MY SECOND LIFE: The Rejected Luna's Revenge

Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3: THE EXCURSION PT.1

The sun hadn’t even risen and the whole bus already reeked of nerves.

I sat by the window. Same seat as yesterday.

Damien slid in next to me 2 seconds before the doors closed.

Hoodie up. Earphones in.

Like yesterday never happened.

"East gate was nice," I said quietly.

He didn’t look at me. "Don’t mention it again."

Fair.

The contract said separate.

It didn’t say silent.

The driver cleared his throat. "Welcome to the Blackwood Territory Excursion. Today we tour the borders, the training grounds, and the Sacred Lake. No shifting until the Ceremony tomorrow. Rules are rules."

A collective groan.

Celia was in the front, already talking to Alpha Marcus.

Damien Vance was beside her, hand on her lower back.

My past life.

I looked away.

---

The first stop was the border wall.

30 feet of black stone. Carved with the Blackwood crest.

A wolf with a crown.

"Impressive," I murmured.

"Don’t," Damien said next to me.

"What?"

"Don’t sound impressed. They’ll eat you alive."

I glanced at him. "Is that a concern, Blackwood?"

His jaw ticked. "It's a strategy. You being weak makes me look weak."

Right. Contract.

We walked the perimeter in two lines.

Elders in front. Students behind.

Celia kept turning around to stare.

Damien Vance kept glaring at me.

At the third watchtower, Alpha Marcus stopped.

"And here," he said, voice booming, "is where we lost three wolves to rogues last winter. Because some packs think they can walk over us."

His eyes landed on me.

"Some wolves," he said slowly, "think they can walk into this family without earning it."

The whole group went quiet.

I met his eyes. "Then tell me how to earn it, Alpha."

Gasps.

Marcus smiled. It wasn’t nice. "Combat. Right now. You and my son."

Damien Vance stepped forward, grinning. "With pleasure."

Damien beside me stiffened.

The mark on his wrist burned. I could feel the heat through his hoodie.

"Alpha," he said. Low. "The rules say no wolves until—"

"I said hand to hand, boy." Marcus cut him off. "Unless your wife is too scared?"

He was baiting me.

In my past life, I would have cried.

This time I stepped forward.

"I’m not scared," I said. "But I have conditions."

Marcus raised a brow. "Oh?"

"If I win, I get to choose my training partner for the rest of the excursion."

"If you win," I added, "I’ll publicly apologize to Celia."

Celia’s fake smile cracked.

"Deal," Marcus said. "Begin."

---

The dirt was the same as yesterday.

Damien Vance cracked his knuckles. "You should have stayed quiet, Lyra."

"And you should have stayed in the past," I said.

He lunged.

He was faster than Celia. Stronger.

He aimed for my face.

I ducked. Elbow to his ribs.

He grunted.

We circled.

He threw a punch. I caught his wrist and used his momentum to throw him.

He hit the ground. Hard.

The crowd murmured.

He got up angry. Swung wild.

I sidestepped, swept his leg, and had him pinned in 5 seconds.

"Yield," I said.

His face was red. "Never—"

"Yield, Vance," a new voice cut in.

Damien Blackwood.

He was standing at the edge of the ring. Hoodie off now.

Eyes gold.

Vance looked at his brother. Then at me.

"I Yield," he spat.

The instructor blew the whistle. "Match to Lyra Blackwood."

Silence.

Then Marcus started clapping. Slow.

"Well," he said. "Seems the wolf-less girl has teeth."

"She’s not wolf-less," Damien said. Still staring at me.

Everyone turned to him.

Marcus frowned. "What did you say?"

"Nothing." Damien’s eyes went dark again. "She won. Can we continue the tour?"

Marcus studied both of us. Then nodded. "Fine. Sacred Lake next."

---

The Sacred Lake was beautiful.

Silver water. Moon symbols carved into the stones.

This was where I died.

My hands started shaking.

"Hey."

Damien’s voice. Right behind me.

I didn’t turn. "Don’t."

"You’re shaking."

"It’s cold."

"It’s 80 degrees."

I finally looked at him. "What do you want?"

He was closer than he should be. The contract said distance.

But his eyes were... different.

Like he recognized something.

"You fight like someone who’s done it before," he said quietly.

"Someone who’s died before."

My blood went cold. "What?"

"Nothing." He stepped back. "Forget it."

But he didn’t forget it.

I could see it in his face.

Across the lake, Celia was whispering to Marcus.

Pointing at me.

Then at Damien.

Marcus nodded. His eyes were sharp.

The bond in my chest pulled.

Not toward Damien.

Away from him.

Danger.

"Everyone to the buses," an elder called. "Next stop: training grounds."

As we walked back, Damien fell into step beside me.

"That thing you said about conditions," he said.

"What about it?"

"You want me as your training partner?"

I stopped. "I didn’t mention you."

"You didn’t mention anyone." He looked at me. "So. Do you?"

The contract said separate.

The wolf in me said yes.

"Yes," I said.

He nodded once. "Good."

---

Back on the bus, things were different.

Celia and Vance were whispering.

Marcus was on his phone.

And everyone was watching me.

Damien sat down next to me again.

This time, he didn’t put his earphones in.

"Why did you do that?" I asked. "In the ring. Say I wasn’t wolf-less."

"Because you’re not," he said simply. "I can smell it."

I froze. "What?"

"Your wolf. It’s there." He tapped his nose. "Under the skin. Sleeping."

He looked at me. "It’s strong. Stronger than hers."

He meant Celia.

My heart was pounding. "You can’t—"

"I can," he said. "And tomorrow, at the Ceremony, everyone else will too."

The bus hit a bump.

"Damien," I whispered. "If they find out—"

"Then they find out." He leaned back. "You’re a Blackwood now. Let them deal with it."

A Blackwood.

Two days ago I was nothing.

Now I had an Alpha saying that.

My phone buzzed.

_D.B: Don’t look scared tomorrow.

Look like you own the place.

Because you do._

I stared at the message.

Across the aisle, Celia saw me looking at my phone.

Her eyes narrowed.

The excursion wasn’t over.

And neither was she.

But for the first time,

I wasn’t afraid of what came next.

Because the wolf under my skin was waking up.

And Damien Blackwood could smell it.