The King Alpha’s Dead Luna Returned

Chapter 4: The Ghost and the Outcast

Deep within Ashford territory, nestled far away from the desolate, wind-swept slums, stood a magnificent luxury estate. It was a fortress of wealth, cut off from the brutal northern cold by high stone walls and state-of-the-art security.

Inside the mansion’s private study, the atmosphere was defined by low-key luxury. Rich mahogany bookshelves lined the walls, and the scent of expensive leather and old money filled the air. A man sat behind a massive desk, entirely focused on his work, the soft glow of his computer screen reflecting in his dark, piercing eyes.

Suddenly, a breaking news alert popped up in the corner of his screen.

He paused, his fingers hovering over the keyboard, and clicked on the link.

As he read the report, the silence in the room stretched out, heavy and suffocating. After a long moment, a soft murmur escaped his lips, carrying a deep trace of regret and genuine sorrow.

"What a tragic waste of true brilliance..." the man whispered to the empty room. "Such an extraordinary leader for humankind, destroyed by a pack of hypocritical, cowardly snakes."

Maximized on his high-definition monitor was a breathtakingly beautiful photograph of Lyra Noctis. The picture captured her perfectly. Her features were striking, but it was her eyes that truly commanded attention—they were bright, fiercely intelligent, and completely alive, looking as though they held the entire galaxy within them.

To the rest of the world, she was simply the newly elected leader of the human race, the beautiful human Luna who had tragically died in a freak accident alongside the Alpha of the Blackthorne Pack.

But this man knew the real truth. He knew that beneath her polished, diplomatic exterior, Lyra was a once-in-a-century killer. She was a master assassin whose true lethal talents were a top-tier secret, a classified file accessible only to world leaders and the highest authorities in the supernatural realms.

Yet, this man possessed that classified knowledge effortlessly.

He stood up from his leather chair, walked over to a crystal decanter, and poured himself a glass of neat whiskey. Closing the news tab, he took a slow, thoughtful sip, his eyes tracking the heavy snowfall outside his window.

Lyra’s sudden, violent death had cast a faint, lingering shadow of grief over the supernatural world. But the world was a cruel, fast-moving machine. Soon enough, the headlines would change, and society would move on exactly as it always did. Only a select, powerful few would ever truly remember that the human race had once produced a female leader so utterly magnificent.

Meanwhile, on the frozen, impoverished side of the Ashford territory, Seraphina’s new body was healing at an incredibly fast pace.

As the days blurred together, she spent her time resting and piecing together the fragmented memories in her head. She finally had a clear grasp of her new identity.

She was now the youngest daughter of a completely average, desperately poor Omega family living in the frozen slums of the North.

Her father, her stepmother, and her younger half-brother were all low-ranking Omegas. The only exception in the entire household was her older stepsister, Renee. Renee had been born an Alpha. Even though she was just a common, average Alpha with no special noble bloodline, in a family of dirt-poor Omegas, it made her a literal goddess.

Because the family lived in absolute poverty, they were entirely dependent on government subsidies just to keep food on the table. Fortunately, the prestigious Blackwood Academy offered a specific, mandatory enrollment quota every year for underprivileged youths. That quota was the only reason all three children in the Vale household were able to attend the elite school.

But for the original Seraphina, school had been a living hell. She was an Omega, but it was worse than that—she was entirely wolfless. A supernatural being without a wolf spirit was considered a defect, a total waste of space. Because of this, she had spent her entire school life being brutally bullied, tormented, and humiliated by the older students and the powerful Alphas who ruled the campus.

And as for her new family...

Sitting up in her small, squeaking bed, Seraphina let out a cold, bitter laugh. The deeper she dug into her new memories, the more she recalled the exact ways her stepmother and stepsister had treated her. They hadn't just ignored her; they had actively tried to break her spirit.

"Get out of that bed and go mop the floors right now!" a sharp, piercing voice screeched from the doorway, shattering the morning silence.

Seraphina didn't even flinch. She looked up calmly to see her stepmother, Jane, standing there with her hands on her hips, her face twisted in an ugly, demanding scowl.

"You’ve been lying around pretending to be sick for days, and the entire house is covered in dust! Are you completely blind?" Jane snapped, her tone dripping with pure disgust. "I have to leave for my shift in an hour. If everyone in this house were as incredibly lazy as you, faking illnesses just to stay in bed, how on earth are we supposed to afford food?"

Faking an illness? Seraphina thought, a dark glint flashing in her eyes.

If her memories served her correctly, the poor girl who previously owned this body hadn't been faking anything. She had jumped into that freezing, deadly lake because she couldn't take the suffocating, relentless pressure of the bullying at school and the horrific a***e at home anymore. She had literally chosen death over living another day in this house.

Reminding herself that she was currently inhabiting another person's daughter's body, Seraphina forced her boiling rage down. She chose to completely ignore the bitter woman, treating her like absolute air.

Before Jane could scream again, the door clicked open further, and a teenage boy walked into the cramped room. He was a quiet, introverted kid who usually kept his mouth shut. Completely ignoring his mother’s presence, he walked straight past Seraphina's bed and picked up a small, potted cactus sitting on the cluttered windowsill.

But as he turned around to leave, his footsteps faltered. He paused by the edge of the mattress, looking down at Seraphina. He opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but the words seemed to stick in his throat.

Seraphina matched his gaze, studying the boy carefully.

This was Brandon Vale, her half-brother. Like her, he was an Omega, but unlike her, he actually possessed an inner wolf. However, his wolf’s fur was highly defective and matted, and his wolf core was incredibly weak and impure. In the supernatural world, he was just another outcast destined for the bottom of the food chain.

In the past, the timid Seraphina had always kept her head glued to the floor, never possessing the courage or confidence to look anyone directly in the eye. Her intense, steady, and unbroken stare clearly caught Brandon off guard, making him shift uncomfortably.

"It’s... it's good that you're awake," Brandon muttered in a low, rushed whisper, his eyes darting toward the hallway. "Just... don't do something that stupid ever again."

Without waiting for a reply, he turned on his heel and quickly rushed out of the room.

Seraphina watched the door close, a small, genuine smile finally touching her lips. Well, she thought, at least this i***t kid didn't inherit his mother and older sister’s toxic, vicious personalities.

Even though Seraphina's mind was sharper than ever, her physical body was still incredibly frail. She spent the rest of the day lying quietly in bed, focusing on deep breathing exercises to slowly rebuild her depleted energy reserves.

By the time twilight fell over the frozen space, casting long, eerie shadows across the bedroom walls, the front door slammed open. The rest of the household had returned.

"What an absolute embarrassment," a sharp, condescending voice sneered from the foot of the bed.

Seraphina opened her eyes slowly. Standing before her, with her arms tightly crossed over her chest, was her older stepsister, Renee. She was staring down at Seraphina with a look of pure, unadulterated disgust.

Renee was undeniably attractive, with beautifully styled golden hair and perfectly manicured, sparkling acrylic nails. She looked like a typical, popular high school girl, but her eyes were entirely devoid of warmth.

"You don't even have a wolf, yet you still have the nerve to pull a dramatic stunt like jumping into a lake," Renee mocked, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "You're so pathetic that you actually forced other people to jump in and drag your useless body out. Honestly, it’s a massive shame you didn't just drown yourself out there."

Having delivered her cruel, vicious insults to her supposedly weak little sister, Renee turned around, a proud, arrogant smirk plastered on her face as she strutted out of the room.

She was the only Alpha born into a family of lower-class Omegas. That single biological trait gave her all the status she needed to spend her entire life stomping on everyone else around her, and she fully intended to a***e that power.

Seraphina remained completely still, her cold, lethal gaze locked onto the doorway where Renee’s beautiful silhouette had just disappeared.

A dangerous, icy chill settled deep within her chest.

She’s so young, Seraphina thought, a ruthless, predatory smile slowly spreading across her face, and yet, her heart is already so incredibly venomous. How interesting.