Flavia
Sunlight fell across my face, warm and bright. I blinked several times until my eyes slowly adjusted to the light. A deep breath lifted my chest, as if my body was only now realizing that it was awake again.
Slowly, I pushed myself up a little and looked around. The room I was lying in was unfamiliar to me. Large windows let the light pour in unhindered, the curtains fluttering gently in the breeze. Furniture made of light wood stood neatly in its place, and the white walls reinforced the feeling of calm and lightness. It looked like something straight out of a home décor catalog, immaculate and welcoming—yet unease spread inside me.
This was not the room in which I had slept the past few days. My heart began to beat faster.
Before I could form a clear thought, I suddenly heard a voice very close to me:
“Thank the Goddess, you’re awake, Flavia.”
I flinched so violently that my heart almost stopped. A woman was standing next to my bed—just like that! Blonde, beautiful, unfamiliar. She stared at me as if it were the most normal thing in the world that I had just been torn from sleep.
A scream escaped me, short and shrill, before I gasped for air with wide eyes. “Holy shit!”
The stranger blinked, startled, raised her hands as if to calm me. “I’m Ana,” she said quickly, her voice warm and surprisingly calm, “and I’m a witch. Chaos is breaking out outside right now. Can you remember what happened?”
I stared at her, still half panicked, half confused. My fingers clawed into the blanket, as if it could protect me from… well, from what exactly? From a stranger who apparently thought it was perfectly okay to interrogate people she didn’t know right after they woke up.
I blinked, looked at the room again, then back at this blonde woman with her large, serious eyes. And the only thing that came out of my mouth was a helpless, “Uhhhh…”
My head tilted to the side, and I frowned. “Tell me… are you always hanging around in strangers’ bedrooms, asking people you don’t know such existential questions right away?” I asked, half annoyed, half baffled.
Ana put on a crooked, apologetic smile and raised both hands, as if to show me she was harmless. “I’m so sorry that you have to meet me like this,” she began gently. “Normally, I’m the loving, gentle witch. The unhinged witch is Larissa.” A bubbling laugh escaped her throat, as if she could simply wipe the tension from the room.
I kept staring at her. No blinking, no movement. Only my thoughts racing. “Uh-huh,” I finally managed and raised an eyebrow.
But her smile faded, her voice turning firm, almost sharp, as she stepped closer. “You need to listen to me now, Flavia.”
Something in her tone made me go still instantly.
“You were abducted with Elena,” she continued, her eyes searching mine. “You were taken to a witch coven. They held you captive. Those witches… they were outcasts, traitors. One of them injected you with fae poison. Since then, you’ve been asleep. A long sleep.” Her voice softened again, almost tender, but the words echoed inside me like thunderclaps.
My heart suddenly beat so loudly that I could hear it in my ears. Images flickered through my mind, blurred and fragmented—hands, voices, pain. “Damn it…” My fingers clenched the bedsheet. “How could I forget all of that?!”
I jumped up. Way too fast. My body reacted before my brain could catch up. I was already on my feet, running—and slammed full force into the wardrobe. With a dull thud, I hit the floor.
“Damn it!” I growled, my hand flying to my forehead. “Why am I so insanely fast?!” I sat up, stared at my leg, and saw a thin line of blood running down my skin.
Ana immediately crouched down in front of me, placed a calming hand on my shoulder, and smiled crookedly. “Oh, sweetie,” she said with a mix of pity and a hint of pride, “you’re not just human anymore. You’re a fae now—with vampire special effects.”
I stared at her, my mouth falling open. “Uhhhh???” was all I managed.
But Ana just kept talking as if I hadn’t said anything. “We absolutely have to get to the pack house. Everyone’s there right now, and chaos is breaking out. Amaro and the others are in the middle of a discussion with the Faerie King, and it’s about to blow up.”
Before I could even respond, she grabbed my hand and yanked me up with a sharp pull.
My leg was still burning as I looked down at myself. Short shorts, long T-shirt—my sleep outfit was anything but combat-ready. “Damn, what a morning…” I muttered and rubbed my knee.
That’s when it happened. Out of nowhere, my body began to glow. A golden shimmer crept over my skin, like a second skin, pulsing and sparkling. I froze, my heart pounding faster. “Um… Ana?”
Before I could form a clear thought, the light flickered—and my pajamas were gone. Instead, I was suddenly wearing a tight black skirt, a white top, and beige sandals. I stared down at myself, blinking hard. “What… the…?”
Ana beamed, as if this were a perfectly normal Tuesday morning. “There! Now you’re ready! You need to come with me now, please,” she said gently, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
I was still standing there, rooted to the spot, my heart racing, my mouth dry. “I… I’m starting my new life in an outfit I didn’t even choose myself,” I muttered, throwing her a look that was half exasperated, half impressed.
But Ana didn’t give me time. She simply dragged me out of the bedroom, like a lost suitcase she had to pick up. We ran down the hallway, her hand tight around mine, until we stopped in front of the elevator.
The doors opened with a soft chime. She pushed me inside, pressed a button, and let the doors slide shut. The lift began to move.
I was still staring at her while my heart hammered wildly. “You…” I pointed a finger at her. “You are the nicest psycho witch I have ever met.”
Ana grinned broadly, her eyes sparkling. “Just wait until you meet Larissa.”
Then suddenly my gaze fell on the shiny metal wall of the elevator, and I froze. I stared at my reflection as if someone had smuggled an entirely new version of me into the lift.
“Holy…” I leaned closer. My hair, usually dull and unruly, now glowed in a deep, glossy red that shimmered with every movement, as if someone had woven a thousand tiny flames into it. My eyes were so green that even an emerald would have looked pale next to them, and my skin was flawless, smooth, without a single blemish, without the slightest shadow. And then—I blinked hard. “I swear, my eyelashes are twice as long!”
Mouth open, I turned my head toward Ana. “Did you… give me lashes?” I asked, stunned.
Ana burst out laughing immediately, threw her head back as if I’d told the joke of her life. I kept staring at her in disbelief.
“Sweetie, you’re a natural beauty,” she managed between giggles, even wiping a tear of laughter from the corner of her eye. “And no, I did not give you lashes!” She was still laughing, shaking her head, when the elevator stopped with a soft jolt.
The doors slid open, and without giving me a chance to process any of this, she grabbed my hand again and pulled me out with energetic force. My legs stumbled after her, as if I were just a guest in my own body.
We hurried down the bright hallway, and I immediately recognized the surroundings. The pack house. And just a few steps ahead: the office. I knew the way, even though my thoughts were racing so loudly they almost drowned everything else out.
Then Ana suddenly stopped. She turned to me, bit her lip briefly, and raised a warning finger. “Ah, damn! There’s one more thing I should probably tell you right now.”
I raised an eyebrow and stared at her expectantly. My head was already roaring. I swear, I had thought werewolves were crazy. But this witch? She was in a league of her own.
Ana sighed, then lifted both hands as if preparing me for bad news. “So… your grandfather is the Faerie King.”
My heart skipped a beat.
“And,” she continued undeterred, “he refused to help you. He didn’t give us an antidote for you.”
My eyes widened. My heart was pounding so loudly now that I was sure Ana could hear it.
“And,” she said with a crooked grin, as if this were just the cherry on top of the drama sundae, “your mate is beside himself with rage. Your grandfather and the vampire prince completely tore into each other in the office. If we don’t go in right now, furniture will probably start flying.”
My breath caught. For one thing, I suddenly had a grandfather. And not just any grandfather, but a damn king. I felt as if someone had forced the lead role of a drama on me that I had never auditioned for. My own grandfather didn’t want to help me. Not even a little. I let out a bitter laugh inside. What had I expected? I’d grown up in a shitty foster home. I had truly never searched for my family. I was done. Finished. Over.
But then my heart raced even faster. Not because of the king. But because Stefano was here. Damn it, Stefano. I had seen him briefly in the cell before everything escalated. The witches had thrown Elena into that cell, and Stefano was lying on the floor, half unconscious. I had recognized him immediately—that face that had been haunting my dreams for days. I had wanted to go to him, wanted to be in that cell too, no matter the cost. But they had grabbed me, dragged me away like I was nothing but an object. I had heard them talking about selling Elena and killing Stefano. In that moment, something inside me had exploded. I had lost it, blasted that witch with my laser beam—whatever that was. And then the stupid cow had freaked out and injected me with that poison.
Suddenly, I was torn from my own spiral. A voice thundered out of the office, deep, cold, so loud that it made the walls vibrate. I flinched, the sound jolting through me like an electric shock.
“I don’t give a damn whether she’s my granddaughter or not!” the voice boomed. “I will not save her under any circumstances. If she is my granddaughter, then let her die!”
My body froze. It was as if my blood had turned to ice in my veins. My fingers automatically clenched the fabric of my top while my heart beat so fast I thought it might burst out of my chest. I could barely breathe. My gaze drifted involuntarily to the office door, behind which this man stood—my grandfather, the Faerie King.
I swallowed hard. My throat was dry as sandpaper. A single thought drilled through my mind like a knife:
Is this my family?
