chapter two
1343 Words
CHAPTER TWO
RIDA
The first thing that reached me was the smell.
Metallic. Thick. Suffocating.
It hung in the air around me, burning inside my nose.
Blood.
The clouds that had once gathered in the sky had scattered, just like the bodies spread across the battlefield.
Not a single one stood. They all lay on the ground, lifeless.
So it was true.
I had reincarnated… yet remained in the very place where my life had ended.
With effort, my body lifted from the ground. It felt heavy and unfamiliar, like wearing armor that didn’t belong to me.
The memory of Alpha Damian piercing his sword into my body flashed through my mind—a painful scene I would rather forget.
My gaze searched the battlefield for a girl in a blue dress.
What appeared before me was shocking.
My sister, who had once been wearing blue, was now dressed in green.
Her face looked fuller than I had ever seen it, and the hands that had once been thin from years of hard work now looked healthy—just like mine used to.
Looking down at my own hands, disbelief washed over me.
They were skinny.
Too skinny.
Uneasiness crawled through my chest as my fingers slowly touched my face, trying to understand what felt wrong.
Then my fingers brushed against my neck.
And everything froze.
The birthmark.
The mark that had always belonged to Sida was now on my body.
My heart pounded violently as realization struck.
I had been reborn.
Inside Sida’s body.
Slowly, my gaze drifted toward the body lying on the ground.
My body.
The skin had already turned a faint shade of blue. The lips were pale and lifeless.
A wave of horror threatened to rise, but it was forced down.
This was not the time to break.
The knife that Alpha Damian had tossed earlier still lay nearby. Picking it up quickly, determination hardened inside me.
Now was the time to find Alpha Torr.
Judging from the battlefield, Alpha Damian couldn’t have gone far. His dangerous aura still lingered nearby.
If the pack moved fast enough, there might still be a chance to catch him and punish him for the countless lives he had taken.
Alpha Torr might not be as powerful as Alpha Damian, but he could still leave a mark on him.
After all, he had been the one who sent Sida into this battle.
To prove her love.
To prove she was worthy of becoming his Luna.
When she begged me to fight beside her, the request sounded crazy. But refusing her had never been an option.
My fingers tightened around the necklace hanging from my neck.
One last glance fell on my former body before turning away.
Each step toward the gate felt unstable, my body swaying as exhaustion threatened to pull me down.
Suddenly, a shout rang out.
“Raise your arrows! Intruder!”
Within seconds, bows were drawn.
Dozens of arrowheads pointed directly at my chest.
For a moment, laughter nearly escaped my lips.
Surely this had to be some kind of joke.
But the guards’ faces remained cold and serious.
“It’s me,” I said quickly. “Sida. Alpha Torr’s mate.”
Some of the guards scoffed.
Others stared as if they were looking at someone insane.
“Put your arrows down,” I ordered.
Pain exploded through my leg.
An arrow had been released.
My strength vanished instantly as my body collapsed to the ground.
“You are under arrest,” one of the guards announced.
“Under arrest?” My eyes widened.
Why would I be arrested in this condition?
Surely Alpha Torr knew nothing about this.
“If Alpha Torr knew what you were doing, would you be ready to accept his punishment?” I demanded.
A guard scoffed.
“You are under arrest, Sida Richards,” he repeated, louder this time.
If they knew who I was… why treat me like this?
Relief rushed through me when the gate suddenly opened.
Alpha Torr stepped outside in his royal robes.
Even now, he looked mesmerizing.
His long brown hair rested against his shoulders, and his broad frame carried the natural authority of a ruler.
Hope rose inside my chest.
Finally.
Someone who would recognize me.
Rushing toward him, words spilled out breathlessly.
“Thank goodness you’re here. These guards are talking nonsense about arresting me—”
Before the sentence could finish, a strong shove sent my body flying aside.
The ground hit hard.
“Didn’t I give you orders?” Torr’s voice rang coldly. “Why aren’t you doing your work?”
The shove had been careless, as if pushing aside useless trash.
Guards rushed forward, forcing me to kneel while pressing my head down to face Torr.
“This must be a mistake,” I said desperately. “It’s me—Sida. Your mate.”
Even if he didn’t recognize Rida… he should at least recognize Sida.
“How were you able to survive?” Torr asked, surprise flashing briefly across his face.
“Didn’t you fight Alpha Damian as I commanded?”
Disgust filled his expression.
“What are you talking about?” Confusion burned through me. “Weren’t you the one who asked me to prove my love and show I was worthy of becoming Luna?”
“And you believed that?”
Another voice appeared behind him.
A voice that belonged to the fakest person in the pack.
Silda.
She walked toward Torr confidently and pressed a kiss against his cheek, her red lips leaving a mark.
At the same time, her eyes fixed on me.
“He’s mine,” she said sweetly. “Didn’t you notice?”
Her smile turned cruel.
“Or were you just too stupid to realize?”
“Don’t tell me that’s true, Torr,” I whispered.
Shock flickered across his face.
Sida had never dared to call him by his name.
“HOW DARE YOU ADDRESS THE FUTURE ALPHA BY NAME?” the guards shouted, drawing their swords instantly.
“Guards,” Torr said calmly.
They immediately returned to restraining me.
“How did you survive?” he asked again, voice serious.
“No one survives Alpha Damian.”
It was a question without an answer.
Telling them the Moon Goddess gave me another life would only make them think I had gone mad.
“What did Sida ever do to deserve this?” I asked quietly.
All she had ever done was love him.
“How could you send her to die while betraying her like this?”
His blue eyes stared back coldly.
“My Luna cannot be weak,” Torr said flatly. “I would never allow that.”
His gaze dropped with open disgust.
“You should be grateful your name was ever linked to mine.”
“A mere omega.”
Silda laughed.
“You should actually be thankful Alpha Torr sent you to die fighting Alpha Damian instead of rejecting you immediately.”
Her eyes looked at me like trash.
“I, Alpha Torr, reject you, Sida as my mate.”
The words struck like a blade.
He turned away.
“Kill her. Feed her body to the rogues.”
The guards tightened their hold as I struggled desperately to break free.
But it was useless.
Was I really going to die again?
Sweat covered my body as the memory of the battlefield returned.
Without hesitation, a guard drove his knife into my stomach.
Warm blood spilled instantly.
Pain exploded through my body.
I had experienced death before.
But this hurt even more.
My knees collapsed against the ground.
“T-Torr…” I forced out weakly.
Surprisingly, he turned.
That face… the face of the man who had sent my sister and me to our graves.
“How could you?” I whispered.
Torr turned his back without answering.
Silda followed him.
Neither of them looked back.
Did I really mean nothing to them?
My eyes slowly closed.
Darkness welcomed me again.
And this time, it finally swallowed everything.
- Writer
