Flora’s POV
Right to this point, I didn’t know how I got to my feet and walked out the door, leaving behind the shattered pieces of the life I thought I wanted.
A while ago I had been numb on the floor, Caleb’s words piercing inside me from all sides—hurtful and scary. Marcus had probably helped me get up, and for that, I was grateful. He was walking beside me too, watching me, pitying me.
The road stretched endlessly ahead of me, lit only by the faint glow of the moon. My legs moved on autopilot, carrying me farther from the house, from the special night I had planned. Caleb’s cruel words echoed in my mind, each one cutting deeper than the last.
"You’ve let yourself go."
“What have you done on this bed but bore me for months?
"An unfaithful slut she is."
“Get out of my house,”
My parents’ faces flashed in my memory, their warmth, smiles, and laughter contrasting painfully with the emptiness inside me. Their last wish had been so simple—live a happy life, Flora. But here I was, alone, aimless, and shattered.
The cool night breeze stung my tear-streaked cheeks as I stopped by a small pond. The water’s surface rippled faintly, reflecting the moonlight. When I caught sight of myself in the water, I barely recognized the haggard woman staring back. I looked exhausted and almost lifeless.
Once, I’d been the most beautiful she-wolf in my pack. People used to say my smile could light up a room, and that my eyes were as bright as the stars. Now, they were dull and rained down tears. My hair hung limply around my face, and my skin looked as though the glow had been drained from it.
I crouched by the pond, my arms wrapping around my knees. The sound of the lady’s moans and Caleb’s grunts afterward played on a loop in my head, but it was his words—the icy disdain in his tone—that left the deepest wounds.
“Flora.”
The sound of my name pulled me from my thoughts. I turned sharply, startled to see Marcus standing a few feet away. His presence both comforted and unsettled me. I had forgotten he had been with me all along.
“Why are you still here?” I snapped, quickly wiping at my face. “Why follow me? Do you enjoy watching me like this?”
He didn’t respond right away, his calm gaze holding mine. His silence grated on my frayed nerves, making my chest tighten.
“Say something!” I demanded, my voice breaking.
He finally stepped closer, his expression holding a thousand meanings. Marcus hadn’t changed since our school days—smart, quiet, dependable. But I had.
Unable to stop myself, I asked bitterly, “Do you think I’m old and unattractive now? Compared to how I used to be?”
His brow furrowed slightly, but he didn’t look away. After a moment, he said quietly, “You look the same to me.”
I laughed bitterly, shaking my head. “Don’t lie to make me feel better.”
His voice softened. “You’ll never wither because of insignificant people. You’re as beautiful as ever, Flora.”
I stared at him, his words both soothing and maddening. Before I could retort, he hesitated, his mood shifting to something more vulnerable.
“If there was a second chance…” he began, his voice barely above a whisper. “Would you—”
The blaring of a horn shattered the moment.
I turned instinctively, my heart lurching in my chest. A pair of headlights bore down on me, the roar of the engine deafening. Behind the wheel, I glimpsed her—Caleb’s mistress—her eyes wild with hatred, her intent clear.
Everything slowed. I tried to move, but my legs felt like lead.
“Flora!”
Marcus’s voice was the last thing I heard before he shoved me out of the way with all his strength. The impact came too fast, too brutal. His body collided with the lorry, a sickening sound that seemed to reverberate through the night.
The force of his push sent me sprawling to the side, my head hitting the ground hard. Pain shot through me, my vision swimming. My ears rang, but I could still hear the screech of tires, the crunch of metal, and the fading sound of the lorry speeding away.
I lay there, dazed and broken, my body aching with every breath. Panic and regret clawed at my chest. Marcus had saved me.
Marcus.
His last words echoed in my mind, unfinished and haunting. I hadn’t asked him what he meant. I hadn’t seen the truth right in front of me. How could I have wasted so much of my life being blind?
A single tear slid down my cheek as the moon’s light dimmed and the world around me gradually faded.
***
A warm, bright light was the next thing I saw after the darkness. I opened my eyes—or at least, I thought I did—but I wasn’t in the same world anymore.
A figure stood before me, a radiant woman with silver hair glowing like moonlight. My eyes stabled and I tried to understand what was happening. Where was I? Who is this woman?
“Flora,” she called out, her voice melodic and soothing. “Do not try to figure out who I am. Your main concern should be why you are still able to breathe.”
My breath hitched. “Selene?”
She nodded, her serene smile never faltering. “You’ve been given another chance, Flora. It is compensation for your pain even though it comes with a cost. A life for a life and someone has sacrificed their soul for you. A price has been paid so that you may live again.”
A price? A life? Marcus’s life for mine? Her words struck me like a thunderbolt. I shook my head violently. “No. No, I don’t want this! Not if it means—”
Selene raised a hand, silencing me gently. “Life is never meaningless, Flora. You’ll come to understand this.”
“How could you do this? Why let him die for me? For my meaningless life”
Her gaze softened, and she held out a glowing necklace, its strange, ethereal light pulsing faintly.
“Then make it meaningful,” she blurted. “You will travel between worlds. You will take over the lives of women who met tragic ends, living better for them and yourself. Each life you save will fill this necklace with energy. If you succeed, it may grant you the power to bring back a soul.”
“His soul?” I asked.
“Any soul, Flora, but you have to succeed,” she replied, her hands still stretched out.
Tears blurred my vision as I stared at the necklace, my hands trembling. Slowly, I reached for it, her words swirling in my mind. I had to try, I guess. It was the only option I had.
My fingers brushed the necklace and held it. Its feel in my palms was magical even without any form of energy inside. I had questions. How would I collect the energy? How would I save these women? Was it a case of making up their regrets, ensuring they get to live happy lives?
I opened my mouth to ask.
But before the question escaped, the world around me dissolved with the last thing I saw being Selene’s amused smile.
I gasped as I came to, my senses overwhelmed by familiar sensations. My body was moving, my skin tingling from contact.
When I opened my eyes fully, I realized, with a jolt, that I was in another body—entangled mid-act with a man whose face I couldn’t see clearly.
He was on me, thrusting as fast and hard as he could.
“Say my name, little one,” he commanded. “Say I own you,” he followed after, his cock rocking my walls, wounding me, this girl, whoever she was.