Chapter 3
1403 Words
Serene’s chest tightened. Her lungs burned.
Darkness pressed against her from every side, thick and suffocating, wrapping around her. She tried to breathe but nothing came. There was no air.
Her body jerked.
Her fingers twitched.
Then.
A force slammed into her lungs.
It was too strong, too sharp, and painful. It was air.
Her body jerked upright, her back snapping away from the bed as if something had pushed her, with her body folding forward as she dragged it in, breath after breath, each one rough and uneven.
Her hands gripped what was beneath her, it felt soft and a bit silky, like they were sheets. With her fingers digging into the fabric, turning her knuckles pale, her chest rose and fell rapidly. It was a bit too fast and hard. Her head spun in circles. The air was flowing better.
Her body shook as she sucked it in, her throat dry and tight, her lungs struggling to catch up.
She tried to open her eyes; her vision was blurred for a few seconds, then slowly cleared.
She saw walls. A window. And there was light.
Her hands moved quickly, almost frantically, pressing against her chest, her neck, her arms, her legs, and her face.
There was no weight. There was no soil, or dirt whatsoever. No pressure pulling or pushing her.
Her skin was clean. Very clean.
Her breath hitched.
Slowly, too slowly, and she then lifted her head, from where she lay.
The room came into focus.
It was familiar. Too familiar. Piece by piece.
Her gaze snapped toward the side table.
The same objects were on the table. Her jewels, her ornaments, her balms. They were the same, untouched and unmoved.
Her stomach dropped. She thought maybe the Alpha had had mercy and had her removed from her supposed grave, rescued, and resuscitated.
But the memory of it all was too real, too messy, and too present. The pressure. The panic. The moment her body stopped fighting. She thought she could still get a whiff of the soil that was being poured on her body, face, nose, mouth, and eyes the last time she had them open.
“No…” The word barely formed, slipping out under her breath.
She pushed herself off the bed, her legs unsteady beneath her weight. The ground felt solid but her body didn’t trust it yet as she slipped.
She tried standing again. Her next step was careful, like a toddler learning to walk for the first time.
She reached the large standing mirror. She stopped moving. For a moment, she didn’t look. She was afraid. She thought, what if it wasn’t real? What if she isn’t real?
Her chest rose once and fell
Then her eyes lifted.
Her reflection stared back at her. There was no blood on her, not even bruises. She was unharmed and even unmarked.
She was Alive.
Her fingers lifted slowly, hovering near her face before pressing lightly against her cheek.
It was warm.
Real.
Her breath came out unevenly.
Images flashed to her.
The Darkness. The Sandy Soil. Hands pulling, pushing, and shoving. Hands reaching out.
Nyx’s face above her.
Kael.
Her body stiffened as her stomach twisted in knots.
Her hand dropped.
A sharp breath left her.
She looked back at the mirror and her reflection stared back at her, but now her eyes were different.
They were wider.
Her lips parted slightly, but no sound came out at first.
Then, barely above a whisper, “No…”
Her chest rose slowly as she drew in a deeper breath, but this time it didn’t shake. It settled.
Her gaze remained fixed on herself.
On the proof in front of her.
She wasn’t in the ground.
She wasn’t dead.
Her fingers curled slowly at her sides.
If that was real…
Then this…
A sound broke through her thoughts. It was soft and familiar.
Her head turned sharply toward the door. There were footsteps. Slow, light footsteps.
Then there was a voice.
It was Nyx.
She sounded normal.
Serene didn’t move.
Her eyes stayed on the door, her body completely still.
Another sound followed, drifting up from below.
It was a voice she knew just as well.
Kael.
Her dried throat tightened.
They were both here.
Her breathing slowed further, evening out as something inside her began to settle, not into peace, but into clarity.
Her shoulders straightened slightly.
The tension in her hands eased, her fingers loosening little by little.
The fear didn’t disappear.
It changed.
It sharpened.
Her gaze shifted back to the mirror one last time.
This time, she wasn’t searching for answers.
She was confirming what she already knew.
Everything had been taken from her once.
Her trust.
Her place.
Her life.
And the people who had done it were just outside that door.
Serene turned away from the mirror.
Her steps were steady now.
When she reached the door, her hand rested on the handle, her grip firm.
She paused for a second.
Then her fingers tightened.
She pulled the door open.
And stepped out.
This time, she would see everything clearly and understand it.
Serene stepped out of her room, her movements steady, her breathing controlled, but her mind still turning over everything that didn’t make sense.
The hallway looked the same.
Too clean. Too untouched.
Nothing felt out of place but something was strange.
Her eyes moved slowly across the walls, the doors, the small details in things she had passed a hundred times before without thinking.
Now, she noticed everything.
A faint sound came from downstairs, voices again.
She moved toward the staircase, each step quiet, careful.
As she reached the top, her gaze dropped. And she stopped.
Her fingers tightened slightly around the edge of the railing.
Downstairs, a group of people stood gathered.
Pack members. Elders.
Familiar faces.
But it wasn’t just who they were.
It was what they were doing and why they were here.
They were setting things up.
Decorations were everywhere.
White clothes.
Ceremonial markings.
Her eyes narrowed slightly as she leaned forward just a bit, trying to see more clearly.
A table stood in the center. It was covered..
Her breathing slowed.
She knew this, not vaguely, or like a dream.
It was like a memory flashing again. It was like deja vu.
Her stomach dropped.
This was…
Her gaze shifted quickly, scanning the room, searching for the voice she had heard minutes ago.
And then she saw him.
Kael.
Standing near the center, speaking to one of the elders.
His posture was relaxed. He seemed focused…with no tension in his shoulders and no weight in his expression.
He was nothing ike the man she had seen standing above her grave.
Her grip on the railing of the stairs tightened.
Then…
Nyx stepped into view.
Moving easily, even gracefully, through the room.
She came close to Kael. Too close.
Serene’s breath caught slightly.
Her eyes moved back to the preparations.
The white clothes.
The markings.
The arrangement.
Her memory didn’t creep in this time.
It hit her, clear and sharp.
It was undeniable.
This was the day.
The day everything had begun.
The day she became Luna.
Three years ago.
Her fingers slowly loosened from the railing.
Her chest rose, then fell.
Her mind moved quickly now, fitting everything together.
The room.
The people.
Their positions.
Their expressions.
Nothing had changed. This had happened before or maybe it hadn’t happened yet.
Her jaw tightened slightly, the faintest tension forming along her face.
Three years back.
She was three years back. It wasn’t a dream or illusion.
This exact moment.
This exact day.
The beginning.
Her eyes shifted once more to Kael.
Then to Nyx.
Standing beside him as she belonged there, close to him.
Serene’s gaze hardened, just a fraction.
Not enough for anyone to notice.
But enough to matter.
Everything that had destroyed her was here, with her, still ahead, waiting.
Her breathing steadied completely now.
If this was the beginning, she thought.
Then nothing had been set in stone yet.
Nothing had happened.
Nothing had been decided.
Which meant…everything could be changed.
Serene straightened slowly, her posture calm, her expression neutral once again.
But her eyes were no longer the same, nor was she the same person.
This time, she wasn’t stepping into her future blindly.
She already knew how it ended and she would not let it happen that way again.
- Writer
