I woke up in the body of the Alpha's mate

The Monologue of Someone Who Doesn't Want to Wake Up

I don't want to wake up.

These people were so noisy that they were getting on my nerves. The constant sound of people coming and going made my head feel like it was about to split open. I wanted to open my mouth and scream at them to shut the hell up, but my mouth felt so heavy that I couldn't even force it open.

The hatred I felt deep in my bones stemmed from one simple fact.

I was having a beautiful dream.

In my dream, the man standing across from me was busy kneading dough with a rolling pin. The muscles in his arms bulged with every movement, and I couldn't help but drool at the sight. Beads of sweat dotted his forehead. I told him to take a break, but he refused.

Annoyed, I moved closer and rested my chin on his shoulder, issuing my command with an air of arrogance.

"Come here, baby."

"Wait for me a little, okay?"

"No. I can't wait."

I breathed softly against his neck. The tips of his ears turned bright red.

"I can have bread later, but I'm hungry right now. Are you really going to leave me all alone in bed?"

He paid no attention to my words, behaving like a stone as he continued shaping the dough.

I rubbed his stomach.

The stone seemed to heat up in a hurry. He began kneading the dough faster and faster until he finally shaped the loaf and put it into the oven. By then, his entire body was burning hot, drenched in sweat.

"Such an impatient baker. Your bread won't taste good if you rush it." I tugged at his apron.

He frowned irritably before turning around and scooping me into his arms.

"If you're going to take things this far, you'll have to bear the consequences yourself, Rena."

His fingers traced my neck, brushed along my jawline, and grazed my ears.

"Such a sweet, gentle face. What a shame it doesn't match your personality."

I curled my lips into a smirk and bit his slender finger out of spite.

I knew perfectly well that this man had spoiled me rotten, but there was nothing I could do about it. I slipped my hand across his chest, tracing the faintly burned mark of a Renanthera orchid, a fiery orchid, over his left pectoral.

I'd always pestered him about where that mark had come from, but he always refused to answer or changed the subject. The only time this man ever showed a little courage was when he teased me in bed. Otherwise, he was nothing but a stone. And when it came to that fiery mark, I could never get a single answer out of him.

I angrily kicked my leg up and planted my foot against his left chest. As usual, he indulged me, letting me rest my leg there while gently rubbing my ankle. His expression suggested that he would gladly let me do absolutely anything I wanted.

My temper flared. I slid my foot down from his chest, then lower, across his stomach, and finally to his lower abdomen. His face flushed crimson, yet he continued to restrain himself, looking as though he were the one in the wrong.

Fine, then. I'd enjoy myself first and deal with whatever happened afterward.

Just as I pressed my hand against that pitiful, puppy-like face of his, the noise outside grew even louder and more chaotic. I reached up to trace the bridge of his nose, only to touch something ice-cold.

My eyes flew open.

I jolted awake.

The room was packed with people. One of them was carrying a medical case, presumably a doctor. White curtains with gold trim surrounded a bed with a golden frame.

This wasn't my little tent, and that puppy face I'd been dreaming of was nowhere to be seen.

What the hell was this place?

The doctor let out a sigh of relief when he saw that I'd regained consciousness. The people standing around me seemed to share his sentiment, as though a heavy burden had finally been lifted from their shoulders. And yet, their expressions remained strangely cold, like those of spectators gathered to watch an amusing show.

Only one little girl standing beside my bed seemed on the verge of breaking down. Tears welled in her eyes, but she desperately tried to keep them from falling.

"Renata, my lady."

At last, she spoke.

An instinctive urge to comfort her welled up inside me. I tried to push myself upright, only to realize that my body felt as heavy as lead. I was also painfully thin, practically skin and bones, nothing like the plump, well-fed body I'd had in my dream.

Strange.

Suddenly, a man shouted from the corner of the room.

"Have you finished your little performance yet? Who are you putting on this act for? I already rescued you and brought you home. If you want to scold me or curse at me, then go ahead and say it. What's with all this pretentious nonsense?"

I looked at him.

At last, I managed to open my mouth.

"Who... are you?"

The little girl who had been crying suddenly stopped, as though she'd received some kind of signal from me. She straightened her back and stepped in front of me, shielding me from his gaze.

"Luna is physically frail and unable to remember you, Alpha. She needs time to rest and recover, so please leave, sir."

The man glared at me with a scowl.

At that moment, I figured it out.

The best course of action was to keep pretending I was dead and let the devil leave on his own.

He waved his hand irritably, got to his feet, and stormed out.

BANG!

The door slammed shut so hard that the bed shook.

The little girl turned to look at me for a moment before collapsing beside the bed.

"Rena, Rena..."

She threw herself against me and burst into muffled sobs.

As expected, she was just a child, perhaps fourteen or fifteen years old. I really wanted to ask her who she was, but right now, I could barely get a word out. What if asking another question only made her cry harder?

So I wrapped my arms tightly around her instead.

After holding her for a while, tears began spilling from my own eyes, too.

This was so d*mn frustrating.

What kind of hellhole was this?

And where the hell was my husband?

--

At the dead of night, I threw a blanket over myself and crept out of my room.

Ever since I'd woken up, I'd noticed something was off. Although the servants were unfailingly polite, addressing me as Luna and fulfilling all my requests, the suspicion and wariness in their eyes had only grown more intense.

The only person I could trust was Daisy, the little girl who had buried herself in my arms and sobbed her heart out.

So I followed the dim, freezing corridor to her room.

Knock.

Knock.

No answer.

I pulled an axe out of my pocket. It was about twice the size of my head. With one clean swing, I could probably break the door open with barely a sound.

My husband was a farmer and a woodcutter, after all. He'd taught me how to chop firewood.

I gripped the handle, ready to bring it down.

Creeeeak.

Little Daisy opened the door.

She nearly fainted on the spot. The only thing that kept her standing was the sight of my face. Her eyes rolled back as I caught her limp body before she could collapse.

What a coward.

I heard footsteps approaching from down the corridor. I hurriedly clamped a hand over her mouth, hid the axe, and slipped straight into her room.

Once inside, she stared at me for a long moment.

"You're not Luna Renata."

"Mm. Smart girl."

The words slipped out before I could stop myself.

The light from the lanterns swept across the room, and I immediately shut my mouth.

Someone pounded on the door from outside.

"Daisy, are you asleep? What's all that noise?"

Daisy shot me a glance before making a decisive move. She grabbed a corner of the blanket and threw it over me, hiding me underneath.

"I just knocked over a vase, that's all!"

There was some murmuring outside for a while before the noise finally died down.

I was still peering toward the door, waiting for the coast to clear, when I suddenly remembered that Daisy was still in the room.

I turned my gaze toward her.

She was staring straight at me.

"Who are you? Where is my lady?"

Well, d*mn.

I'd dug myself into this hole all on my own.

I looked at Daisy, hesitating as I struggled with my thoughts. There were a dozen things I could say, a dozen ways I could explain myself, but none of them seemed particularly convincing. After all, if someone suddenly appeared in your mistress's body, claimed to have no idea who they were, and then confessed to remembering nothing except having a husband, wouldn't you think they were insane?

I certainly would.

Still, Daisy was the only person I had. If I wanted to survive in this strange place, I needed her help.

"I don't know either," I finally admitted. "When I woke up in this body, I was just as confused as you are. I don't know where I am, who these people are, or what the hell is going on."

Daisy stared at me.

For a moment, I thought she might start crying again.

"Then why did you hug me and cry?"

I blinked.

Of all the questions she could have asked, that was the one she chose?

"Because you looked so heartbroken," I explained. "You were crying so miserably that I thought you might cry even harder if I didn't hug you."

Her lips trembled.

Oh, no.

Not again.

Before she could burst into tears, I pulled her into my arms and held her tightly against my chest. If she insisted on crying, at least I could keep her quiet. We were already sneaking around in the middle of the night, and I had absolutely no desire to explain our little midnight gathering to the people outside.

Fortunately, Daisy managed to swallow her tears.

After a while, she lifted her head and looked at me with red-rimmed eyes.

"This body belongs to Luna Renata," she said slowly. "If you're here, then perhaps Renata has been switched into your body instead."

I waited for her to continue.

"Where is your home? We need to find your family."

I opened my mouth.

Th