Azura's POV( in Rhydor's body)
The scream tore from my throat before I could stop it.
Except it wasn't my voice. It was deep, rough, and masculine. The sound crashed through the room like thunder, and I slapped my hand over my mouth in horror.
That voice. That wasn't mine.
The door burst open.
A man rushed in, the same black-haired one from the forest. His brown eyes were sharp, scanning the room for danger. When his gaze landed on me, relief flooded his face.
"Rhydor," he said, slightly breathless. "You are awake, are you alright? What's wrong?"
I stared at him.
Rhydor? He's calling me…
My thoughts scrambled, colliding into each other. None of this made sense. I opened my mouth to speak, to tell him he had it all wrong, but the words stuck in my throat.
"You collapsed two days ago," the man continued, stepping closer. His tone was careful, measured. "Both you and the girl. We couldn't leave her there, that ground isn't safe. So we brought her back to the packhouse."
Two days?
My chest tightened. I tried to make sense of what he was saying, but nothing felt right... my voice, my body, and the way he was looking at me like I actually mattered.
"Wait," I managed, the deep voice still startling me. "Something's wrong. You don't understand…"
And then I heard it.
A voice. High-pitched. Female.
My voice.
But I wasn't the one speaking.
My head snapped toward the door, panic flooding my veins. The black-haired man noticed my reaction and took a step back.
"Just rest," he said gently. "I'll be back soon."
Then he left.
I sat frozen on the bed, staring at the door. My voice was speaking, but it wasn't me. Someone else was in my body.
Oh Goddess. What's happening to me?
I couldn't stay here... I had to find out what was going on.
I swung my legs over the side of the bed and stood. They were longer and heavier than I was used to, throwing off my balance. The room tilted slightly as I steadied myself. Everything just felt... off.
I stumbled toward the door and pulled it open.
The hallway stretched in both directions, wide and polished, nothing like the cramped spaces I was used to. I didn't know where I was going. I just followed the sound.
Shouting. Commotion.
My feet carried me forward until I reached a staircase. I gripped the railing and looked down.
And froze.
There I was.
My body, my face twisted in fury as I fought against two guards who were struggling to hold me back.
"Do you know who I am?!" my voice shrieked. "I'll have all your heads for this!"
I stood there, mouth hanging open, unable to process what I was seeing.
The guards looked exasperated.
"Calm down," one of them said firmly. "If you don't calm down, we'll throw you out."
"Throw me out?!" My body lunged forward, straining against their grip. "Do you know who I am?! I'll deal with you when this is settled!"
I couldn't move or breathe. I just stared.
That's me. That's my body. But that's not me inside it.
Footsteps echoed behind me, and I turned to see the black-haired man descending the stairs. He moved past me without a word, heading straight for the chaos below.
My body, the person inside it, spotted him immediately.
"Silas!" the voice shouted, desperate and commanding. "Tell them who I am!"
Silas stopped.
His entire body went still. He stared at my body with an expression I couldn't quite read. Confusion. Suspicion. Disbelief.
Then he raised his hand, a subtle gesture.
The guards released my body instantly.
The moment they let go, my body rushed toward Silas, stumbling slightly but moving with purpose.
"Silas, listen to me…"
And then my body looked up.
Our eyes met.
I stared at myself from across the room. And whoever was inside my body stared back with wide grey eyes that belonged to me.
We both froze.
The silence stretched, thick and suffocating.
Then my body moved.
Stomping furiously, charging toward the staircase like a bull seeing red.
Before I could react, Silas stepped forward and lifted my body clean off the ground with one hand.
"How DARE you!" my voice screeched, kicking wildly in the air. "Put me down this instant! Do you know who you're messing with?!"
Silas didn't flinch. His expression remained calm, almost gentle. "Let's go upstairs. We'll settle this."
"I said put me DOWN!"
I might've laughed if I weren't so terrified. Watching my own body dangle in the air, red-faced and furious, was almost absurd.
Another man appeared from a side hallway. Broad, muscular, with a shaved head and dark eyes that missed nothing. He took one look at the scene and immediately moved toward the guards.
"Back to your posts," he said, his tone leaving no room for argument. "All of you."
The guards hesitated, then obeyed.
Silas carried my still-thrashing body up the stairs. I stepped aside to let them pass, and the shaved-head man followed close behind. They led us all back into the room I'd woken up in.
Silas set my body down gently but kept a firm hand on my shoulder.
"Okay," Silas said, his voice steady and calm. "Calm down, little one. What happened? Did the rejection scramble your head?"
My body whirled on him, face flushed with indignation.
"Little one?! Scramble my…"
But I was barely listening. Because watching my own face twist in anger, my own hands gesturing wildly, was the strangest thing I'd ever seen.
And honestly? It was kind of cute.
Wait. Why am I thinking that?
My body… no, whoever was inside it, stopped pacing and turned to face me.
Grey eyes locked onto mine, sharp and furious.
"You've insulted me enough," the voice said, low and dangerous, even though it was my voice. "But before I say another word, I have one question."
He pointed straight at me.
"What did you do to me? What kind of black magic is this? How did I end up like THIS?!"
Heat rose in my chest. "How should I know?! This is YOUR fault!"
"My fault?!"
"Yes!"
Silas stepped between us, palms up like a referee. "Okay… okay, enough. What's going on?"
I took a breath and tried to sound sane. "I'm not him. I'm me. And he's me. We… switched."
Silas blinked slowly.
"I'm sorry," the shaved-head man said, staring at us blankly. "Switched what now?"
Rhydor turned to him, jaw clenched. "Axel, two nights ago, something happened when I rejected her. Something triggered. I don't know what it was, but I think she caused it."
"Me?!" I said. "You're the one who rejected me!"
"And how does that make this my fault?! We met in the morning, and there was nothing! No pull, no bond, then suddenly at night it shows up out of nowhere?! That's not normal!"
Silas squinted at both of us like we were the crazy ones. "Okay, hold on. Back up. You two met in the morning?"
"Yes," Rhydor said stiffly. "We crossed paths earlier that day. But there was no bond. Not even a flicker. Then suddenly at night… boom. Bond."
Silas looked between us like we'd both grown extra heads.
"You expect me to believe what happened that night, body-swapped you two? That doesn't even make sense."
"It's the truth!" I said.
"Did you guys hit your heads during the rejection or something?" Axel muttered, staring at both of us. "Because this is sounding like a fever dream."
"I'm serious!" Rhydor snapped. "You think I'd choose to be stuck in her body?!"
Silas rubbed his temples. "Okay… okay. Let's say I do believe this for a second. You met that morning, and the bond didn't show. Then it did. Which shouldn't happen."
He turned his gaze to me, thoughtful now.
"You met him in the morning, and you felt nothing?"
I nodded.
He stared harder. "How old are you?"
Everyone turned to look at me. The weight of their stares pressed down like stones.
"Nineteen," I said quietly.
Silas stiffened. "You're nineteen? Then how come you didn't feel the mate bond when you met him?"
I muttered something under my breath, barely audible.
"Speak up, girl!" my own voice snapped at me.
I flinched. Then I shouted, louder than I meant to.
"I didn't have a wolf, okay?! My wolf only appeared last night! I don't know why!"
Silence.
Silas stared at me. Axel's jaw tightened.
"Your wolf appeared last night?" Silas asked carefully. "Can you feel her now?"
I shook my head. "No. She's gone."
Silas exchanged a look with Axel. Then he turned back to us, his expression grim.
"The rejection," he said slowly, "triggered something on that ground. And the mate bond... can you still feel it?" He looked at us, waiting for an answer.
Before anyone could respond, a soft knock echoed through the room.
We all turned toward the door.
A voice came from the other side, sweet, warm, and intimate.
"Rhydor? Sweetie? Are you in there?"
A chill ran down my spine.
"I've missed you..."
Everyone froze.
Silas and Axel looked at me... well, at Rhydor, who was stuck in my body. My gray eyes flickered with something I couldn't quite figure out.
And I was frozen inside his body, with absolutely no idea what I was supposed to do.