Chapter 4 MIRACLE FROM THE GODDESS

AURORA

Plunging out of nothingness, the first thing I felt was pain. It wasn't the sharp agony of Carl's dagger diving into my throat, neither was it the unbearable pang of death slowly taking my soul.

Instead, it was a dull but heavy ache that spread through every corner of my body.

Before I could gather my thoughts to process what was happening, a slow beep echoed in my ears.

What was going on? Was I slowly descending into the afterlife?

I didn't understand, but my confusion doubled when a scent hit my nose…medicine, antiseptic, blood, and something faintly floral lingering beneath it all.

Hospital? Did the afterlife have a hospital? That had to be the silliest thing to cross my mind, but I couldn't help it.

I was dead, this was a fact. My death was too slow to have a chance at survival.

My chest tightened violently as every gory detail plunged back into my mind.

Carl’s cold eyes stared at me with pure hatred, the things he said to me, his accusations, the dagger driving painfully into my throat, and the darkness.

I sucked in a sharp breath and my eyes flew open to a white ceiling, and bright lights that forced me to blink and look away.

My brows furrowed as I took in my surroundings, this was a hospital. I was in a hospital.

How could that be possible? I died! How could I be alive and in a hospital?

The door burst open before I could think any further.

A nurse gasped loudly, dropping the tray in her hands, metal clattering across the floor.

“D-Doctor!” she screamed. “Doctor, she’s awake!” Immediately, footsteps thundered toward the room. Three doctors rushed in, their faces pale with disbelief. One of them nearly stumbled.

“That’s impossible…” he whispered.

Another doctor hurried to my side, checking the monitor beside me with trembling hands.

“Her vitals are stabilizing…” he muttered. “How is this happening?”

The doctors stared at me before hovering around each other, their voices low.

“She had no pulse for over six minutes…”

“No brain activity as well…”

“We declared her dead!”

My heart slammed painfully against my ribs because it was true, yet I was here.

One of the doctors left the circle and approached me, looking down at me cautiously, almost fearfully.

“Can you hear me?”

I swallowed, with a brief nod. “Yes,” I said and froze in my spot.

My voice sounded strange, low and softer, completely different from how I usually sound. Panic flared through me instantly.

I lifted my hand and paused, noticing my hand was unfamiliar, I suddenly had longer fingers and a paler skin. There was a crescent moon tattoo near the wrist and a small heart on my finger.

My breathing became uneven.

No!

No no no…

I reached for my face frantically, “I need a mirror.” I spoke again, and my voice didn't fail to freak me out.

The doctor stared at me, his brows furrowed, “A mirror?”

“Yes!” I almost screamed at him, desperate to know what was going on with me.

One of the doctors obliged, disappearing and returning minutes later with a hand mirror.

I took it from him, and stared at myself, my heart dropped immediately.

A stranger was staring back at me, there was no trace of my features, my blue eyes were now amber coloured, my hair, a Silver shade was now brown. Everything was different.

“What did you do to me?” I asked, panic dripping from my voice.

The doctors exchanged nervous glances with each other.

“Luna Hera,” he said carefully, “please remain calm.”

Luna… Hera?

The name didn't ring a bell, “I don't understand what you mean. Who is Hera?”

Silence filled the room, a horrific look spreading across the doctor's faces, but I didn't care. I needed answers.

“Say something! What the fuck is going on?”

“Quick, get the Alpha.”

One of the doctors scurried out of the room, while another walked up to me, wearing a fake smile on his face.

“Calm down Luna Hera, you must be feeling lightheaded and your memories might be hazy. But everything is fine, no need to panic. The poison must have had a rough effect on you.”

I shook my head, trying to understand his words. I wasn't Hera, and I certainly didn't die of poisoning, there was only one true explanation for this.

I had been Reborn, but not in my own body, but Hera's. We both died, but I had been given a second chance.

Why?

The door burst open, revealing a tall, breathtakingly handsome man, who had the room stiffen within seconds. He looked disheveled, even in his expensive black coat, his hair was a mess, his eyes swollen and red.

“Alpha Nathan.” The doctors chorused, bowing their heads as the man strolled in.

His name and face sounded familiar, like I had known and seen him before. Yet my memory was just too foggy for me to recall.

“Hera…” he called in a deep tone filled with disbelief.

My heart raced in my chest as he approached me. Grabbing my hand, he brought it to his lips, placing a long kiss on it.

“You are alive.” He gasped, raising his hand to cup my cheek. “This is a miracle from the Goddess.” He said, staring deeply into my eyes that I shivered, scared he would see through his wife's gaze and see me.

I averted my gaze, staring at our intertwined hands. I swallowed the lump forming in my throat.

“Hera, talk to me, say something.” He spoke softly, his thumb caressing my cheek in a way that soothed my tense shoulders.

I wanted to wrap my hands around him and sob on his chest. And that scared me even more. This isn't me, this isn't my body, I am only feeling this way because of Hera…

A realization suddenly dawned on me. I couldn't feel my wolf, there was just an empty void in the spot I always felt her.

“Your scent.” Nathan looked at me, confusion filling his gaze. “It's different…” he trailed off, looking lost.

That's because I am not your Luna.

I wanted to scream at him, but a solid part of me didn't want him to realize that. So I did the next thing that popped into my mind.

I kissed him.