Chapter 5: Taunted Second Chance

Isadora's POV

My words, however, were not accepted, as I noted everyone turning on me with suspicion and fear in their eyes.

Ragnar embraced Nyxen tightly. She cried to him, complaining about her sore stomach. However, I could only stand there and watch the drama unfold, my feelings of pain and isolation now fully realised.

Nyxen whirled around and looked up at me, her eyes twinkling with amusement.

"Isadora, show everyone that you never attempted to poison my cup. " Another sip from the cup should suffice.

My head shook. "I won't. I do not trust you, and I am not ready to put my health or that of my child at risk just to clear the matter."

Ragnar screwed up his face and glared at me, resembling determination. "Isadora, what are you concealing? Why do you resist taking the cup if you are so clean, so pure?"

Drogan stepped in closer, holding my upper arm firmly with his hand.

''If you are a truthful woman, Isadora, I'll believe if you drink from the cup," he whispered.

I stopped before me, looking at my bulging belly. "I can't," I replied, putting my hand up in a motion that told her no, even as I shook my head. "My child. . . "

But Ragnar interrupted me with his loud, aggressive voice before I could elaborate. I hate when you continuously talk about it: a baby.

Isadora, you are a liar. You are not pregnant.

Looking back at Ragnar, my face was wet with tears, and I had no idea I was shedding them.

'But I thought you loved me,' I murmured. "But even you, Nyxen, seem to have decreed that you cannot see things as they are or ever will. "

Ragnar's face then crumbled for a second, and I thought he was seeing it my way for the first time.

But then his expression grew grim again, and he stepped back from me. When I focused on Nyxen, I took the cup in my hand, and my hand trembled a bit. Her wicked smile gave me a slight fright, but the best thing to be done was to prove my innocence.

When she handed me a tiny cup filled with a brown liquid, I took a sip and felt the thick, bitter, sugary liquid on my tongue.

Suddenly, the entire room started spinning, and I could only hear Drogan calling my name. However, the utterances became fainter with time until they were inaudible to the rest of the subjects.

My eyes shut, and the sun's rays began to shower on me.

As I woke up, I rubbed my eyes, burning from the brightness. I was lying on the floor in the middle of a forest where trees stood tall around me. Thus, I awoke sitting on a chair and, bewildered, tried to understand where I was and what was happening to me.

I also got up, though I was unsteady on my feet. A feeling of discomfort went over me, and I knew that there was something odd about the place. The next time, I had to look down and realise that my skin colour had changed and was not as dark as before. My skin was relatively darker than it is now, but within a short period, it became at least a shade or two lighter than it is now.

I ran towards the river near my location, intending to glimpse the incident myself. I went to the shoreline and relaxed on the sand, looking at the clear and calm water, expecting the water to solve this puzzle.

Finally, I arrived at the bank and listened to a brief, pleasant gurgle of the water, but the sound could not slow down my thoughts.

Only after looking at the water and observing my mirrored image do I realise there is a woman who is much like me, only with a sinister look in her eye.

But was she taunting me or mocking me?

I felt shocked and panicky like I had never felt before, and that caused me to step backwards.

What was happening to me during that time? Why was I in that other place?

I rubbed my chin while digesting what she had told me. Yet, at the same time, the reflection she saw in the mirror was a stranger. Whole-body shivers of despair convinced me my questions could not wait for answers.

My mind started to whirl as I averted my gaze from the water. I realised I had to uncover the situation and return to my physical form. I took a deep breath and started my journey, hoping to find solutions to my problems and return to my everyday life.

Despite this, I felt inexplicable confusion as I ran through the 'forest, which I could not identify. I recall my wedding to Ragnar, my devoted alpha, but the rest was merely a blank haze.

Then, I found myself in this new body. It seemed to float weightlessly in the air now, and it opened and closed happily in agreement with my wishes.

I shape-shifted into a werewolf and used this surreal new body to the fullest. I was running at a pace I had never dreamed of as an electric current possessed me. I was one of the slowest and weakest members in the pack back then, but now I feel strong and agile like never before.

I quickly changed back to my human form, which shocked me about the difference in my abilities.

I quietly walked through a forest area when I saw a town a few meters ahead. This was different from what was experienced in Darvale.

The signs seemed weird, and I felt something was wrong. Darvale was different from my hometown. I wanted to know how I ended up there and where my beloved Alpha Ragnar was.

As I strolled around the town, a man ran towards me, shouting my name joyfully. I thought to myself, 'Who could he be calling?' I looked back to ensure that no one was following me, but it was just me alone.

Does this man think he knows me?