Mated to my murderer

Chapter Two

The Rebirth of Astraea

Rhea

My lungs violently expanded as I sucked in a sharp, desperate breath.

I sat up screaming, my hand instantly flying to my neck. I expected to feel the blistering burn of the silver rope, the shredded skin, and the snapped bone of my spine.

There was nothing. My smooth, unblemished skin met my fingertips.

I gasped, looking around in a panic. The dark, misty clearing of the Noosewood forest was gone. The sadistic sneer of Julian, the cold glare of Alpha Darius, and the triumphant laughter of Celine were nowhere to be found.

Instead, I was sitting on a squeaky, rusted metal frame. It was my thin mattress. I was inside my tiny, damp room in the servant quarters at the very bottom of the Bloodrose Pack house.

"How am I alive?" I whispered, my voice trembling.

‘Because the Moon Goddess demands justice,’ a powerful, majestic voice echoed directly inside my head. It possessed a thunderous, low purr that vibrated through every single bone in my body.

I froze, my eyes widening. "Who... who is that?"

‘I am Astraea,’ the voice boomed, filled with a lethal, ancient pride. ‘I am your wolf, Rhea. For nineteen years, they called you a parasite and a cosmic mistake because you couldn't shift. But you were never weak. I was just sleeping, waiting for the right moment to awaken.’

Tears blurred my vision, but they weren't tears of sadness anymore. They were tears of sheer shock. I wasn't an omen. I had a wolf. And she sounded bigger, deadlier, and more terrifying than any Alpha wolf I had ever encountered.

"But.. I died," I breathed, my hands shaking against the tattered blanket. "The rope snapped and it broke my neck. I felt the darkness take me."

‘Time is a thread, little one, and the Goddess has woven it backward,’ Astraea growled, her mental voice dripping with a predatory hunger. ‘Look at the calendar on your wall. Look at yourself. We have traveled three years into the past. This is the year before Darius took the Alpha throne.’

My head snapped toward the small desk in the corner. There was a cheap, paper calendar hanging from a nail. My breath caught in my throat.

The year was 2023.

It was exactly three years before my execution. The night of my murder was gone. Julian hadn't framed me yet and Celine hadn't ordered my death yet. I was back at the very beginning, given a second chance at life.

A strange, intense heat suddenly flooded my veins. It wasn't the agonizing fire of the time vortex… it was a roaring, untamed power. My weak, fragile omega body surged with a terrifying strength. The constant aching in my joints was completely gone. I felt lighter, faster, and incredibly dangerous.

I slid off the bed, my feet hitting the cold floorboards. I walked toward the small, cracked mirror hanging on the back of my door.

When I looked at my reflection, a gasp escaped my lips. My appearance had completely changed.

My hair, which had always been a dull, lifeless ash-brown color, had transformed entirely. It was now a striking, dark silver-charcoal color that flowed over my shoulders. It looked like it was woven with the shadows and moonlight.

I leaned closer to the glass, blinking. My once timid, fearful eyes now held a sharp, lethal glint. Deep within my pupils, a faint ring of burning gold swirled, reflecting the true nature of the mythical beast residing inside my soul.

‘They wanted a victim,’ Astraea roared in my mind, her golden eyes flashing in my mental vision. ‘But we will give them a monster. There is more hiding or begging for mercy. We crave blood, Rhea. It is time to make them pay for every single drop they took from us.’

A fierce, dark satisfaction bloomed in my chest.

Astraea was right. The timid, pathetic omega who cried in the dirt was dead. She died on that silver rope in the Noosewood forest. The woman standing here today was born from holy fire and fueled by a desire for absolute vengeance.

Julian, Celine, Darius. I was going to dismantle their lives piece by piece.

Suddenly, a heavy, aggressive fist pounded violently against my wooden door, shattering the silence. The cheap wood rattled on its hinges.

"Get up, trash!" a harsh, familiar voice barked from the hallway.

My blood ran cold, then instantly turned to boiling lava. It was Mindy, one of Celine’s personal handmaidens and one of the principal bullies who loved to make my life a living hell. In my past life, I would have trembled and hidden under the covers.

"Alpha Darius and Lady Celine require the morning tea in the main dining hall immediately!" Mindy shouted, kicking the bottom of the door. "If you are late, I’ll make sure the Beta whips you himself!"

I stared at the door, a slow, dangerous smile spreading across my face. My fingers curled into tight fists, the wood beneath my feet practically groaning from the sudden pressure of my newly awakened strength.

They had no idea who was about to walk out of this room.

‘Let us begin,’ Astraea whispered, her claws unsheathing in the shadows of my mind.

I walked over, unlocked the heavy latch, and pulled the door open. Mindy stood there, her hand raised to strike the wood again.

When her eyes landed on my silver-charcoal hair and the golden glint in my eyes, her sneer instantly froze, replaced by a look of surprise.

“Hey, Mindy..I will be right there with the tea.”

“What…what did you do to your hair…?” Mindy choked but I walked past her.

I have work to do to make sure the past doesn't repeat itself. As I stepped into the hallway, Mindy was still staring at me with wide, unsettled eyes.

Good, let her be confused.

I lowered my gaze and continued walking, hiding the cold smile threatening to appear on my lips. Every corner of this place held memories I wished I could forget. The servants’ wing. The endless chores. The cruel laughter followed me everywhere.

But this time was different. This time, I knew exactly who my enemies were and they had no idea I remembered everything.

“Move faster, trash,” Mindy snapped, finally finding her voice as she hurried after me.

I simply nodded. For now, I would play the same obedient omega they expected.

As we approached the kitchen, a voice drifted from inside.

“Has anyone seen Rhea yet?”

My steps slowed down. The voice belonged to someone who shouldn’t be here this early.

Someone who, in my previous life, never once spoke my name with concern.

A chill crawled down my spine. Slowly, I lifted my eyes toward the kitchen doorway and I came face-to-face with the one person who was never supposed to notice me.