2.

DAISY

Wait… is this what death looks like? No sound. No light. No grim reaper here to whisk me away on a boat.

Well I guess—

“Argh!” My body slams into something soft as a blinding light strikes into my eyes with a painful force that has me shielding my eyes with my arms. My heart hammers against my ribs. The sensation is overwhelming. Too bright and too real for death. Death shouldn't feel this… alive.

Slowly, I lower my arms after a while. My eyes flutter open, adjusting to the environment around me.

In front of me is the canopy of my own bed and the pale cream curtains brushing against my shoulders.

My breath catches in my throat.

This room… this room is exactly how it was years ago. My study desk cluttered with worn-out books I'd sworn I'd organize. My vanity mirror with that tiny crack in the corner, the one I'd promised to fix on the eve of my—

Oh my Goddess. This can’t be real.

Also, right there on my dresser is the friendship bracelet Gigi gave me on my seventeenth birthday. The pink and blue threads are still vibrant, not faded. Not lost or buried with her.

Gigi.

My heart breaks at the memories of all the precious moments I spent with her. Louise killed my best friend.

But if that bracelet is here, if this room is still like this, if I'm seeing things that shouldn't exist anymore…

No. It's impossible. I'm supposed to be dead. I felt my last breath leave my body.

Yet here I am. Breathing. Fully present in my own body. I'm not… dead. Whatever Liam did to me must have brought me back here and kept me alive.

My head is spinning with so many questions and details as I stumble out of bed and run to the window. Getting there, I fling the curtains open, hoping to answer my burning questions with everything I see for myself.

The moon is high, full and shining against the night sky. And just outside my window, down below in the yard, I see the same banner that was created for me by Dad on the eve of my eighteenth birthday, the same banner still bearing the same colors and that same caption: ‘happy 18th birthday in advance, Daisy.’

But wait, why am I standing? How…

My legs…

I look down at my legs immediately.

Tears sting my eyes as the truth slams into me.

I am walking again!

The realization hits me and tears drop to my cheeks as a sob breaks free from my throat. I take one step away from the window, then another, then another.

I'm truly walking again!

The tears come faster. I’ve been reborn. I’m seventeen again and about to celebrate my eighteenth birthday tomorrow. I've been given another chance to rewrite my pathetic life.

Liam. He did this. Whatever he did to me with his blood brought me back here. He saved me. He gave me this impossible gift, and I will not waste this chance. Not this time when I can get everything right.

Louise thinks she won. Bryson thinks he broke me. They both think I died pathetic and defeated.

But I'm back. And they have no idea what's coming for them.

A knock at the door yanks me out of my haze. I freeze.

“Miss Daisy?” The voice is gentle. Familiar.

That’s Sia's voice. Our housekeeper.

My muscles relax instantly, though my heart is still racing. I thought it was Louise. Sia is loyal, kind, and too smart for her own good sometimes. Also, she’s one of the few remaining people who ever looked at me with genuine care when I was crippled—when I will be crippled if I don't change things. Back then, she always sneaked me extra food when Louise wasn't looking, and she helped me bathe without making me feel like a burden.

I owe her so much.

Quickly, I wipe the tears off my cheeks, forcing myself to breathe normally. “Come in.”

The door opens. She steps in with her neat braid and simple uniform, her warm brown eyes crinkling with her usual affection when she sees me.

“The Alpha wants to see you and Miss Louise in his office for the herb ingestion. You know, it’s tradition.” she says gently.

My stomach knots instantly at the mention of Dad. He's alive.

In my old life, I never got the chance to truly reconcile with him before Louise killed him. The memory of his glassy, lifeless eyes haunts me. Even the way he stared at me but couldn't see me anymore. The way he died thinking I was a worthless, wolfless failure who disappointed him at every turn.

But now, I can change that by stopping our separation from even happening in the first place. I can save him. I can prove to him that I'm worthy of being his daughter, worthy of his love. I just need to be smart about this.

“Thank you, Sia,” I say softly, but my mind is already racing.

Louise. She told me that she tampered with the cakes containing the traditional herbs we ingested on our eighteenth birthday. She used forbidden witchcraft to steal my wolf, to take my Alpha heritage and make it her own.

I was in pain before I died because of the truth she told me, but now I need to thank her for making me understand everything. Knowledge is power, and she gave me the blueprint to her own destruction.

My brain instantly comes up with a plan. It's manipulative. But it's necessary.

“Sia?” I turn to her, plastering a magnetic smile on my face. “I need a favor. And swear you will not tell anyone, not even my father. Can I trust you?”

Her brows knit together, but loyalty shines in her eyes as she nods. "Of course, Miss Daisy. You know you can always trust me.”

“Alright,” I step closer. “Was Louise in the kitchen today?”

“Uhm, yes. She stopped by and stayed for a while when I was done making the cakes for the herb ingestion.”

I’m sure that's when she tampered with everything. That's when she poisoned my future.

But not this time.

“Sia,” I lower my voice with the lie I've already cooked up inside my head. “Louise has been nagging me nonstop about wanting to eat the exact cake that you will be serving to me during the herb ingestion. She thinks the cake will be sweeter than her own, and you know how she is. I had refused to indulge her, but then I changed my mind and now…”

I pause, drawing an inch closer, “I want to surprise her. Before the cakes are brought out later, I need you to switch them before serving them to us. She’ll think she’s getting hers, but it’ll really be mine. Just change our names on the buttercream but everything else should stay the same. Remember not to tell anyone about this. It's a surprise and I'm the only one who has the right to tell her later, okay?”

Sia blinks, clearly confused by the strange request.

“Come on Sia,” I nudge, taking her hand gently. “It’s important. Whether my cake is sweeter or not isn't the case here. I just want to surprise her.”

The lie tastes bitter on my tongue, but I force my smile to remain bright and innocent. If I'm going to survive this second chance, I need to think like Louise. I need to be ruthless.

“Alright, Miss Daisy. Don't worry. I won't breathe a word about your little surprise for Miss Louise to anyone. Not even to the Alpha.”

“Thanks,” Relief washes over me. “I know you love me.”

She smiles and leaves the room.

I'm doing this to save myself. To save Dad. To save everyone from Louise's evil. This time, Louise won’t ruin me. She'll get exactly what she deserves.

Minutes later after Sia leaves my room, I also leave, heading to my father's home office, my heart pounding with every step.

The familiar smell of the office envelopes me at once when I arrive and enter.

“Dad?”

He turns to me from where he's seated behind his desk, looking strong and healthy unlike the frail man I saw fighting for his life as Louise was suffocating him to death. The memory sends a chill rushing down my spine, and for a moment, I can't breathe. I can still hear the machines beeping frantically. I can still see his hands clawing weakly at the pillow. I can still feel the helplessness that consumed me.

But he's here now. He's alive. And I'm going to keep him that way.

"Daisy," he says warmly, standing up and opening his arms. I rush and hug him without hesitation, throwing myself into his embrace. His arms wrap around me strong and protectively, and I have to bite my lip to stop myself from sobbing.

This is what I missed. This is what Louise stole from me. All the years of his love, his strength, his presence as the powerful Alpha of our pack.

Louise is a monster.

I breathe in his scent, memorizing this moment, burning it into my soul. I won't let her take him away from me again. I promise.

When I finally step back, I'm hyperaware of how my eyes must probably be looking too emotional. But Dad just smiles at me fondly before returning to his seat.

I stand before his desk, my hands clasped in front of me to hide their trembling.

Just then, the door opens and Louise enters. She shuts the door behind her and moves to stand beside me.

Her posture looks so perfect with her angelic smile still plastered on her face like a mask. She looks so innocent, so sweet, so fake that I want to scream. Every cell in my body is screaming at me to attack her, to expose her, to wrap my hands around her throat and squeeze until—

No. Control yourself, Daisy.

I dig my nails into my palms instead, using the pain to control myself from not stabbing the decorative dagger on Dad's desk into her chest. I can't lose control. Not yet. Not when everything depends on me playing this perfectly.

Dad clears his throat, drawing back my attention. “Tomorrow is an important day, but tonight, the two of you will take the herbs and awaken your wolves as is tradition. I expect nothing but the best from both of you. Make me proud.”

“Yes father,” Louise says sweetly, stealing a glance at me with those deceptively innocent eyes. I simply nod because my hands are trembling too much and I don't trust my voice not to crack with all the anger and the weight of everything I'm feeling right now.

Just then, the door opens and Sia enters, carrying a tray. On it are two cupcakes, each labelled with our names in elegant frosting and with a small bundle of herbs tucked carefully inside.

She sets the tray down on daddy’s desk. Her face is calm and I can't really read her expression, but when her eyes meet mine, she gives me a faint nod.

She switched them! I almost smile, but I catch myself just in time.

“Take them, my girls,” Dad instructs, his eyes shining with fatherly pride when he looks at us. My heart clenches painfully. He has no idea what Louise is planning.

But I do.

Louise grabs her cake first—my cake, the poisoned one—not giving us the chance to even savor the moment. She takes a huge bite, then another, her arrogance showing as she chews quickly as if eager to finish before me.

Stupid, arrogant bitch.

I lift my own cake—her cake, the healthy one—and I take a bite.

The cake tastes sweet, and the buttercream is soft on my tongue. The herbs have an earthy, slightly bitter aftertaste that mingles with the frosting. I'm eating her cake, and she doesn't even know it.

I take another bite and chew. I swallow, my heart pounding as the herb slides down my throat.

Please, Moon Goddess. Please let this work.

“Argh!” Louise suddenly yells and starts coughing violently, her plate clattering to the floor. Her body trembles as she clutches her stomach, doubling over, her eyes wide with fear as if something inside her is tearing her apart.

Good.

“Louise!” Dad shouts, half-rising from his chair. Louise collapses onto the carpet, convulsing. Her hands leave her stomach and claw at her throat, her body arching in pain. Foam appears at the corners of her mouth. Her carefully styled hair comes undone, sticking to her sweat-soaked face.

Beautiful.

I continue eating my cake, forcing my expression to remain blank. But inside me, my heart is thundering loudly.

Her evil plan backfired at her.

Dad rushes around the desk towards Louise, but I notice he's not calling for help yet. He's waiting, watching, thinking that this is probably part of her awakening process.

If only he knew the real reason why she is suffering.

“Are you okay?” I decide to ask after I'm done with half of my cake. Also, her body has stopped jerking a bit.

“It…. It worked,” she croaks, also gasping as more sweat pours down her face. Her chest is heaving as she breathes heavily and sits up. Even in her suffering, even with her hair plastered to her forehead and her makeup all messed up, she manages a twisted smile. “I’m okay. It worked.”

I almost laugh.

What worked?

If she's talking about whatever witchcraft nonsense she used on my cake to steal my wolf, then she's in for the shocker of her miserable life because she just gobbled up that cake like the hungry, greedy bitch she is.

And tomorrow will tell if her evil plan worked or not.