Alpha’s Mistaken Luna

017

Tonight is the night everything goes back to the way it was. It will go back to when I didn't know who Maximus was, back when he was just my sister’s arrogant CEO and nothing more. My life used to be normal, but it is not anymore. The full moon is rising in half an hour and I can feel the clock ticking.

I remember the last words I spoke to him on the phone.

“I can’t wait to have you around me,” he said to me on the line.

My heart kept pounding in my chest just because it hurt hearing him genuinely happy to be around me. It hurt so much because I can’t tell him everything. It is getting even worse because I can't hide the feelings I have for him anymore.

“I..I can’t wait to be with you too,” I managed to say while I held back my tears.

He sensed that something was wrong because he could feel my heartbeat on the other side of the phone. I had to lie to him again and then I made an excuse to hang up.

Celeste has been holding a grudge against me since our last argument. She just wouldn’t talk to me and only gave clipped responses to my questions. It made the air between us feel heavy and cold while we walked.

“Welcome,” Petyr greeted us when we entered the shop.

“This way. We need to be fast,” he added and we followed him down into his basement.

There he had already prepared everything. There were symbols drawn on the floor and candles lit the room. A relic sat right in the center of it all. He went on to open the window and placed a weird looking thing on a table nearby.

“This will draw the moon power for the ritual,” he told us when we looked at him curiously.

“Before we start, there is something you will need to know, and I will give you the rest of the fifteen minutes to make the decision,” he explained. Celeste and I looked at each other and nodded.

He told us that he had been informed that I allowed Maximus to mark me while I was in my sister’s body. His eyes got fixed on me, making my stomach drop.

“That mark on your neck means you and the alpha are soul bonded. And doing it while in your sister’s body makes that bond incredibly strong,” he paused, and my nerves spiked. “The swap will move your souls, and in doing so, the bond will have to snap violently.”

I felt like I already knew where this was going. He looked into my eyes with a sad expression. “You might not make it.”

“This wouldn’t have happened if it were any other wolf, Yena. But Maximus, I don’t even remember the last time I heard that name. He’s ancient, a cursed immortal wolf. But there is still a chance you might make it,” he went on, and I just stared blankly at him.

“And what if we don’t swap back tonight? We could wait to figure out how to solve this,” Celeste questioned.

Petyr’s lip twisted and he shook his head. “I’m afraid you’ll never get to swap back again. You will be stuck in each other's bodies forever.”

“I’ll do it,” I whispered, my voice sounding foreign to my own ears.

Celeste’s eyes widened and she started shaking. “No—”

“There is a chance this might work, Celeste, like he said. I don’t really believe it completely, but,” my voice cracked as tears started slipping down my cheeks.

“What I’ve gone through with you since we got stuck, I wouldn’t want to repeat that. And I know you Celeste, you wouldn’t. It’s fine, this is my fault anyway. I should have listened to you but I didn’t. I let him mark me.”

I heard Celeste sobbing behind me, but I gestured for her to join me anyway. Slowly she did, and she held my hands tight.

“I will be fine, Sis. I told you, right?” I started speaking through the cries, forcing myself to control it. “That I love you so much and I wouldn’t break my promise for anything. And right now, I promise you that we’re going to swap and I am going to f*****g make it.”

“We’re getting out of here together. I promise you that,” she said, holding my hands and tightening her grip.

“It’s time,” Petyr said, holding a book as he began to recite the words.

We closed our eyes shut as a strong wind started to blow through the basement. I felt the mark on my neck burning, and my whole body felt like it was on fire. It wasn’t like anything I’ve felt before. Petyr's words grew louder, and I felt strong electric waves through my body as I grew weak. I heard a loud, violent snap in my head, the sound of the bond breaking, and I screamed as my heart gave one final, agonizing jerk.

I opened my eyes to see both Celeste and I fall down on the floor.

I felt myself falling into a deep, cold void where there was no sound and no light. I was gone.

For a long time there was nothing, until I felt a flicker of a pulse. Suddenly, my heart rate flew and I opened my eyes, breathing heavily. My vision was blurry but I managed to sit up weakly.

My head was spinning as I saw Celeste sitting on the floor beside me. She looked at me, her eyes red and streaming with tears, and she threw her arms around me. She was back in her own body, shaking with a mix of relief and terror.

“We did it. You made it, baby sis,” Celeste cried, hugging me so tightly I could barely breathe.

“You might be the Goddess's favorite. You made it,” Petyr said, watching us from the shadows.

I tried to smile, tried to tell her that I was okay, but suddenly I felt something wet slip from my nose. I touched it with my finger and saw red. Blood.

When Celeste let go of me, her face dropped. I began to cough uncontrollably, a thick liquid choking me. My mouth filled with the metallic taste of blood as I struggled to catch my breath.

“Yena?” Celeste’s voice turned from relief to pure panic.

“I..” I tried to form words but I couldn’t. A stream of tears slid down my face and my whole body started to hurt in a way I couldn't describe.

My vision began to blur as the room tilted. I felt Celeste holding onto me, screaming my name, but her voice grew faint. I had made it back, but my body was screaming under the weight of the power that had just been forced awake.