Calla's POV
I gasped, struggling to breathe as if I’d been underwater for hours. My body ached, and when I opened my eyes, reality shifted. The room was vast, bathed in a golden glow, with intricately carved stone walls and towering windows revealing a vibrant blue forest beyond. The scent of wild earth filled the air, unfamiliar yet captivating.
Where was I?
Trembling, I sat up, panic rising. This was no hospital. The door creaked open, and two women entered, their robes patterned like the forest outside. Their eyes brimmed with disbelief.
“She’s awake,” one whispered.
“Our princess is awake,” the other said, clutching her chest.
“Princess?” I rasped. “What are you talking about? Who are you?”
Before they could answer, heavy footsteps echoed in the corridor. A man and woman burst in, their commanding presence shifting the air. Relief and sorrow mingled in their expressions.
“My daughter,” the man said, kneeling beside me. His piercing blue eyes locked onto mine. “You’re finally home.”
“Home?” I shook my head, backing away. “No. This isn’t real. I don’t know you.”
The woman stepped forward, tears streaming down her face. Her hair shimmered in the light as she reached for me. “My daughter, it’s us. Your parents. We’ve searched for you for so long.”
The word "parents" hit me like a blow. My parents were dead. I’d buried them years ago. “No,” I stammered. “This is a sick joke. My parents—my real parents—are gone.”
The man placed a hand over his heart. “We are your real parents, Calla. You were taken from us as a baby. The human world isn’t your home. This is.”
A cold shiver ran down my spine. “What do you mean? Where is this?”
“This,” the woman said gently, “is the werewolf realm. Your true world. You are the daughter of Alpha Garett and Luna Selina, the rightful heiress of the pack.”
Werewolves. Heiress. Pack. Their words clawed at my mind, impossible to grasp.
“This doesn’t make sense,” I whispered, clutching the sheets like they were my last link to sanity. “I’m not a werewolf. I’m human.”
Luna Selina’s expression softened as she knelt beside me. “No, my darling. You were taken to the human world in a desperate act. An omega—Hera’s mother—exchanged you for her own child. She believed her daughter would have a better life here in the werewolf realm, with parents like us—an Alpha and a Luna. We had no idea the switch had happened until many years later.”
Her voice wavered, grief clouding her eyes. “For most of her life, we believed Hera was our daughter. But on the night of her first transformation, everything changed. When a werewolf shifts for the first time, their true rank is revealed. Hera transformed into her wolf, and we saw she was an omega. It was impossible for her to be our blood.”
Alpha Garett spoke, his voice steady but tinged with sorrow. “We didn’t know the truth until one of the omega servants came forward. She had been close to Hera’s mother, who suddenly disappered years earlier, and she confessed to knowing the secret all along. Hera’s mother had switched you two at birth, believing her daughter would thrive under the care of an Alpha and Luna. She took you to the human world, where you were sold to the family who raised you.”
Selina’s hand rested on mine, her gaze pleading. “We searched tirelessly for you, Calla. It broke our hearts to learn you’d been taken to the human world. But now, you’re back where you belong.”
The revelation hit me like a tidal wave. My entire life had been a lie. The people I thought were my parents… they weren’t. They never even knew the truth. And now, I wasn’t even sure who I was.
A sharp knock interrupted us. The door creaked open, and a tall figure stepped inside. His golden eyes locked onto mine, sending a wave of heat through me.
“Beta Felix,” Garett greeted him. “My daughter's savior. You’re just in time. Our daughter is awake.”
Felix’s gaze was intense, unreadable. When he spoke, his deep voice resonated. “I just did what I could. Besides, the prophecy said she would return when the realm needed her most.”
Prophecy? My pulse quickened. I wasn’t a princess or a savior—I was just Calla, a broken woman who didn’t belong here.
Felix stepped closer, his eyes never leaving mine. “You’ve been gone too long, Princess. It’s time to take your place.”
I opened my mouth to protest, but then I felt it—a voice, faint but undeniable.
You are not alone, Calla. I am here.
I froze as warmth surged in my chest, the voice soothing yet powerful, as if a long-lost part of me had awakened.
“What’s happening to me?” I whispered, clutching my head as the room dimmed.
Felix’s hand brushed my arm, the touch electric. “You’re awakening,” he said.
The room spun, and the last thing I saw was Felix’s intense gaze before the world plunged into darkness.
