Saige’s POV

The first thing I hear is the hush.

Soft, deliberate, suffocating silence — broken only by the rhythm of my own breathing. The scent of herbs and antiseptic clings to the air. My head pounds like a drum, and every part of my body feels too heavy, too alive.

I open my eyes to white sheets, dim lanterns, and the faint sound of voices outside the door. My throat is dry, my skin tingles, and I realize I’m lying in what looks like a pack infirmary.

I shouldn’t be here. I shouldn’t be anywhere.

Memory floods me in fragments — claws, fire, screaming. The flash of Eike’s eyes before everything went black. And then… his hand catching me, saving me. Again.

I swallow hard as my fingers curl into the blanket. The energy that surged through me before that moonlight power still hums faintly under my skin, like a second heartbeat.

Outside, whispers thread through the hallway.

“Did you see her? She looks just like…”

“Don’t say it. The Alpha doesn’t want anyone comparing her to the Luna.”

“But it’s uncanny. Same eyes, same …”

The door creaks open before the whisper can finish. A young healer slips in, her arms full of fresh linens. She freezes when she meets my eyes and for a heartbeat, I see fear or maybe awe, before she quickly looks away.

“You’re awake,” she says softly. “Alpha Eike ordered that you be monitored.”

I nod, trying to sound calm even as my pulse races. “How long have I been here?”

“Two days.” She hesitates, then adds, “You healed faster than anyone I’ve ever seen. The wounds… they closed by the first night.”

Two days. That means Eike kept me here, protected me and watched me.

The thought sends a shiver down my spine, equal parts comfort and confusion.

I push myself up slowly. “Where is he?”

The healer’s gaze flicks to the door. “With his Beta, in the hall.”

And then I hear it — the low rumble of his voice beyond the thin walls.

“I can’t just forget her, Rylan.”

Eike.

His tone cuts through me, deep and raw. I can picture him pacing, his hands in his hair, his jaw tight.

“She’s gone,” Rylan says quietly. “You have to move on, Eike. The Luna’s death…”

“Don’t,” Eike snaps, voice sharp as glass. “Don’t say her name.”

The air thickens as my heart beats faster. My wolf stirs beneath my skin, restless, remembering the sound of his voice saying her name.

He’s talking about me.

I don’t need to hear the rest to know it — the grief, the anger, the hollow ache in his voice. I feel it in my bones.

I swing my legs off the bed, my feet touching the cold floor. My head spins, but I steady myself, moving toward the small mirror hanging across the room.

The healer tries to stop me. “You should rest…”

“I’m fine,” I whisper. “I just need to see something.”

My reflection stares back — pale skin, silver-flecked eyes, hair darker than I remember. For a moment, it’s just me. The girl who shouldn’t exist.

Then the air shimmers.

The mirror ripples like water, my vision blurs. And behind the reflection of this face… another one appears.

Burning eyes, golden hair. Blood on her lips.

My old face.

My breath catches as I stumble back, clutching the table. The mirror flashes again — two faces overlapping, one fading into the other, as if the universe can’t decide which one I truly belong to.

A single tear slips down my cheek.

Who am I?

The door bursts open. Eike stands there, eyes storm-dark, scent wild and restless. “You shouldn’t be out of bed,” he says, voice low, but there’s something else there. A tremor, a recognition he can’t explain.

I stare at him, the truth clawing at my throat.

And deep inside, my wolf whispers a single word that makes my blood turn to ice.

Mate.

-------

Eike’s POV

The moment I open the infirmary door, her scent hits me like a storm.

Moonlight and wild roses. The same scent that haunted my nightmares for years. The same scent that once filled my arms before I lost everything.

For a heartbeat, I forget how to breathe.

She’s standing by the mirror, bare feet on the cold floor, her hair loose around her shoulders. The bandage on her wrist is already gone. Her skin is unmarked. She shouldn’t even be on her feet, yet she’s standing — steady, stubborn, alive.

“Sa…” I stop myself before the name escapes. That name doesn’t belong here. My Luna is dead.

Still, the air around her hums with the same impossible energy. My wolf presses against my mind, snarling to be let out. 

Mate.

No, I crush the thought before it takes root. This girl isn’t her, she can’t be.

“You shouldn’t be out of bed,” I manage, stepping closer, keeping my tone controlled. The healer bows and slips away, leaving just the two of us in the quiet room.

She looks at me — really looks. Her gaze meets mine, unflinching. And for the smallest second, I swear I see recognition. Like she’s peering straight through me, past the walls I’ve built, to the man who failed his Luna.

My chest tightens. I force my voice steady. “You need rest. You were attacked by rogues.”

Her eyes flicker, distant, as if she’s replaying something behind them. “I remember…” she whispers, her hand trembling slightly. “Claws. Fire.”

I stiffen. The words are too close to memory, too close to truth.

“You were lucky I found you,” I say quickly, breaking the silence before it can suffocate me. “If I hadn’t…”

“If you hadn’t,” she interrupts, her tone sharp, “I’d still be in that forest, alone.”

There’s no fear in her voice, no gratitude either. Just a quiet, dangerous strength.

I study her, trying to understand why her presence unsettles me so deeply. Every logical thought tells me she’s just another wanderer. A lost wolf who doesn’t know her place. But my instincts—the beast inside me refuse to agree.

Her pulse quickens. I can hear it, feel it. The bond between us flares again, sudden and raw. It’s like being burned from the inside out. My wolf howls in my chest.

She gasps, hand clutching her chest, as if she feels it too.

I take a step back, shaken. “What was that?”

Her eyes widen, “I… I don’t know.”

But I do, I know exactly what it was.

The mate bond — the one that should have died with her.

I clench my fists to stop the tremor in my hands. I can’t let this happen again. I can’t let another woman’s scent, another woman’s eyes, destroy me like before.

I clear my throat, “You should stay here until you recover.”

She narrows her eyes. “I’m fine.”

“You’re not fine,” I snap, more harshly than intended. “You’ll remain here until the healer clears you. That’s an order.”

Her jaw tightens. “An order, Of course. You’re the Alpha.”

Something about the way she says it—mocking, defiant, ignites a strange, unwelcome warmth in my chest. I almost smile. Almost.

Before I can say anything else, the air between us shifts. The moonlight outside spills through the window, catching on her skin. It glows faintly.

My breath falters.

The mark of the Moon’s Blessing.

No, Impossible. Only one woman carried that glow — and she’s gone.

The girl sways slightly and I lunge forward on instinct, catching her before she falls. My hands close around her arms — and the bond erupts.

Pain and pleasure, recognition and agony, all at once. It’s like the universe just tore open a wound I thought had long healed.

Her eyes meet mine — wide, terrified, and shining with the same tears I once wiped away.

For a split second, I see her — my Saige, standing where this girl is.

Her voice is a whisper. “Eike…”

And I freeze.

The name on her lips feels like a blade and a prayer all at once.

How does she know it?

Before I can ask, the power fades, and she slumps back onto the bed, unconscious.

I stand there, trembling, her name echoing in my head.

Maybe I’m losing my mind. Or maybe… the dead don’t stay buried forever.

-------

Saige’s POV

The rain hasn’t stopped. It drums against the infirmary roof, relentless, like a reminder that nothing truly ends, it only changes.

Eike left hours ago to “speak with the Elders,” but I know what that really means. He’s gone to confirm whether I’m lying—whether I’m a trick of the Moon, a shadow wearing the face of the woman he once lost.

And maybe I am.

I sit by the cracked mirror, the one that showed us our past lives. Its shards are gone, but the outline still hums faintly against the wall, as if remembering the magic that tore through it. My reflection flickers between two faces—the one I woke up with, and the one I once died with.

I touch the glass. “Who am I this time?” I whisper.

No answer, only the steady tap of rain and the faint scent of moonflower—the scent that clung to Eike’s skin after battles.

Footsteps echo in the corridor. My heart jolts, and before I can move, the door opens. Eike steps in, soaked, eyes wild with something I can’t name.

“They said it’s impossible,” he says, voice rough. “That no soul can carry its memories after death.”

I don’t answer.

“But they also said the mark on your shoulder—the one that appeared when the mirror broke—it’s divine. A tether between lifetimes.”

I pull my sleeve back and the mark glows faintly, a crescent moon pierced by a burning flame. “Then it’s true,” I say quietly. “You and I are bound by the Moon’s curse.”

Eike runs a hand through his hair. “It’s not a curse, It’s punishment. The Moon bound us because I failed you.”

Something inside me twists. “Then why bring me back?”

He looks up sharply. “You think I did this?”

“Didn’t you?”

“Saige…” His voice breaks slightly on my name, as if it still tastes sacred. “I would give anything to undo what I did, but I swear to you, I didn’t summon this. I didn’t even know rebirth was possible until you appeared.”

“Then why do I remember everything?” I ask, stepping closer. “Why do I see flashes of fire every time I close my eyes? Why do I feel your hands on my skin even when you’re not touching me?”

“Because the bond doesn’t die,” he says softly. “Even death can’t sever what the Moon forged.”

I want to scream at him, to hit him, to demand why fate keeps circling us back to this pain but the moment I look at him, I can’t. His eyes hold the same torment mine do.

“I saw her,” I whisper. “The Moon Priestess.”

His expression hardens. “Where?”

“In the reflection, right before the glass shattered. She was smiling, Eike. Like she’d been waiting.”

Eike’s jaw tightens, “She shouldn’t be able to manifest, She’s gone.”

“Gone doesn’t mean dead.”

He steps forward, voice low. “You’re saying she’s part of this?”

“I’m saying she never stopped meddling with us.”

Lightning flashes outside, bright enough to fill the room with silver light. For a moment, it feels like the world holds its breath and in that silence, something ancient stirs inside me. A voice not my own whispers through my mind.

“Forgive him… or destroy him. The choice is yours.”

I flinch, pressing my palms to my head. Eike catches me by the arms. “Saige! What is it?”

“She’s talking to me—someone’s talking…” I gasp. The world blurs, and suddenly I’m somewhere else.

The air burns, the sky is on fire as I stand in the ruins of a temple, and the Moon Priestess stands before me in her black gown, eyes glowing like coals.

“You think the Moon gave you another chance?” she sneers. “No, dear. The Moon wants balance. One life for another. Yours for his.”

Her hand rises, and a flash of light cuts through me.

I scream…

…and wake up on the infirmary floor, gasping. Eike is kneeling beside me, his hands trembling as he presses his forehead to mine.

“What did you see?” he demands.

I grab his wrist, still shaking. “She’s coming for you, Eike. The Moon Priestess, she wants to finish what she started.”

His eyes darken, the wolf surfacing beneath his skin. “Then let her come.”

But even as he says it, the mark on my shoulder flares, searing hot. The light shoots from my skin into his, binding us together once more—blood to blood, soul to soul.

And deep in my chest, something whispers: The past isn’t done with you yet.