The first thing I noticed was the cold. My body seemed to shiver violently in an attempt to keep warm. Why was it so cold?
Then came the pain.
Not sharp exactly—more like something dull and deep, stretching through my bones and muscle, as if I'd been asleep for far too long in the wrong position. My body ached in places I didn't recognize., Every breath seemed to be a struggle against lungs that didn't seem to want to work or knew how to work.
I tried to move, but my body resisted as I felt something scrape beneath me—stone, rough and damp, pressing into my spine like a bed made of knives.
And then—
Blood.
I could taste it. On my lips. On my tongue. Oh goddess, suddenly smelled it too. All I could smell was the blood. My stomach lurched, and I turned my head to the side, coughing into the dirt.
My mind raced. My chest began to heave as my breaths became ragged with panic.
Is this all my blood? Where was I? How did I get here?
Why was I here?
Who I was supposed to be. What had I done to deserve this? I need to leave before they came back.
I glanced around as I struggled my knees.
It was dark yes, but not pitch-black. The moonlight filtered through the cave entrance behind me, provided just enough light for my blurry aching eyes to see.
I tried to push myself up. My arms trembled with the effort, my muscles were weak, like I hadn't used them in days. Maybe longer.
Finally, after excruciating effort I was standing, but I had to lean against the stone wall for support. I attempted to slide along the cave wall, but was stopped by new sharp pain and the sensation of blood trickling down the thigh that was leveraged against the wall.
I froze.
I was naked, with not a shred of clothing.
Just skin. Skin covered in dirt and dried blood. I fought to calm my breath and rising panic as I ran my palms and fingers over my body looking for wounds.
As my palms ran down my abdomen they found a curve that shouldn't be there.
A swell.
I stared down at my stomach.
Round. Full. Clearly… pregnant.
A low sound escaped my throat. Not a scream, not even a gasp—just breath, sharp and broken.
No.
This wasn't right.
I scrambled to remember—anything. A face. A voice. A name.
All I found were fragments. Flashes. Feelings I couldn't place. Nothing whole.
Nothing mine.
My wolf—where was she?
The part of me that should've been there, always there, just… wasn't.
I reached for her out of instinct, but it was like reaching into a void. No presence. No answer.
I was alone in here.
And something deep inside me whispered: You're not safe.
Then the wind shifted and swept into the cave, carrying with it a new scent—sharp, like pine needles crushed underfoot, layered with something richer. Musk. Anger.
Dominance.
I didn't know how I knew what that smell meant.
But I knew exactly what it was.
Footsteps echoed against stone.
A tall figure entered the cave—backlit by moonlight, a shadow rimmed in gold. My heart jumped. I tried to stand straight, unaided by the cave wall, but my legs wouldn't work. My body trembled, every instinct screaming at me to run even as I once again hugged the jagged wall for support.
His face came into view as he came closer.
And I knew him.
Or… part of me did.
"Kieran," I whispered, the name slipping out before my fragmented memories of him broke free.
Something in his eyes snapped as he looked at me like I was something diseased. He sniffed the air then froze.
His gaze dropped to my stomach. I saw the moment he put it together—the clench of his jaw, the way his nostrils flared, his hands balling into fists.
"You whore!."
I opened my mouth, but nothing came out.
"I don't… I don't remember," I managed, voice barely above a whisper. "I don't know how—"
"How dare you betray me like this? You worthless mutt!."
His words were a knife, clean and cruel.
"No—I—Kieran, I don't even know what happened, I swear to the godess, I—"
"You think that matters?" His voice cracked like thunder. "You think not remembering erases what you did. We've spent weeks searching for you?"
"I didn't—" I tried to cover my belly. "Please. I don't even know how I got here or who I am."
"Bullshit! I know who you are." He stepped closer. "You're the woman I trusted. The one I thought fate gave me. The one who was supposed to be mine."
There was something in his voice. Rage. Grief. Resentment.
And something colder.
Something empty.
He looked at me like I was nothing now.
Like I'd been wiped clean of every memory that made me matter.
"I, Kieran Draeven, Alpha of the Onyx Fang Pack," he said, voice suddenly formal—ritualistic—"reject you."
The words echoed around the stone walls.
And then the pain hit.
It tore through me—white-hot and blinding. Like a bond had been carved into my bones and was now being ripped out by force.
I screamed without sound.
My body buckled and collapsed beneath me. The cave tilted and spun before it narrowed into darkness.
My chest ached and my skin burned.
I didn't understand.
All I knew was that something sacred in me had been severed.
He turned to leave.
Just before he disappeared into shadow, he said spoke again, his voice quieter.
"You were never meant for me. But they made you mine anyway."
My heart stuttered.
"Who…?" I croaked. "I don't understand."
He didn't answer. Didn't look back.
He just walked away, leaving me alone on the cold stone floor with blood on my lips and fire in my chest.
I don't know how long I lay there.
Time folded in on itself.
The cave grew darker. Or maybe I closed my eyes.
And then—
Something stirred at the edge of my vision.
A flicker outside the cave entrance.
Movement among the trees.
I lifted my head, barely.
A glint of silver.
Eyes.
Not golden.
Not Kieran's.
Something else.
Something… watching.
And just before the darkness pulled me under completely, I felt it—
A shift.
A thread winding tight around my heart