… Did that crash hit her so hard that she ended up in some forest in North America?
The trees' canopies were so wide that they practically shaded the entire ground. On the other side of the low iron fence, she could spot a few people walking and mingling around. Unlike those formal-looking people she met earlier, they were wearing more casual outfits: jeans, shirts, button-ups, blouses, even cute-looking dresses. They look normal . Hopefully, they would act normally, too, unlike the ones she met earlier.
Selena quickly exited the gates, feeling relieved at finally talking to someone who had sense. "Hey! Excuse me, but can you—"
She paused her question when the person, a lady who looked to be around thirty or forty, gasped and quickly walked in the other direction. She blinked. "… Ooookay, that was weird."
She moved to call for another one, but she ended up with the same reaction. By the fifth try, everyone had pretty much moved to give her a wide berth, some looking dismissive, others a bit conflicted, and wouldn't look her in the eye. The few that did make eye contact were giving her a disgusted look. Ok, rude much?!
There was also a weird smell in the air, making her almost sneeze. “Ugh, why does it smell like wet dog here?”
She continued walking around the place. "For a village in the middle of a forest, every house here looked very modern." Some even looked larger and fancier than most houses she saw in the city, with large terraces and balconies with decorative railings and hanging plants. When she turned to a corner, she felt her mouth falling open, facing what looked like a palace.
The building is easily a three-story one, maybe even four, with tall, glass windows the height of the entire first floor. There's no gate, but the two-door entrance was made of beautifully carved dark wood that looked heavy. There's even a fountain that was made of white, smooth stone carved in a beautiful image of a woman wearing a veil and a flowing dress, almost like a goddess.
I'm not kidnapped by some weird cult members, am I ?
Something has been bugging Selena since she got outside. The large trees, these fancy houses, even those weird people… where had she seen this before? The sense of deja vu was starting to eat at her, but it's like there's a dam inside her head blocking her memories.
She turned to the opposite direction, following the road, and soon found herself in a large clearing. The place was buzzing with activities. People were walking and running while carrying cloth, flower pots, and stones, and arranging them around. At the center of the clearing, they were piling stacks of dry wood and planks. A large bonfire, maybe? Are they having some sort of festival?
… Why does it feel so familiar?
Trying to put the sinking feeling in her stomach aside, she tried to move to the side, away from the heavy traffic, only to accidentally crash into one of the people carrying large baskets. The two of them land on the ground in their butts in a cry, the other person starting to mutter curses in… a very familiar voice?
"Watch where you're going, you b—wait, Selena? What are you doing out?"
Selena blinked, wide-eyed and mouth slacked open, at the very familiar face. "Melissa?!"
The same familiar straight, brunette hair, heart-shaped face, brown eyes, even the beauty mark near the left side of her lips—she tried to poke said beauty mark and was quickly slapped away with the same familiar pout and furrowed brows.
"Oh my God, girl!" With a wail, Selena threw her arms around her friend. "You don't know how relieved I am to see you here! I thought I got captured in some dangerous place or something, and I'm starting to get scared!" She took a step back and looked around, her hands on Melissa's shoulders. "Where the heck are we? Last I remember, we were just outside the uni."
Most of the people working earlier were now looking at them weirdly. Pointedly , Selena mentally amended, making her gulp. She turned to look at Melissa to point this out, but the other girl was looking at her with wide eyes, mouth gaping like a fish. "What? Why are you looking at me like that?"
The question seemed to break Melissa out of her stupor. She looked around them before frantically pulling Selena away and hiding in one of the gigantic trees.
"What are you doing?" Melissa hissed. "Did you escape from the house again?!"
"Escaped? You mean from that dingy, suffocating room?" But instead of answering, Melissa just kept looking around. There was a nervous energy around her as her eyes moved left and right.
"Listen, you should just go back to the house before Lady Olivia and Miss Claire find out. The Ascension and Shifting Ceremonies are going to be held at the same time tonight. The elders and the other high-ranking officials will not let even the smallest mistakes happen." "About that. Everyone keeps mentioning those ceremonies. What odd names. What even are they for? Also, why do you smell like wet dog?"
"Wow, aren't you judgmental?" Melissa rolled her eyes. Selena never noticed how tense she was, but the sight of that familiar eye roll and tone of voice made her relax some more. "You smell worse than me, in my opinion."
"Hey, rude!" She nudged her friend by the shoulder. "I woke up in a creepy basement! And got assaulted by a pair of bitchy mother-daughter tandem!"
Melissa moved to cover her mouth and hissed, "Quiet! Do you want to get thrown to a cell?!" She turned to look around and sighed when they were still in the clear. "Really, what's gotten into you today? You're acting really weird today."
I'm acting weird? It feels like everyone, but me, is acting weird!
There was a sudden hush that seemed to descend around the forest. Selen felt Melissa freeze, her eyes widening as it shifted to look behind her. Selena pulled the hand from her mouth and turned.
The earlier frantic workers were now standing still, heads bowed as a group of people arrived at the clearing, each one older and dressed more formally than the next. There was a certain air to them that Selena couldn't quite explain, heavy and almost suffocating. The only young person was the man placed in the center of the group. He was a head taller, skin lightly tanned, and hair wavy and mussed. His eyes, however, were sharp and cold, and right off the bat, Selena knew that this man was not to be messed with.
The man's gaze moved in their direction, and Selena found herself being pulled back behind the trees by Melissa.
"Do you want to be eaten alive?" Melissa hissed. "Don't look him in the eye! You know how alpha Chase gets."
Selena rolled her eyes. "Aren't you being a bit too overdramatic? What, he's a vampire or something?"
Melissa turned even paler. "Vampi—Selena, what's going on with you? Are you sick or something?" She placed the back of her hand on Selena's forehead. "Hmm, nope, feels normal." She then grabbed her face. "Okay, open your mouth and say 'ahh' with your tongue out."
Selena swatted her hands away. "Alright, for starters—" She paused. "Melissa. What did you say earlier?"
Melissa tilted her head. "Ahh?"
"No, before that?"
"Your temperature feels normal?"
"No, before—before that! A bit more on before!"
Any more and her friend's brows will be connected with how much she's furrowing them. "Don't look alpha Chase in the eye?"
Selena blinked, suddenly realizing why everything felt like some load of deja vu tossed in a blender. Ceremonies, shifting, ascension… and of all things to put everything in place, it was because of a stupid-sounding name.
She covered her face with her hands, trying to push the urge to shout. Alright, Selena, breathe . You are a well-read and well-informed young woman in the 21st century who has learned and accumulated a great wealth of life experience that any 20-year-old university student will feel proud of. You have read books and fanfi— ahem, artistic literary works on a great many genres and types that molded your refined tastes in literature, and so facts about isekai and reincarnation should not break your composure.
Just that…
She turned to look back at the clearing. The group— elders, her mind helpfully added. They're elders—were talking to a couple of people carrying baskets of fruits, while Chase— alpha, her mind supplemented again—was looking disinterestedly at the ongoing preparations. Sculpted face, sharp nose, rosy lips—yeah, she can now clearly see how the novel described him during his appearance in the story.
Yes, Selena is a person with a variety of tastes regarding the stories she would read. But of all the stories she'd ever devoured…
Why… why does she have to be reborn in a trashy, steamy, werewolf novel?!