My Lovely Twin Alpha

Samantha's POV:

My mind was foggy and disoriented.

“Where am I?” I thought.

“What am I doing here?"

The questions echoed through my mind like a slogan as I struggled to awaken.

“Why can’t I wake up?”

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The relentless drumbeat reverberated through my skull, each pulse like a hammer striking iron.

My head throbbed as if millions of drums were being pounded in unison.

An uncomfortable heat enveloped me, like being trapped in a burning hell.

The air was thick with the murmur of voices, a jarring sound of chanting that seemed to bargain for my very soul.

I finally forced my eyes open.

The room was blurry, but as my vision cleared, I saw a figure standing beside me. His piercing blue eyes locked onto mine, and I felt a shiver run down my spine.

"Who are you?" I croaked, my voice barely audible.

The stranger's expression was unreadable, then suddenly, he flashed a menacing smile, the most unsettling I had ever seen, and vanished into thin air.

"Ugh," I groaned, trying to move.

"What the hell is going on here?" I thought aloud, trying to grasp my bearings.

"Isn't today my birthday?"

My vision turned dim again, and everything suddenly went dark.

I saw him again, the mysterious man.

How could I see him if my vision was blurry? That was a mystery.

The atmosphere was tense, and I remained quiet, observing everything.

I thought it might be a prank, considering it was my birthday.

But then,

Was it really a prank?

I suddenly remembered my mother-in-law's ominous threat, and my face twisted in sheer horror.

“Has it come to pass?” I whispered to no one in particular.

~

“Why are you here?” She hissed, her voice low but filled with venom.

It was my birthday, and I had dared to join the family gathering. She had summoned me away from the laughter and music under the pretense of needing help.

“I've warned you, Samantha,” she spat. “You're not fit for my son and will never be. So stop daydreaming about marrying him!”

“But, mother-in-law…” I tried to protest.

“Don't call me that!” she snapped, shoving me back with the weight of her body.

“You're an orphan. A pauper. Nothing but a plaything he'll discard once he finds his true mate. Show your face again, and I'll make sure you meet your end on your birthday, finally lost in that happily ever after world you keep fantasizing about!”

Without waiting for my response, she walked away. Her large frame hitting me as she left the kitchen.

For a moment, I stood there. Her words replaying over and over in my head.

‘End on your birthday…’ The words clung to me like a curse.

I forced myself to walk back towards the laughter spinning in from the hall. The family's voices could be heard in unison, toasting and celebrating.

Indeed, I had been warned, but I needed to see him.

Alpha Kelvin.

My eyes searched desperately, and I spotted him across the room, his dark figure standing tall.

My inner wolf beamed with longing as his eyes caught mine.

For a second, I thought I saw a flash of something in his gaze..

Recognition? Excitement? Or perhaps, a warning?

I made to reach out, but before I could step forward, the air shifted, and a sudden chill swept through the hall.

The candles flickered, music faltered, and the crowd around me seemed to blur. My breath came out in pants as the ground tilted under my feet.

“Sam?” I heard someone call out.

I stumbled, clutching the edge of a chair as my knees buckled.

I stretched my hands weakly towards Alpha Kelvin as the laughter of the party became distorted.

Then darkness.

Total darkness swallowed me whole.

~

As I relived the memory, the darkness around me seemed to grow thicker, like a suffocating mist.

Suddenly, I heard the sound of approaching footsteps echoing down the dark corridor. The clicking of the floorboards beneath their feet made my heart race.

I snapped my eyes shut, pretending to sleep as the door creaked open, revealing two men. One wore a blue work tunic, the kind of laborer from the pack's outer grounds. His other companion was carrying a torch.

They glanced at me and smirked.

“She's gone. Cold already.” The one with the torch muttered.

“Alpha said the body must be burned. No trace left,” the man in blue replied.

My blood ran cold. Burned? Body? Mine? Alpha?

The man with the torch scoffed, "The dead don't wake. We'll throw her with the rest and say the fire took her. Less work for us.”

The other nodded in unison, giving a low, cruel chuckle as their gazes lingered on me.

I was scared and felt like an abandoned puppy in the cold wind.

‘Where on earth was Alpha Kelvin? We were supposed to be in the middle of our mating ceremony, like he promised. What is happening?’ I thought again.

They both turned to leave, and I opened my eyes again to find a small man in green with pointed ears and a small hat staring at me. His eyes gleamed with the same menacing intensity as the two men.

I tried to shake off the feeling, telling myself it was just a hallucination. But the air seemed to vibrate with an eerie energy, the kind that seemed real and made my skin crawl.

“Where am I?” I managed to ask again.

“Fool! You are in the land of the dead! Or are you blind to your new environment?”

And since I woke up in that room, I turned my head and was shocked to see dead bodies beside me.

“Ahhh!” I screamed, greatly frightened.

The elf-like figure burst into menacing laughter as he slowly materialized, and I saw a short, stout dwarf with a wicked grin.

His eyes gleamed with mischief, and his voice sent shivers down my spine.

“You're a hard one to wake up; I'll give you that,” he said, chuckling. “But now that you're awake, let's get down to business. You, my dear…” His gaze burned into me. “...are dead!” He announced.