MIA’S POV

I wake up to a silver light flashing.

I can feel some strong presence wrapping around me.

My eyes open gradually. Slowly. Above me, I can see the stars and sky.

I’m not in the grave anymore.

The Moon Goddess.

I can feel her presence. She did this. Pulled me out of the grave.

I try to sit up. My body struggles to keep up - like I’ve been asleep for days.

Which I probably have to be fair.

I look down at myself.

My Luna dress is gone. Replaced by simple clothes. A soft gray fabric.

My hands are clean. No dirt under the nails.

My skin is whole. I feel complete. Except -

I reach back and feel the space between my shoulder blades.

I feel something. A mark. Heat. The Moon Goddess’s proof that I’m hers now.

I push myself to sit. My vision shakes slightly, but steadies.

I’m in the cemetery. But not in the grave. Just beside it.

The headstone shines in the moonlight.

MIA MORELLA ASHWOOD Beloved Mate, Future Luna

Gone Too Soon

Mia is dead.

But I’m alive.

How?

The Goddess’s voice whispers through my mind. Not words really, but more like knowing.

I remade you while you slept. Changed you. Protected you. Now rise, Raven. And hunt.

Raven.

That’s my name now.

I stand on legs that feel strange. Everything feels strange. Like I’m wearing someone else’s body.

Because I probably am.

I need to see what’s happened.

I scan around and spot a pond.

I move toward it.

The water is still. Calm. And dark.

I kneel at the edge.

Lo and behold - I see a stranger.

The face looking back at me has my bone structure. Same shape, but everything else is different.

Storm gray eyes instead of sky blue.

Black hair instead of Mia’s honey-blonde.

Much sharper features and fiercer expression.

I touch my face. The reflection does the same.

It’s actually real.

I’m someone else now.

My wolf stirs beneath my skin, restless and wanting.

“We should see,” she whispers. “We need to see what we’ve become.”

She’s right. I need to know what the Goddess has made us.

I pull off the simple dress. The night air is a bit cold but I barely feel it.

Then I reach for the shift.

It comes faster than before. Much smoother. The Goddess’s magic making it happen effortlessly.

My bones reshape. Fur erupts. And my vision sharpens.

I’m now in my wolf form.

I drift to the water’s edge and look.

My wolf is bigger now. Stronger.

And the fur -

It’s silver, but threaded with gray and black. Like shadows woven under the moonlight.

My eyes are darker. Storm-silver instead of soft-silver.

Mia’s wolf looked like something out a fairytale. Very beautiful and etheral. Gentle.

Raven’s wolf looks like she could actually kill you.

“Good,” my wolf says with a satisfactory edge. “We’re not helpless anymore.”

Damn right we aren’t.

I shift back. The transformation smooth like water.

I pull the dress back on and take one more look at the grave.

The life I used to have.

Mia Morella Ashwood is buried here.

What does Raven do now?

I can’t just walk back into the pack. They’ll have too many questions. Where did I come from? Why am I here?

I need a plan. Need to create a cover story.

And I need to figure out who killed me.

The Goddess said I was murdered. But by who?

I try to remember the ceremony. The tea. Amara brought me tea. Mother’s tea.

Would she -

Could she -

No. That’s insane.why would Amara want me dead? She had no reason to. She wasn’t in line for Luna.

She was always quiet about her crush on Damien. Always in the background, watching. She never said anything after the mate-bond snapped for us, but I remember the look on her face that day.

Disappointment.

And she’s been spending a lot of time at the pack house lately.

But that’s not proof. That’s just paranoia and suspicion from a girl who just came out of the grave.

I need facts. Which means I need to get close.

I finally settle for a cover story.

A rogue seeking sanctuary.

It’s common enough. Packs take in rogues sometimes. If they’re useful. Or not a threat.

I can be useful.

The groundskeeper’s shed is nearby. He keeps spare work clothes for rainy days.

Five minutes later, I’m dressed in pants that are too big and a shirt that smells like fertilizer. Not ideal. But better fit for my cover.

If everything goes well, I might get hired.

I turn toward the North where the pack house is.

This is it.

Once I cross this border - as Raven, there’s no going back.

I take a deep breath. Let it out slowly.

Then I step toward the border.