When I regained consciousness, the sharp smell of disinfectant stung my nostrils.

I opened my eyes to a white ceiling and crisp sheets. The healer's hall—Silver Moon Academy's medical wing for training injuries and emergencies. Something felt off when I moved my fingers—they were too strong, too defined, and my hands were massive.

Looking down, I saw khaki shorts, a white shirt, and—holy crap—leg hair?!

Since when did I, an Omega, sprout a damn forest on my legs?!

Wait a second.

I whipped my head toward the neighboring bed where a short-haired girl lay wearing the floral dress I'd picked out this morning. She rolled over, and I froze—that face was mine.

"What the hell," I muttered, but the voice that came out was deep and magnetic—nothing like my usual soft tone.

The "me" in the next bed stirred awake, eyes widening in confusion before looking down at herself. Her expression twisted in shock as her hand drifted toward her chest. I leapt out of bed and lunged forward to stop that wandering hand.

"Hey! Hands off!"

"I" looked up, eyes flashing from shock to a cold, disdainful glare.

No mistaking it—that was Dante Moretti's signature death stare.

Oh. My. God.

Dante and I had switched bodies?!

This was more insane than getting mauled by a feral werewolf!

The door swung open as Luca Valenti strode in with Elena—his newly announced mate—trailing behind. He frowned at the sight of us. "What happened? Dante, Lucia, why did you both collapse near the temple last night?"

Collapse?

Dante and I locked eyes, both silently screaming "what the actual fuck."

So we weren't hit by anything—just mysteriously passed out? And woke up in each other's bodies? What kind of twisted shit is this?!

Dante scowled, threw back the covers and jumped out of bed. My face—now his—twisted with his trademark impatience. Without even glancing at Luca, he grabbed my arm and marched out. I stumbled after him, shocked by his strength—how was he still this powerful in my tiny frame?

In the hallway, a 6'3" giant was being dragged around by a 5'5" slip of a girl.

Betas passing by turned to stare, some whistling and snickering.

Once outside, Dante released me and glared, my usually sweet face twisted into an expression of cold fury. "Tell me exactly what you did last night."

"Me?" I jabbed a thumb at my now-massive chest. "I should be asking you that! All I remember is seeing Luca and Elena together at the full moon celebration. I got upset and left, then I think I saw some weird glowing stone near the temple?"

Dante's expression darkened. "A rune stone."

"A what now?"

"The ancient rune stone—supposedly hidden beneath the temple, left by ancient wizards." Dante pressed my small hand to his forehead. "I chased after you last night, saw the stone too, tried to pull you away, and then... nothing."

My mind raced. "So we both touched that damn rock at the same time, and under the full moon—poof!—body swap."

"Fuck," Dante and I said in perfect unison.

I slumped onto a bench outside the medical building, ready to lose my mind.

"What kind of fantasy bullshit is this?!" I clutched my head and groaned. "Aren't we supposed to be living in a modern, scientific werewolf society?!"

Dante shot me a withering look. "Shut up. We're werewolves. Science? Don't make me look like an idiot."

Just as I opened my mouth to argue, I noticed passing children pointing and giggling. Even nurses pushing wheelchairs were gesturing in our direction. An elderly woman hobbled over and patted Dante's shoulder sympathetically.

"Young couples always have their spats! But making her cry isn't gentlemanly. We ladies need a bit of sweet-talking now and then!"

Dante nodded helplessly, grimacing at the sight of his own face streaked with tears and snot. With a sigh, he guided my head onto his shoulder. The old lady shuffled away, satisfied.

The moment she was gone, we sprang apart like repelling magnets, retreating to opposite ends of the bench.

"So what the hell do we do now?" I asked.

"The one who tied the bell must untie it," Dante reasoned calmly. "If the rune stone caused this, we need to touch it again. But the temple's probably under lockdown now, so we'll need to find a way—"

Before he could finish, his phone buzzed. Dante pulled it from his skirt pocket, his expression shifting as he handed it to me.

Academy Alert: Following last night's temple anomaly, the ancient rune stone has been secured for research. All students are prohibited from the area until further notice.

"..."

Dante and I stared at each other in stunned silence.

"So," I managed, my throat tight, "we're stuck like this?"

"Looks that way." Dante rubbed his temples, those delicate hands completely failing to look intimidating. "We'll have to adapt until the academy figures this out."

"Adapt how?!" I panicked. "I have to teach your strategic planning class? I can't even read a damn territory map!"

"And I have to survive your hunting training," Dante said icily. "This tiny body with your team's brutal regimen? Great."

We stared at each other, his delicate features facing my rugged ones.

While we were locked in our staring contest, familiar voices approached. Luca and Elena, hand in hand, heading our way.

"Shit," I hissed. "They're coming over."

Dante grabbed my hand instantly, whispering urgently: "Listen up. Act normal. You're me, I'm you. Don't blow our cover."

"But what if they ask—"

"We'll wing it!"

Luca approached, eyeing our clasped hands with confusion. "You two seem... cozy."

I opened my mouth to respond when Dante suddenly stood, stepping in front of me. Rising on tiptoes, he placed his hands on my shoulders and whispered so only I could hear:

"Follow my lead."

Then he turned to Luca, voice carrying: "Because we're in the bonding period."

What?!

Luca's expression darkened instantly. Elena froze beside him.

"Bonding period?" Luca's pheromones spiked, barely masking his emotions. "Lucia, when did you and Dante...?"

"Just recently," Dante lied smoothly, linking his arm with mine. "Dante's been pursuing me for a while. I thought about it and figured, why not? He's not so bad."

Luca stared at our linked arms, silent for several beats before forcing a smile. "I see. Well... congratulations to you both."

With that, he tugged Elena away, walking faster than necessary.

His pheromones churned in his wake—he was definitely upset.

When they were out of earshot, I snapped back to reality and stared at our joined hands. "You just..."

"Acting," Dante released my hand, the tips of his ears reddening. "How else would we explain being so close? If anyone discovers we've switched bodies, they'll treat us like cursed freaks and lock us up for study."

He had a point.

"So we'll roll with this," I sighed. "Pretend to be a couple while we figure out how to switch back."

Dante nodded, but I couldn't help noticing his ears were still bright red.

Swapped with the Cold Alpha — Chapter 9

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