Chapter 5 Reborn

Erica's POV

"Jane! Jane! Can you hear us?" The worried voices called out to me, making it hard to open my eyes. My eyelids fluttered like a moth drawn to light, and gradually, things started to come into focus through the confusion.

As my eyesight got clearer, I saw I was surrounded by worried faces, each one a different mask made from strands of hope and fear. Their looks changed like flickering candles in a dark room, showing many feelings that touched my heart.

I tried to sit up, but my arms and legs felt heavy and stiff, like they were caught in an unseen web of strange fears. "What's going on?" I rasped, sensing a tightness in my throat, as if my words were having a hard time getting out.

"Jane! You're alive!" The room burst into a mix of shock, happiness, and relief that hit me like a wave on the rocks. But among their excitement, confusion wrapped around me like a heavy blanket, making it hard to breathe. Jane? Who was Jane? The name lingered in the air like a song I almost remembered.

Before I could organise my thoughts, a woman pushed through the crowd of worried faces. She knelt beside me, and tears flowed down her face like a river of sadness pouring from her heart. "Oh, my dear Jane! We thought you were gone!" Her voice shook, heavy with deep sadness that surrounded me like a blanket, filling the air with a strong pain I couldn't fully understand.

"Hold on... who are you?" I said, my voice shaky as I looked at her, sensing her sadness but only seeing a face I didn't know. "What's happening? Where am I?"

The room went silent, with worried looks quickly passing between the anxious people around me, as if they shared a secret. After what felt like forever, the woman finally calmed down, her eyes full of hope and fear. "I'm Iberia, your mother," she said, her voice heavy with feelings that felt thick in the air.

"No, no! I'm not Jane. I'm Erica-" My heart raced as the truth hit me hard, like a weight in my stomach. "You've got it wrong. I'm not your daughter." The words rushed out in a panic that felt useless against the confusion all around me.

A few whispers of concern spread through the crowd, and their curious looks felt heavy on me like a thick fog. "You're just confused, dear. You've lost your memory," Iberia said softly. Her gentle tone aimed to soothe me, but it only made me feel more uneasy.

I sensed the world around me spinning out of control; my thoughts became a messy swirl, and the name 'Jane' kept repeating in my head, like trying to grab smoke with my hands. I felt desperate as clear thinking stayed just beyond my reach. I had to uncover the truth, to face whatever was in front of me. I moved past Iberia, awkwardly heading toward a mirror, pulled forward like metal to a magnet.

When I saw my reflection, my heart sank deep inside. The woman looking back was not me, but she was. Long, dark hair surrounded a face I didn't know, but it felt strangely familiar, making me shiver. The eyes-my eyes, or Jane's-shone with a feeling like loss and longing, a sadness I couldn't fully understand. A tightness curled up in my chest, making it hard to breathe.

"No..." I whispered, feeling the truth hit me like waves slamming against a cliff. I was in Jane's body-somehow I had come back to life here, as if fate had tangled our lives together in a mix of confusion and sadness. My lips shook as I looked at the room full of strange faces, the burden of accepting this heavy on me. "What happened to Jane?"

The air changed noticeably; a shared breath of tension filled the room as the weight of my question hung in the charged atmosphere. Just as Iberia seemed ready to answer, the heavy doors crashed open with a loud noise, making everyone scatter like leaves in a storm, hearts racing with excitement.

A man burst in, his anger showing on his face like a bright fire. "What's happening here?" he shouted, his voice echoing and grabbing everyone's attention. The fear in the room grew as his strong presence surrounded us all.

"Jane!" he shouted, walking towards me, his eyes fixed on mine with a force that made my heart race faster than I expected. Part of me wanted to step back from the power of his stare, full of anger but also strong, lingering concern.

"Who are you?" My voice sounded weak and shaky, trembling like a leaf in the breeze, struggling to be heard over the chaos around us.

"I'm Beta Simmons, your dad!" he shouted, his commanding voice hitting me like a storm, rattling my fragile calm. "Why are you just lying around? Do you have any clue about the mess you've created?" His blame filled the space between us, a harsh reminder of a truth I was still trying to figure out.

"What do you mean?"

The truth of his words struck me. Chaos?

"Jane, you have to stop pretending! Why are you acting like someone else?" He moved closer to me, his face tight with frustration that felt heavy in the air around us. "Do you even know it's only been a day since..." His voice suddenly fell silent, as if the words were too hard for him to say, like saying them would make the awful feeling between us real.

"Since when?" I pressed, unable to hold back my strong need to learn the truth, a truth that felt sharp and painful in my mind, making me face what I didn't want to think about.

"Because you tried to take your own life! Your mom-she's been completely broken; you don't know what she's feeling right now!" His voice, which used to be filled with anger, now softened, almost begging, filled with sadness. "You were gone, Jane. We thought we lost you forever. That feeling is too much to bear."

A cold feeling ran through me, wrapping around my back like icy fingers. Committed suicide? His words shocked me. The pieces of a terrible puzzle began to fit, but I kept the painful truth hidden deep inside. No, I wasn't Jane. I was Erica. Somewhere inside, I felt sure this was a nightmare I couldn't wake up from. Would I ever escape this heavy identity that was forced on me?

"What happened?" I blurted out without thinking, my confusion spilling over as my worry showed on my face like bright colours on a canvas.

"Iberia," he looked at her, his face tense, "you have to tell her that she's not the little girl we knew anymore. That girl is gone, and she has to take responsibility for her actions!" His voice was strained, breaking under the strong feelings he was trying to control.

"She's lost her memory, dear." Iberia quickly said, her voice shaking a little as if she felt how serious it was. "She returned to us, but she's different in ways we don't know yet, and we are trying to connect with her, to help her come back."

"Changed?" Beta Simmons said with a laugh, ignoring what she said. "Whether she remembers or not, Jane is going to marry the Alpha King! That is something we can't get away from!"

My heart raced at the mention of the Alpha King. My mind started buzzing with the serious meaning of this news, filled with questions I couldn't fully understand. "Marry? You must be wrong," I whispered, the words barely coming out, as I felt reality slipping away from me.

"Not a mistake, not even for a moment," he said firmly, his voice slicing through my thoughts like a knife. "Everything is set, and if that jerk comes into this house and notices anything wrong..." His voice faded again, the anger in his eyes deepening like a storm as he started walking back and forth, each step matching my rising fear.

"Why should I marry an Alpha King? I don't even know him!" I argued firmly, feeling stuck in a tangled mess of demands, duties, and mysteries, unable to see a way out of the confusion around me.

"Because." Iberia put her hands on her heart, her eyes full of sincerity, "That was your fate, Jane. You were meant to be his partner, connecting our families in a way that will make us stronger." Her face was serious, but it felt more like a heavy weight on my feet instead of a promise of love and togetherness.

"Destiny?" I almost chuckled, but the seriousness of what was happening stopped me. My life was going downhill, pushing me toward a future I didn't choose or want, a life made by others-as if my hopes and wishes meant nothing.

"Please." Beta said sharply, his voice becoming serious and tough. "We can talk about this later when we have more time. Right now, you need to get ready for what's coming." His tone was firm and intense. "The Alpha King is coming, and we can't afford to fail."

I felt a tightness in my throat, fear stirring in my stomach like a storm. As a deep worry weighed down on me, I realised I couldn't move. What would this situation mean for my life and who I am? What if I was stuck here forever, living under the name Jane, trapped in a life I didn't choose and feared I might never get out of?