4
He was sitting a few rows ahead, his head resting on his hand as he stared out the window. My heart leapt in my
chest.
12:55 PM
Banished and Betrayed, But She Walked Again–And Rejected Him
I got up, stumbling toward him. When he turned and saw me–or rather, Celeste’s body–his eyes darkened with
suspicion.
But I couldn’t stop myself. I threw my arms around him, burying my face in his shoulder. “Zephyr, it’s me. It’s Lyra,” I whispered, my voice breaking.
He stiffened, pulling back to look at me, his eyes narrowing. “Lyra?”
“Yes,” I said, tears streaming down my face. “It’s me. She swapped our bodies. I don’t know how, but it’s me. Please, Zephyr, you have to believe me.”
He stared at me for a long moment, his hand hovering over my cheek. And then, his eyes softened.
“I feel it,” he murmured. “The bond. It’s you.
I nodded, clutching his hand. “She told me you were dead. She said Xavier destroyed the pack.”
His jaw tightened. “Xavier attacked us, yes, but we’re still standing. We fought them off.”
Relief flooded me, but it was quickly replaced by dread. “She’s not done, Zephyr. She wants to destroy you, your
pack… everything.”
His arms wrapped around me, holding me close. “Not if we stop her first.”
C
The first thing I did was get rid of the tracker. Zephyr helped me cut the damn thing out of the back of my neck. It stung, but it was worth it. No more bugs, no more Celeste knowing my every move.
Zephyr held up the tiny device, studying it with disgust before crushing it under his boot. “She won’t track you
anymore…”
“Good,” I muttered. “I’m done letting her control me.”
Zephyr’s pack felt like home the moment we stepped through the gates, even if I didn’t look like myself anymore. As much as I wanted to relax, I knew I couldn’t–not yet.
Lilith, on the other hand, wasn’t so sure about me. When we first arrived, she hid behind Zephyr, peeking at me with cautious eyes. I couldn’t blame her–I looked like Celeste.
“Hi, Lilith,” I said softly, crouching down to her level. “It’s me, Lyra.”
She didn’t say anything, just stared at me like I was some sort of ghost. My heart sank.
But over the next few days, things began to change. I made sure to show her the same love and care I always had -reading her stories, playing little games with her, and listening when she talked. Slowly, she warmed up.
One night, she tugged on my sleeve as I was folding some clothes.
“Are you really Lyra?” she asked, her big eyes searching mine.
I nodded, smiling. “I really am.”
Her little arms wrapped around my waist, and I felt a lump in my throat as I hugged her back.
“I knew it,” she whispered. “You’re my mommy.”
Hearing her call me that again made me realize how much I’d missed her. Whatever happened next, I had to protect her and this pack.
C
I started training every day, pushing my limits and trying to regain control of my power. It wasn’t easy–it felt like Celeste had stolen pieces of me along with my body–but I wasn’t going to give up. I focused on what I still had and made it stronger. Zephyr trained me himself, his calm patience grounding me even when I wanted to scream in
frustration.
Meanwhile, Celeste, in my body, was making her moves.
She went back to Xavier. I heard about it through one of Zephyr’s spies. He was thrilled to have “me” back,
clueless about the soul swap.
“She’s manipulating him,” Zephyr told me one night after a sparring session. “Using your face, your power…
12:56 PM
Banished and Betrayed, But She Walked Again–And Rejected Him
My stomach twisted at the thought. Celeste wouldn’t stop until she had everything she wanted. And Xavier
“He doesn’t even care about me,” I said bitterly. “Just what my power can do.”
Zephyr looked at me, his expression softening. “I care about you, Lyra. Not your power. Not your past. Just you.”
The way he said it made my chest ache, but I couldn’t let myself fall apart. Not yet.
“We’ll stop her,” I said, determination hardening my voice. “We’ll stop both of them.
”
For now, I focused on getting stronger, on protecting the people who had welcomed me despite everything. Celeste and Xavier wouldn’t see me coming.
Celeste was good–too good.
From what Zephyr’s spies reported, she played the perfect version of me. Gentle, kind, obedient–the kind of Luna
Xavier had always wanted.
“She’s planning to marry him,” Zephyr said, dropping the news casually over breakfast one morning like it wouldn’t feel like a knife in my chest.
I froze, the piece of toast in my hand forgotten. “She what?”
“She convinced him to announce it,” he said, leaning back in his chair. “Apparently, your ‘return‘ has inspired
Xavier to make things official.”
Rage bubbled up inside me. Of course, she’d manipulate her way into Luna status. That had been her goal all
along, hadn’t it? First, take my power. Then, take my title. And now, take my life.
“She’s trying to use your healing power publicly,” Zephyr added. “But there’s a problem.”
I raised an eyebrow. “What kind of problem?”
“It’s not working right.”
That caught my attention.
“She tried to heal one of his injured warriors at some pack event,” Zephyr explained. “Apparently, it worked, but barely. People are starting to notice something’s off.”
Good, I thought bitterly. Serves her right for stealing something that wasn’t hers.
But it also meant I was running out of time. If Xavier’s pack started questioning her, she’d double down. Maybe even come after me again.
That’s when I knew what I had to do.
“We’re going to crash the wedding,” I said, setting my toast down and standing up.
Zephyr’s eyebrows shot up. “You’re serious.”
“Dead serious.”
I started pacing, my mind racing. “We need to expose her. Show everyone who she really is.
