Reborn Luna's Revenge

Chapter 1: Death and Rebirth The execution platform's wood bit into my knees. Coarse rope bound my wrists behind me, cutting circulation. My knees throbbed from kneeling for hours in this position, but compassion had abandoned this place. Hundreds of Moonstone Ridge Pack members surrounded me, their faces twisted with contempt and rage. "Celeste Blackwood," Alpha Kieran's voice thundered across the grounds. "You stand convicted of treason against your pack." I raised my eyes to the man I loved beyond reason. My mate. But those eyes that once held warmth now reflected only ice and judgment. Every tender moment we'd shared, every whispered promise, every stolen kiss, all erased. "I'm innocent," I choked out, my voice breaking. "Kieran, please. You've known me since we were children. I could never" "The evidence speaks clearly," Gamma Victor interrupted, brandishing the forged documents. "We recovered these letters from your chambers. Our territorial maps. Guard rotations. All in your own hand." "Those are fabricated!" I cried. "Someone planted them!" But their ears were closed. Their minds decided. When evidence appears irrefutable, who questions it? Kieran approached, each footfall echoing like death's drumbeat. As Alpha, pack law bound him. Yet I desperately hoped he'd examine the evidence more closely. That he'd perceive the truth. "Final words?" Kieran asked. My heart shattered. I met his gaze one last time. "I loved you with everything I am. I still do. One day, you'll know the truth." Something flickered across his features, so brief I almost missed it. The shadows beneath his eyes suggested sleepless nights. The way his gaze couldn't quite hold mine... Perhaps some part of him knew. Kieran signaled the executioner. My last sight was Victor's smile of satisfaction. Then darkness consumed everything. --- Air rushed into my lungs with desperate gasps. Impossible, the dead don't breathe. I forced my eyes open gradually, struggling to focus. Above me, tree branches swayed in gentle wind. Azure sky stretched endlessly, clouds drifting past. I lay on soft grass, not the unforgiving execution platform. I sat up abruptly. Too fast—the world spun sickeningly, and I collapsed back with a gasp. Something felt profoundly wrong. I pushed myself up again, palms pressing into forest earth. Then I froze. These weren't my hands. Where mine had been small and delicate, these were longer, stronger, covered in scars. When I finally sat upright, I looked down at myself. Strange clothes, torn trousers and a dirt-stained shirt, not the ceremonial white dress I'd died wearing. My ears caught the sound of nearby water. I crawled toward it on unsteady legs. In the stream's reflection, the face staring back was attractive but foreign. Black hair instead of copper-red. Golden eyes instead of emerald. A jagged scar cut through the right eyebrow. Features sharper and more severe than my soft ones had been. "What happened to me?" I whispered, then flinched at the unfamiliar voice, deeper and rougher than my own. Memories that weren't mine suddenly flooded my consciousness. I saw myself running through these woods, though I'd never been here. I remembered stealing food from a human settlement, though I'd never needed to steal. Someone else's memories merged with mine. Memories belonging to someone named Raven. A packless wolf. "Why do I have Raven's memories?" Unless... I inhabited Raven's body. "How is this possible?" A branch snapped behind me, spinning me around with startling speed. This new body moved faster than my old one, reflexes sharper. Three wolves emerged from the underbrush. Not ordinary wolves, werewolves in their shifted forms, massive and predatory. I recognized their scent immediately. Moonstone Ridge Pack. My pack. My former pack. The largest wolf shifted to human form. My heart nearly stopped. Gamma Victor stood before me. The man who'd found the forged evidence. Who'd pushed hardest for my execution. Whose smile had been the last thing I saw before dying. "Well now," Victor said smoothly. "A rogue on our territory. You understand the penalty for unauthorized trespassing?" I forced composure. Victor didn't recognize me. Of course not, I was someone else now. I wasn't Celeste anymore, at least not externally. "I lost my way," I said, testing this unfamiliar voice. "I didn't intend to cross your borders." Victor's laugh held no warmth, I'd known him long enough to recognize that. "Every rogue knows our boundaries. You're either remarkably foolish or lying directly to me." He stepped closer. "Regardless, you're coming with us." The other two wolves positioned themselves behind me, eliminating escape routes. Flight would only worsen things. Besides, a dangerous idea was forming. If I somehow lived in this new body, perhaps I could discover who truly betrayed the pack. Perhaps I could prove my innocence and exact revenge. "Alright," I said, raising my hands. "I'll come peacefully." Victor looked surprised, most rogues fought or fled. "Wise decision. Though it won't save you. Alpha Kieran has no tolerance for rogues." Hearing Kieran's name pierced my chest. Even in this new body, my heart remembered loving him. Guards bound my hands with silver-laced rope that burned my skin, confirming Raven's body was definitely werewolf. They shoved me forward. As we traveled through the forest toward the pack's central compound, I noticed changes. New guard towers erected. Altered patrol patterns. Significant defensive improvements. "Move faster," Victor snapped, shoving me hard when he caught me observing. I stumbled but stayed upright. Internally, fury burned. Victor had always craved more power. I remembered how he'd watch Kieran with barely concealed envy. Though I couldn't be certain, something warned me to be cautious of him. The pack compound emerged from the trees. The Alpha's mansion stood imposing against the mountains, dwarfing the smaller homes surrounding it, residences for pack members. This had been my home my entire life until they killed me. Somewhere among those houses, my younger sister Maya lived. The thought of her made me actually stumble. Maya, my sweet sister, had screamed and sobbed at the execution grounds, begging Kieran to reconsider. What became of her after my death? "Frightened?" Victor asked, misinterpreting my reaction. "You should be. Alpha Kieran shows no mercy to rogues anymore. Not since..." He trailed off, but I understood. Not since me. Not since the woman he loved proved to be a traitor. Except I wasn't. Someone had planted that evidence, forged those documents, lied about witnessing me meeting rival packs. Pack members stopped their activities to stare as guards escorted me through the compound. Some appeared curious. Many glared with open hostility. Rogues were the enemy now. I kept my head lowered, playing the role of frightened captured wolf. But internally, I memorized every face, every change, every detail. Then I caught his scent. Pine and mountain rain, Kieran's scent struck me like physical force. My knees weakened. This new body had never encountered Kieran, but my soul recognized its mate. "Take the rogue to the cells," Kieran's voice called from above. He didn't even descend to see the prisoner himself. "Actually, Alpha," Victor called upward, something in his tone making my skin crawl. "You might want to see this one personally. She was found near the eastern border. Near where..." He didn't need to finish. Near where they'd scattered my ashes. Prolonged silence followed. When I thought he wouldn't bother appearing, footsteps sounded from the stairs, slow and heavy, each one resonating in my soul. Then Kieran appeared, and the world stopped turning.