Teagan's POV

...

"You're excused, Anastasia," I told the maid as soon as I stepped out of the dining hall. "I have urgent matters that seek my attention. Also, tell Emery and Charlotte to continue their show at the Pack Square. I'm pretty sure one or twenty persons would be interested,"

She nodded, "Yes, your highness. I shall do as told."

With that, Anastasia departed.

Now that I was left alone, I decided it was time to visit one place— the pack's prison.

I acknowledged the greetings of servants and pack members that I encountered en route, making sure to wear a haughty facade.

As for whether the Luna's handmaid, Kierrah, was truly up the duff, it wasn't my concern. However, my father's affair with her was undoubtedly real.

I'd encountered them one time when I was younger in one of the guest rooms that I'd been assigned to clean. Both were on the bed, wearing just their birthday suits, and he was humping her frenziedly.

A gasp was all it took for him to notice me. And he'd warned me not to ever speak of what I saw to anyone in the pack, or else I would have to forfeit my already pathetic existence.

The former me, being timid, agreed, and I've been keeping the secret for almost half a decade. Now that I was in my favoured twin's body, I wasn't worried about the consequences of revealing his affair. How he would handle his heartbroken and enraged Luna wasn't my business.

..

I eventually stopped in front of a solitary dark cell with a heavy gate sealing the entrance. The guard designated to watch over it bowed to me in deference before unlatching the massive padlock.

"Bring her out. Be gentle," I emphasised the last two words. After all, that was my previous body.

Soon, I saw my former body being escorted out, limping.

Anastasia now possessed it, I was sure. The moment she laid eyes on me, she turned hostile.

"You bitch!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, her voice regrettably hoarse.

The guard made her kneel before me, a scowl gracing his features. "Behave," he warned, his tone unkind.

"It's alright, you may go." With a dismissive gesture from me, the stout guard bowed and left us to chat.

"Hello, Allegra," I said with a mocking smile that riled her up even further.

"Teagan, what did you do to me?! Give me back my body!" she fumed, using the wall to aid her in standing up, her teeth clenched, knees visibly trembling.

"First off, twin, I'm not a bitch. That title suits you far better."

"You..."

I cut her off, "And secondly, I'm not responsible for our current situation. Still, I must commend the culprit; they did an excellent job," I conveyed to her, my smirk designed to provoke a reaction.

She tried to lunge at me but paused halfway, doubling over in anguish. Oh, right, my former body had indeed plummeted from a considerable height, and knowing my father, it's unlikely he allowed proper treatment at the pack's hospital.

At least, Allegra's the one enduring the pains in my stead. Talk about karma!

"I don't care whether you're responsible for this or not, but you have until this evening to restore me to my rightful body," she warned me, gritting her teeth from pain coursing through her.

"And if that doesn't happen... what drastic action will you take?" I asked, arms folded, a mocking lilt undeniable in my tone.

It felt good watching her roll her fingers into fists at the sides and clench her jaw, her eyes betraying her frustration.

I mean, even if she yelled repeatedly that she was Allegra, who in their right mind would believe her?

"You need not worry," I told her, a puckish grin tugging at both ends of my mouth, "I'll help you impress your potential suitor... in shocking ways,"

"You... Don't you dare do anything stupid with my body!" she cautioned me, letting out a sound of discomfort as she clutched her gut.

I closed the distance between us. "Of course, I won't. I wouldn't want to waste this second chance the heavens have given me," I patted her face, "For now, be good and make sure you don't kick the bucket. Yet."

I dodged her enraged attempted lunge at me, causing her to crash miserably to the floor.

"You witch!" she seethed, her teeth gnashing. If eyes could kill, I'd long have perished.

"Hey, mister," I called out to the guard, knowing he would hear me from wherever he was. He emerged in my view in less than a minute.

"Here I am, Your Highness," he meekly said to me.

"Put her back in. Don't forget to feed her. After all, she's still my sister. But if she troubles you, do not hesitate to punish her," I said with a grin, ignoring Allegra's stream of curses hurled my way.

Without looking back, I sashayed my way out of the prison, resolved to take this chance I was given to make everyone who hurt me pay the price painfully.

Not long after I'd exited the prison, I encountered a short, red-haired maid in one of the hallways. Claudia, I remembered, was her name, and she had this edgy look on her face, her right fingers encircling her left wrist.

Just as I was about to walk past her, the maid stopped me. "Your highness..."

I turned to face her with an arched right brow, "Yes?"

"Uhm... Can I talk to you in private? It's quite urgent," she said, her voice tense.

My curiosity was piqued; it wouldn't hurt to hear what she had to tell me. And so, I followed her into one of the unused guestrooms nearby in the alpha's residence.

"So, what is so important that you had to bring me here, Claudia?" I asked, helping myself to the bed, draping a leg over the other in an elegant manner.

"Well... I know you aren't the real Princess Allegra."

How did she know? My heart started racing, but I still wore a composed facade. "You brought me here to talk nonsense? I should punish you,"

"We both know it's not nonsense, your highness. You are her twin, Teagan," she divulged, causing my eyes to dilate.

"You... how do you know this?" I asked, my voice lower, my brows drawn together.

It was no use denying something like this. No one else had noticed the switch, and this maid wasn't close to Allegra in any way.

For her to say this with conviction, she must know something I don't.

"You have to promise not to share what I'm going to tell you with anyone else," she told me in a serious tone.

"Sure, I promise," I replied, my tone equally grave. 

Claudia heaved a sigh before steeling herself to spill the beans.

"I'm the descendant of a witch!"