t feel dead.”  

His expression didn’t change. “I buried you.”  

A chill ran down my spine. My pulse stuttered in my chest.  

Buried me? So Raven had died, and yet, here I was, sitting before him in her skin, speaking with her voice. How was that even possible?!

I clenched my hands into fists to keep them from shaking. “Then maybe you buried the wrong person.”  

His jaw ticked. It wasn’t a good answer, but it was the only one I had.  

A knock at the door saved me from whatever he was about to say. A woman stepped inside, her gaze darting to me before quickly lowering in submission.  

“Alpha, the council is waiting.”  

Kieran didn’t move right away. He just kept watching me.  

Then, finally, he spoke. “Get dressed. You’re expected to be there.”  

And just like that, he was gone.  I exhaled shakily, trying to get a grip on myself, the world around me was spinning too quickly—way too quickly. 

The reality of my situation was settling in quickly too. It was obvious that he had no idea that I was the journalist he had sunk his claws into and killed instantly, rather, he thought I was his mate. 

And here I was, trapped in a life I didn’t understand. In a world where any misstep could get me killed. And if Kieran, my supposed mate was already suspicious of me, then I was walking a very thin line.  

I had no choice but to play along, for now and see where it gets me. 

"I have no idea how to even wolf!" I said aloud and spun around quickly, hoping that no one had heard what I just said.

I clutched my chest and let out a sigh of relief. I turned to look into the mirror, noticing how flawless my skin looked. 

"Raven must have put in a lot of work to maintain this!" I said quietly and ran my fingers over my forearm, "it's as soft as silk too!" I said. 

I had to get ready quickly, I was clothed in a night dress and had to change into something more appropriate. 

**********

The council chamber was suffocating, I sat at the end of a long table with my hands folded neatly in my lap, while six men and women—all high-ranking members of the pack—stared at me like I was a ghost.  Well, maybe, to them, I was.  

I could feel Kieran’s presence beside me, his energy dark and unreadable. He hadn’t spoken much since we arrived, but his silence was heavy.  

A woman with sharp cheekbones and steel-gray eyes leaned forward, studying me. “You were dead.”  she spat out at me. It was not a question, but a statement.  

I kept my expression neutral. “So I’ve been told.”  

She didn’t seem amused. “Then explain how you’re sitting here, alive and breathing.”  

I swallowed hard. I didn’t know how to answer that.  

“She doesn’t remember,” Kieran said, his voice carefully measured.  

The woman’s eyes flicked to him, then back to me. “Convenient.”  

My fingers dug into my thighs beneath the table. “Do you think I planned this?”  

A man across from me scoffed. “Who else would have something to gain from faking their own death?”  

I was tense. “If I had faked my death, don’t you think I’d have a damn reason for it?”  

Everywhere immediately fell silent. 

I hadn’t meant to snap, but the frustration and fear was getting to me. For every second I remained here, I risked slipping up—saying something Raven wouldn’t say, doing something she wouldn’t do.  

I had no idea who she really was, But I was starting to realize something; and it was that these people did not trust her.   

Even before her so-called death, there had been doubt. Suspicion. Why was that?!

Before I could think too deeply about it, another voice spoke.  

“I think we should consider the possibility,” the gray-eyed woman said, eyes narrowing. “That this is not our Luna.”  

The words sent a sharp jolt of panic through me.  

Kieran leaned back in his chair, his fingers drumming against the table. “You’re suggesting what, exactly?”  

“That this is an imposter.”  

My stomach twisted.  

“Enough,” Kieran said, voice firm. “Raven is back. That’s all that matters.”  

The woman’s lips pressed into a thin line, but she didn’t argue.  

I barely heard the rest of the meeting as my mind had begun to race. 

They didn’t trust me, they hadn't trusted Raven. 

And that could mean anything, but the only thing that my mind could grasp at that point was that Raven had been hiding something before her death, it could be a secret and a dangerous one at that.  

I wasn’t just trapped in her life, I was trapped in the middle of whatever she had been running from.  

And if I wasn’t careful, It was only a matter of time before it killed me.... again.