The Will and the Journal

Diana's POV 

The suffocating scent of lilies was the first thing that wafted into my nose. Slowly, my eyes snapped open, and my hands instantly flew to my abdomen. 

I braced myself for the sticky warmth of blood, the agonizing tearing of my flesh, and the freezing stone of the Bloodmoon dungeon. But there was no pain. My fingers didn't sink into damp straw; instead, they brushed against the smooth fabric of a heavy white silk gown.

I gasped, and sat up abruptly as I looked around.

I wasn't in a cell. I was sitting in front of a grand mirror in my old quarters at the Silver Crest pack house. The morning sun streamed warmly through the window, catching the intricate lace of a wedding gown draped over my shoulders.

My face in the mirror wasn't pale, or hollow. My skin was radiant, my hair intricately braided with pearls, and my eyes shone like stars.

The realization hit me hard. My dying wish was honoured! “I am back!” I yelled. 

I looked around and looked down at my gown. Judging by the dress, I had already swallowed Melissa’s venomous lies. I must have agreed to her manipulation to save the pack from war, and today was the morning of the mating ceremony.

The door to my chambers clicked open. "Oh, look at you, Diana," Melissa purred, dripping with the very same sweet, sisterly affection that had once led me straight to hell.

She walked into the room alongside my mother, Luna Evelyn. I blinked hard. This didn't happen in my past life. What use is a mother who couldn't stand by her daughter. Seeing them standing there made my blood boil. A lethal rage roared to life inside me, and for a split second, my inner wolf snarled in absolute fury. Again I realized, my wolf was alive!

I forced Dina back down. I tightened my fists beneath the silk folds of my gown, burying the hatred deep beneath a cold mask. I turned to them and forced a small smile onto my lips, "Melissa, Mother,” I called.

“Congratulations!!” Both said simultaneously.

“Thank you,” I managed to smile back 

"We will leave you to your final preparations, dear," Evelyn said smoothly as they walked back out into the corridor. 

As their footsteps faded down the hall, a bitter mask of rage masked my face. Was my mother and Melissa also working together in my past life? Thinking back, there were a few discrepancies… my mother had always been cold towards me, and now it seemed like I missed out on something crucial in my past life.

They thought I was the same girl, weak and hopeless? They had no idea who they were dealing with anymore. I wasn't the broken sacrificial lamb they had manipulated in my past life. I was a ghost returned from hell, and I was going to rewrite the rules of their little game.

With the guards busy managing the arriving guests on the lower floors, I slipped out of my room. I moved silently, bypassing the main halls until I stood before the heavy, carved doors of my stepfather's private study. In my past life, I would never have dared to trespass here, especially not on my wedding day. But right now, compulsion burned in my veins. 

I pushed the door open and slipped inside, locking it quietly behind me. I didn't know why I sneaked in, but something was certain, I must not be caught.

I approached the massive desk occupying the centre of the room. My fingers traced the hidden panel beneath the central drawer. I didn't know how I knew about the hidden panel.

Without hesitation, my fingers pressed the release mechanism. With a soft click, a false bottom popped open. Inside lay a heavy scroll sealed with the Lancaster crest, alongside a leather-bound journal.

My heart hammered against my ribs as I unrolled the scroll first. It was Alpha Leen's will. My eyes scanned the elegant script, freezing on the words written in his bold handwriting: "If anything happens to me, Diana must inherit everything…”

The words stared back at my face and I realized that it was the same words that were read out loud in my past life by Alpha Leen when I inherited all of his worth.

Did he really document it? I couldn't help but wonder and just like my previous life, I couldn't comprehend why my step father bequeathed his assets to me.

I closed the will and again I felt compelled to glance through the old journal. 

My eyes fixed on an old entry, ‘Today, while Diana was helping in the archives, her sleeve shifted, and I saw the intricate mark on her shoulder.’

The mark on my shoulder? Yes I know it, it's been on my shoulders ever since I came of age. What about it? I pulled the shoulder of my gown slightly down to reveal a mark on my shoulder. It resembled a crescent moon. In its center were spirals of endless loops p.

I shrugged it off, pulled back my cloth, and flipped to the next page of the journal. Then my eyes caught the next lines, ‘Evelyn must have spun a dangerous lie. Nothing has been confirmed, it's just a gut feeling.’

What gut feeling? What does Alpha Leen mean? My mother spun a dangerous lie? 

The distant sound of the cathedral bells began to toll. The ceremony was beginning, I had to leave if I didn't want to be caught.

 I clutched the journal against my chest before concealing it back within the desk, memorizing every word.

A cold calm washed over my face. I smoothed down the silk of my wedding gown, threw my shoulders back, and lifted my chin high as I walked out of the study, stepping forward to face the great hall.