Meanwhile, Clara was still in her room, plotting her escape from the pack and her return to the Vampire Kingdom.
The more she thought about it, the more suicidal the plan seemed.
She was now in a werewolf girl's body. Crossing into the vampire kingdom was almost certain death. Vampires and wolves had long since made peace on the surface, but the grudges ran deep.
On the outside, the two species might appear neutral, but behind the scenes, hatred lingered like poison.
Any wolf who dared step into vampire territory was killed without mercy. The same went for vampires who crossed into wolf lands.
The odds of her entering the vampire kingdom alive? Zero percent.
A knock on the door broke her concentration. Clara rolled her eyes, annoyed at the interruption, but a part of her still relished the opportunity to act as arrogant and willful as she had as a vampire princess.
She stood and walked to the door. When she opened it, a young man, around twenty or twenty-three, stood there.
"It's time for lunch," he said sternly — and left as abruptly as he appeared.
Clara frowned. Something about him felt familiar. Don't tell me… he must be the beta. Of course — her aunt and uncle only had one child, Cristian, the current beta.
She headed downstairs and found her aunt preparing food. Cristian sat next to a middle-aged man, whom she guessed was her uncle, Martin.
Clara walked toward the dining table and sat a little away from Cristian. He glanced at her curiously.
"You smell… different," he said.
"W-what?" Clara's heart skipped a beat. Don't tell me I'm busted. Damn you, wolf noses!
A sulking, female voice whispered in her head. You're the dog. Your whole family are dogs.
"Did you hear that?" Clara asked, glancing at Cristian.
"Hear what?" he replied.
"I… someone else was talking to me."
"You can hear it in your head?" Martin raised an eyebrow.
"Yes… I can hear her talking to me."
What a dummy, the voice muttered.
"I'm not a dummy! Will you shut up?" Clara snapped. She looked up and realized everyone was staring at her like she'd gone insane.
"I… um… it was a voice," she stammered.
"It must be your wolf trying to communicate," Martin said calmly.
"What? No… it's not a wolf," she thought, frustration bubbling.
Yes, you are, the voice insisted.
"Shut up!" she snapped.
"You can talk to your wolf with just your thoughts," Cristian said, looking at her.
"Oh… thanks," Clara replied awkwardly. Everyone returned to eating in silence.
After the meal, Cristian stood first.
"I have to go now. I'll be back late tonight. You can eat dinner without me. And Clara…"
"Uh… me?" she asked, confused.
"Yes, you. Congratulations on getting your wolf," he said with a small, teasing smile, and left.
"I never knew you were a late bloomer. Congratulations," Martin said dryly.
"Thank you, uncle. I'll go back to my room and rest," Clara replied awkwardly.
"Okay, you should rest more," he said. Clara nodded and returned upstairs.
Martin turned to his wife. "So it's true. She's recovered?"
"Yes. The doctor said she's fully recovered, and her IQ is normal again," Sara replied, collecting the plates.
"That's good," Martin said.
"Yeah, now I won't have to clean up after her mess," Sara added.
"And hopefully, she'll stay away from the alpha and not cause trouble for us anymore," Martin said, heading upstairs to his room.
Sara whispered to herself, remembering how Clara had clung to the alpha and constantly stalked him. The alpha had been furious, but he hadn't killed her — only because of her relationship with Cristian. Otherwise, she would have been dead long ago.
Still, she'd been warned: if she misbehaved again, the alpha would not hesitate to kill her. The thought sent goosebumps crawling across Clara's skin.