Rebirth Of The Rejected Luna Chapter 109: Life After Death

***Part Two***

**Tiana's POV**

It was the sound that woke me up, not even the way the moonlight filtered in through the canopy of trees above.

Not the sort of sound that puts you to sleep, or the rustle of wind, the gentle knocking of rainfall or the pattering of rain on the roads.

No, this was different. Unsettling. The trees were whispering something between themselves; their leaves swaying, signs of a secret they didn’t want me to overhear. The wind blew through the branches leaving a low, mournful sound that went through my spine. There, in the dark of night, I could hear the sound of an owl—shrill, clear, and eerie.

Everything around me was too loud and at the same time distant like I was caught in some kind of surrealistic dream. The sounds seemed to have no correlation with each other, each striving to gain my attention. My head throbbed and my senses still raced as I tried to absorb my surroundings.

I caught my breath with a jolt, my eyes flew wide open and I choked. Cold, biting, cutting, and chest-constricting air hit my face suddenly. I could only see the dim light of the moon shining in the middle of the trees. It was getting darker with only the light coming from the moon. My muscles felt sore as if I had woken up from a restless night of sleep and my head throbbed as if a coconut had been cracked on it.

Where… was I?

I pressed a hand to my chest, feeling my heart hammering against my ribs. It was racing, wild and frantic like it was trying to escape. I was alive. But I shouldn’t have been.

I remembered dying.

The memory crashed over me. The burning in my throat, the bitter taste of poison on my tongue. The weightlessness as the toxin dragged me under, pulling me into a void where everything faded to black. I’d felt my life slip away, felt the warmth leave my body as the world disappeared.

And yet, here I was.

Panic surged through me as I scrambled to my feet, my legs wobbling like they didn’t know how to hold me up. My fingers trembled as I raised them to my face, my breath catching in my throat.

These weren’t my hands.

The fingers were longer and slimmer, the nails sharper and slightly curved. My skin was too pale, almost ghostly, with a faint bluish tint that made me look like I belonged in a horror story. I turned my hands over, staring in disbelief. The veins beneath my skin were more visible, a web of faint blue lines.

Was this the afterlife?

This body… it wasn’t mine.

The realization hit me like a punch to the gut, a wave of nausea rising in my throat. I stumbled forward, my bare feet sinking into the damp earth, the cold sending a jolt through me.

Where was I? How did I get here? And more importantly…

Who the hell was I now?

The wind picked up, carrying the scent of pine, damp moss, and something metallic, like blood. The night stretched out before me, vast and endless, the trees towering like silent guardians. There was no sign of anyone. No sign of home.

I was alone.

And I had no idea what to do next.

*+*+*+*+*+*+*

A few years ago…

**Erika's POV**

I held the reins tight, leaning into the wind as my horse flew across the field. It was the best feeling ever. It was like my heart was racing just as fast as the horse’s hooves. The wind was crazy, pulling my hair out of its braid, and everything around me turned into a blur of green and blue. This was my favorite thing, the only time I felt like I could actually breathe and be me.

But, of course, it didn’t last.

“Erika!”

Ugh. I knew that voice. I pulled back on the reins, slowed my horse, and turned to see my mom standing at the edge of the field. She had her arms crossed, and her face was doing that thing where she looked both mad and disappointed at the same time. Her fancy green dress was blowing in the wind, and she looked like she was about to explode.

“What are you doing out here again?” she snapped. “You’re supposed to be in your lessons, Erika. Not running around like some… some farmhand!”

I hopped off my horse, my boots hitting the ground with a soft thud. I brushed off my riding clothes, they were practical, not fancy, and definitely not what my mom wanted me to wear. “Mom, it’s just riding. It’s not like I’m out here causing trouble or anything.”

“It’s not just riding,” she said, her voice getting louder. “You’re a noblewoman, Erika. A lady. And you’re acting like some wild, reckless kid. Do you even care what people will say?”

I rolled my eyes—okay, maybe not where she could see, but definitely in my head. It was always about what people would say. Like, who even cared? The perfect noble daughter was supposed to be all graceful and polite and boring. She wasn’t supposed to sneak off to ride horses or practice sword fighting with the guards behind the stables. But whatever.

“Nobody cares if I ride, Mom,” I said, crossing my arms. "Plus there are female warriors."

She let out this huge sigh like I was the most exhausting person in the world. “You don’t get it, Erika. You’re meant for something bigger than this. And if you keep acting like this, no one’s going to take you seriously.”

I opened my mouth to argue, because, of course, I would but before I could, a servant came running up, totally out of breath and red in the face. He bowed like he was about to pass out and gasped, “My lady, the Alpha wants to see you.”

My mom’s face went totally still, her lips pressing into a thin line. The Alpha never called for us.

A weird, cold feeling settled in my stomach like I’d swallowed a rock. I glanced at my mom, and for once, she looked as unsure as I felt.

Something was definitely wrong.

And for the first time, I wondered if maybe my mom’s whole “act like a proper lady” thing wasn’t totally stupid after all.