Samantha's POV:

I blinked, utterly lost in his words. 

My head tilted as I studied him, wondering if the short man was being sarcastic or high on some strange drugs.

Yet, beneath the madness, his voice carried a weight that pulled at me, sparking a sense of urgency within me.

“What do you mean, short man?” I asked, trying to sit up. But my body was heavy, as if weighed down by an invisible force.

The dwarf cackled, his laughter echoing off the walls. “This is a place where the living and dead co-exist. And you are stuck in the middle. You are a living dead, a ghost!”

“What!?” I was horrified by his words, and my eyeballs widened.

“What do you mean? I'm not dead! I'm alive!” I barked.

The dwarf grin grew wider, and he chuckled lightly. “Ah, but are you? You see, my dear, your body is dead. Those men you saw a while ago? They murdered you on your birthday. You're not quite alive, and you're not quite dead. You're something in between. You should be dead by now, but I committed an abomination and held you back,” he explained, an evil grin plastered on his face. 

His words struck me like blades. “Murdered? On my birthday?” My voice turned into a scream: “What did they do to me? What have they done to me!?”

“Your body will soon be taken away,” he said with a complete lack of sympathy. “In conclusion, you will soon be buried. Forgotten.”

“Buried? I can't remember dying! How can I be dead?” I responded. My confusion and frustration are mounting. 

But instead of offering any clarity or comfort, the dwarf burst into menacing laughter, his eyes glinting with wickedness.

“Do humans remember they are dead?”

I fell silent. 

“What will become of me now?”

He shrugged. “You will get buried. And your ghost will roam the earth like a lost puppy.”

“Wow. so I die like a dog, and my murderers will continue living freely?” My eyes burned as rage enveloped me.

“Well…,” the short man spoke again, his tone shifting. “...unless you want revenge. Then, I can help.”

My eyes lifted slowly to His “revenge? Ghosts don't take revenge!”

“No. But I'll help you rebuild yourself into something powerful and stronger. Something evil. Something the living will learn to fear.” His grin dripped with promise and corruption. 

My heart suddenly went out to Alpha Kelvin. My love, and the only family I had in this world.

He's probably out there, worried sick that I had vanished.

We could have been mated by now.

“What if I say I'm in?” I asked with raised brows. Not because I wanted to be reborn into anything powerful, but because I needed to tell Kelvin that I loved him one last time.

He laughed, clearly enjoying my distress. “You're already halfway mine. The process has started already. Even if you don't want to agree, you will.” he said and turned to walk away. 

“Wait!” I stopped him immediately as my voice cracked. “Who killed me? Who plotted my death?” I asked, hoping to tell it to Kelvin when I got back to earth. 

“Like I always tell my people, the ones closest to you are fond of stabbing you from behind.”

My heartbeat pulsed. “What do you mean?”

“Do you truly want to know, weak Omega?” he asked with a grimace.

“Yes,” I replied through clenched teeth. 

“Very well then. Alpha Kelvin, your beloved alpha, is the mastermind behind your death!” He announced with a wicked triumph, and I froze.

“Liar! Your words are like those of the Devil! You expect me to believe you?” I roared, nails digging into my palms. 

He arched a brow. “Liar? Did I save you only to lie to you?”

“You monster!” I stuttered, “Kelvin would never!”

He scoffed, “Did you say never?”

“Kelvin values me more than anything, as do I. What could he possibly gain from my death!?”

“Freedom. Yes. Perhaps your death freed him. From shame. From his weak Omega mate. Or perhaps…” his voice dipped, “...His mother's choice, Helena, was far more tempting.”

The name pierced my heart like a knife.

I felt nauseous, trying to process the lies he was telling. Kelvin would never betray me like that. No, not Kelvin.

I was a weak mate indeed, but I gave and sacrificed everything I had for him: my pride, my dignity, and, without selfishness, my virginity. While enduring his mother's and pack member's hostility.

“You’re making this up! Kelvin would never do such a thing.” I protested, my voice faltering.

“Then see for yourself!” The dwarf waved his crooked hand with a grin.

Suddenly, I was no longer in the abyss.

I was standing in the shadows of my old pack, but no one could see me.

Then, I saw him, Alpha Kelvin. 

His arms were wrapped around Helena, Luna of the Silvermoon Pack, as her head was thrown back in pleasure.

My chest tightened as he grazed his lips around her throat before sinking his teeth deep into her flesh, marking her as his mate.

Helena's moans shattered me. It wasn't a cry of pain, but of pleasure, of acceptance.

“No…” The word broke out of me like a whisper.

The dwarf’s cackle echoed beside me. “There. Do you see it now? The one you loved, the one you trusted, choosing another. marking her, while you were left to bleed and die.”

The dwarf leaned in, voice softer, crueler.

“You never knew your father. Your mother abandoned you to be eaten by wild animals. You're a weak Omega who still hasn't gotten her wolf at this age. You've been rejected, unwanted. His family spits on you, and his pack members hate you more than they hate demons. Do you think a prince will keep a beggar at his side forever?”

The dwarf's words cut deep. Ripping open old scars and pouring salt into the raw flesh of my soul.

He was right, of course. 

My father's face is a mystery to me, and my mother's abandonment still lingers like an open wound.

Being an Omega wolf, I was the weakest link in the pack's hierarchy, and my inability to shift made me an outcast among my peers.

Everyone loathed me. Except Kelvin. 

Well, until now.

“You can drown in self-pity, little one. Or you can rise. Embrace what I offer and take back everything that was stolen.”

His words ignited something in me.

Something primal and long buried.

As I looked into the dwarf's eyes, I saw something that made me pause. 

It was a glimmer of understanding. A hint of empathy and defiance. 

His promises were like a light in the dark.

And in that moment, I knew I would never be the same again.

I looked deep into his eyes. “What do I have to do to gain these powers?”