LYDIA

"Lydia, hold on!" The voice cuts through the chaos-low, rough, and filled with urgency.

I blink through the blur, dizzy and half-conscious. My body is heavy, my skin cold, and the sound of metal scraping against metal echoes all around me.

Then I see him.

A stranger steps out from the shadows, his movements powerful and sharp. As his hand rises, the darkness around us shifts-it bends, follows, and obeys him. The air itself seems to tremble when he moves. I don't understand what I'm seeing. How did he do that? And... how does he know my name?

The chains holding me suddenly shatter apart. I collapse forward, but instead of hitting the ground, I fall straight into his arms. The stranger catches me effortlessly, pulling me close against his chest.

He smells like the forest after rain, earthy, deep, and clean, with a trace of something darker, like smoke and old cologne. The scent pulls me in, wrapping me in a strange sense of safety, something I haven't felt in a long time.

"Lydia, talk to me. Are you okay?" His voice is warm but strained with worry.

His hand grazes my cheek, urging me to look up. The moment our eyes meet, the world tilts. His face is close, too close. I can feel his breath brushing my lips, and for one impossible moment, I think I could reach out and drink him in with a single breath.

"I..." My voice breaks. The dizziness returns. My forehead drops against his chest, the sound of his heartbeat grounding me while everything else spins out of control.

"Don't worry," he whispers. "I'm getting you out of here."

Before I can ask anything, he scoops me into his arms again. My arms instinctively loop around his neck as he takes off running. The world becomes a blur of cold air and motion.

Someone shouts behind us, a voice thick with anger, but he doesn't slow down. When I risk a glance back, I see them. Dozens of hooded figures following us, their faces hidden in shadow.

Fear rises in my throat. My body tenses.

But the stranger only growls. His tone is inhuman, deep, sharp, and filled with power. One of his hands darkens, the shadows twisting up his arm like living smoke. Then, suddenly, they leap from him, crashing into our pursuers.

The hooded figures vanish, swallowed whole by the darkness.

"Impossible..." I breathe. My body shakes, half from fear, half from disbelief.

He doesn't answer. He just holds me tighter and leaps, actually leaps, up several meters to the top of a broken stairway. His strength is unreal.

A voice rings out from behind us. "Dex!"

The stranger turns sharply, his grip tightening on me. I follow his gaze and freeze. It's the same man who bit me, the one who drank my blood. Baron.

He's coming toward us, fast as a shadow.

But Dex doesn't hesitate. He raises his hand, and the darkness obeys. Black chains burst from the ground, snaring Baron's body and locking him in place. The vampire thrashes, snarling, his voice echoing like a thousand knives scraping stone.

Dex turns back to me, urgency flashing in his green eyes. "We have to go. I can't hold him for long."

His foot slams against a door, kicking it open. A flood of white light spills into the stairway as he runs through it, carrying me into a long corridor. Behind us, the doorway melts into blackness, swallowing the world we just escaped from.

Only when we reach the end of the hall does Dex stop. He lowers me gently to my feet. His eyes, leaf green and strangely soft, search my face. His hand cups my cheek, warm and trembling slightly.

"Lydia, please," he says quietly. "Tell me you're okay."

I blink at him, trying to steady my breathing. His concern feels real, too real, like he actually cares. But how could he? I don't even know him.

"I don't understand what's happening," I whisper.

Dex curses softly under his breath. "That damn Baron," he growls. His hand moves to my neck. "You're still bleeding... Wait."

Before I can stop him, he leans in. His lips touch the spot where Baron bit me. A jolt of shock shoots through me, followed by a strange warmth spreading from his mouth through my veins.

My hands clutch the front of his leather jacket. My thoughts blur as his breath brushes my skin.

"Dex..." I whisper weakly.

He pulls back a second later, spitting the blood to the floor. His thumb wipes the corner of his mouth before he looks at me again.

"Better?" he asks softly.

I swallow hard, my heartbeat loud in my ears. "A little. Thank you... but why are you doing this? You don't even know me."

He laughs bitterly, the sound dark and broken. "Don't know you?" His gaze hardens, though there's pain behind it. "Lydia, do you really not remember who I am?"

I frown, searching his face. "No... should I?"

The shift in him is immediate. The warmth vanishes. His jaw tightens, and for a moment, I swear I see something in him fracture, like glass cracking under pressure.

"I'll kill him for this," Dex mutters, voice low and deadly. He stands, scooping me up again before I can react. "We're leaving. Now."

The world rushes past us once more. Behind us, I hear the sound of struggling and the groaning of shadows trying to reopen the sealed door.

Dex bursts through an abandoned lobby, his boots slamming against the cracked floor, then pushes through a heavy door that opens into the night. We end up in a dark alley, the air cold and damp.

He keeps moving until we reach a row of parked motorcycles, stopping in front of a sleek black one.

"Your name is Dex, right?" I manage to ask.

He nods once.

"Please... tell me what's happening. I don't understand any of this."

Dex exhales slowly, his jaw tight. "You will. I promise. But first, I have to get you somewhere safe."

He sits me on the motorcycle, adjusting me carefully so I'm steady. Then he climbs on behind me.

"Hold on to me," he says.

This time, I don't argue. My strength is gone, and all I can do is lean into him. My cheek rests against his chest as my arms loop around his waist.

He starts the engine, and the roar of it drowns out my thoughts. The bike surges forward, carrying us away from the nightmare that almost claimed me.

For the first time tonight, I allow myself to breathe.

And for reasons I can't explain, I feel safe in the arms of the stranger who calls me by name.

LYDIA

Even when I try, I can't keep my eyes open. My head spins and my body feels weak. My skin burns, yet a chill runs through me that makes me tremble.

"Stay with me," Dex says over and over as he drives through the empty streets. His voice is urgent, shaking slightly. The sound of the city fades into nothing as he speeds through the night. It feels like the world has stopped existing-like it's only the two of us left.

He stops suddenly, leaves the bike behind, and carries me in his arms. His heart beats fast against my cheek. I can't tell if it's fear or desperation.

"You'll be all right," he whispers, almost like he's trying to convince himself.

I force my eyes open and see faint lights in the distance-colored lamps that once glowed bright. The shapes are familiar.

"Are we in...?"

"City Hall Station," Dex answers softly. "We're almost home."

His words sound far away. I remember coming here once. It was a tour that cost me fifty dollars, and I loved every second of it. But there's a gap in my mind. I was with someone. Someone important. I can't remember who.

Dex's movement pulls me out of my thoughts. He jumps down onto the rails, heading toward a tunnel sealed off from the public. The air is heavy with the scent of dampness and decay. Then, as if by magic, it fades away.

We descend deeper, and I hear his boots striking metal steps. His grip on me tightens, protective and certain.

"Not much farther," he murmurs against my hair.

When I open my eyes again, I see light spilling over stone. My breath catches. We've stepped into a space so vast it could hold an entire skyscraper. In the center stands a tall, magnificent structure.

"Impossible," I whisper.

It must be the fever making me hallucinate. But Dex doesn't look surprised. He walks straight toward the glowing building and slips inside through a wide entrance.

"Brad!" he shouts as soon as we enter. His voice echoes across the massive hall. "Brad, it's an emergency!"

My surroundings blur. Sounds twist together. The people, the walls, even the floor seem to move in waves.

"What happened?" a woman's voice asks. She sounds young, sharp, and frightened.

"Baron bit her," Dex says quickly.

"Oh no, Dex, this is bad," the girl replies.

"I know. Brad, she doesn't remember anything..."

I blink, trying to focus. A woman leans over me. She has smooth brown skin, full lips, and thick onyx hair tied behind her shoulders.

"You have to save her," Dex says beside her, his voice tight with pain.

"I'll try," the woman answers softly. Her hand presses against my forehead.

A sharp sting runs through my arm. I glance down and see a needle piercing my skin. Warmth spreads through me, and everything turns to black.

When I wake, it feels like I'm drowning in air. My chest heaves, and someone screams nearby.

"It's not working!" the woman yells. "Baron's poison has already spread too far!"

"I can't let her turn into one of them," Dex says through gritted teeth. He's holding my hand so tightly I can feel the tremor in his fingers.

"What can we do?" he asks.

"Your blood," the woman says suddenly. "We need your blood to fight the poison. It's the only way."

Dex curses under his breath. His hand leaves mine. I try to focus on him, but the world swims in and out of view. I see him raise his hand to his mouth and bite into his wrist. His blood shines dark against his lips.

Before I can ask what he's doing, he's already leaning over me. His thumb brushes across my lips, parting them. Then his mouth covers mine.

I feel the warmth of his blood between us, the heat of his breath mixing with mine. The taste is nothing like I imagined-not metallic, but sweet, almost intoxicating.

The moment it touches my tongue, I gasp. Air fills my lungs again. My body comes alive. My hands clutch his arms as his lips move over mine, gentle but desperate.

He pulls back slightly, his breath rough against my cheek. "Good girl," he whispers.

"She's stabilizing," the woman says quickly. "It's working."

Dex doesn't hesitate. He bites his wrist again, and before I can think, his lips meet mine a second time. I swallow the warm liquid as his tongue brushes mine, slow and deliberate.

When he finally pulls away, I can breathe again, though part of me doesn't want him to stop. He wipes the blood from his lip with his thumb and presses it to my mouth.

"Lick," he says.

Without thinking, I obey. The taste lingers-sweet and strange.

"That should hold," Dex murmurs, his tone quieter now. He turns away, folding his arms, as though trying to compose himself. My heart beats wildly in my chest, but the dizziness is gone. The weakness has vanished.

Now I can see the room clearly. It's an infirmary, clean but dimly lit. The woman-Brad-looks exhausted.

"That will slow the poison," she says.

"Poison?" I ask weakly.

She nods. "Vampire poison. It entered your system when Baron bit you."

"It was changing you," Dex says, his expression dark. "But my blood will stop it-for now."

"At least long enough for us to find a cure," Brad adds.

Dex exhales deeply, his face shadowed with worry. Before I can ask more, the door bursts open.

"Lydia!" a familiar voice cries. "By the goddess, you're alive!"

A girl rushes toward me and throws her arms around me. Her hair smells faintly of jasmine and smoke.

"I thought I'd lost you," she whispers.

When she pulls back, I stare at her. Her face looks like mine-but softer, prettier. Her eyes are blue, her hair darker. She looks like a version of me that belongs to another life.

For a moment, I can't speak. I only stare, trying to remember her.

Trying to remember everything.

LYDIA

"I'm sorry," I whisper to the stranger and take a small step back. "Do I... know you?"

The moment the words leave my mouth, the girl stiffens. Her expression changes as though I just threw ice water on her.

"What?" she says sharply, her tone tight and hurt.

Before I can say anything else, Dex places a comforting hand on her shoulder. She turns toward him, her eyes full of confusion and pain. There's something in the way he touches her-gentle, protective, that stirs an unexpected wave of jealousy in me. I quickly push the feeling away. It doesn't make sense.

"Don't take it personally, Linda," Dex says quietly. "She doesn't remember me either."

Linda's eyes widen. The hurt fades, replaced by shock.

Before anyone else can speak, the doctor, Brad, I think they called him, steps closer.

"It's possible Baron did more than just drink her blood," Brad says in a thoughtful, serious voice. "He must have given her something, a drug or a poison, that suppressed her memory."

Dex nods, running a hand through his tousled hair. "Maybe. She didn't seem to recognize him either."

"Who?" I interrupt, my voice sharper than I intend. "Who are you talking about?"

No one answers. They just exchange quiet looks, as if I'm not even in the room.

Linda finally speaks again, her voice trembling. "I don't understand... what really happened?"

Dex exhales heavily and leans against the counter. "Things went wrong," he admits. "We were late. I barely got Lydia out of there before Baron tracked us down."

"Is the pack still there?" Linda's voice breaks with worry.

Dex closes his eyes for a moment. His jaw tightens before he shakes his head slowly. "No. They escaped. Some are hurt, but no one died."

Both Linda and Brad let out shaky sighs of relief.

I cross my arms, feeling frustration boiling inside me. "I don't understand any of this," I say. "Who are they? Who are you people? And what exactly happened to me?"

They all look at me then, three pairs of eyes, each filled with different emotions. Brad looks sympathetic, Linda looks heartbroken, and Dex... Dex looks unreadable, but there's something in his eyes that feels too familiar, like he's holding back everything I'm desperate to know.

Brad clears his throat softly and steps forward. "My name is Brad," he explains gently. "I'm the doctor of the Silver Crescent Pack." He pauses, grimacing a little. "You might not remember me, Lydia. We think someone used a kind of poison or spell to erase your memories. But this place, this pack, is your home. You belong here. You and I were close friends."

Before I can respond, Linda steps closer, tears filling her eyes. "I'm your sister," she blurts out, her voice cracking. She grabs my hand tightly. "We're twins, Lydia. My name's Linda. Please, you have to remember me."

I stare at her face, searching for something-anything, that sparks a memory. But there's nothing. Just emptiness and guilt.

"I'm sorry," I whisper, shaking my head slowly.

Linda's lips tremble. She covers her face with both hands as quiet sobs escape her. I feel a sharp ache in my chest watching her cry, pain mixed with confusion and helplessness.

Dex gently pulls her into his arms. She clings to him, and for a moment, I feel like an outsider watching something deeply personal. He holds her, but his eyes stay locked on me, steady and intense.

Who is he? Why does he look at me like that?

"We'll explain everything once things calm down," Dex finally says, his voice low but certain. "Right now, Lydia needs to rest and recover. That's what matters."

Linda sniffles and steps away, wrapping her arms around herself.

Brad nods. "He's right. Rest first. The rest can wait."

Dex shakes his head. "Not here."

Before Brad can protest, Dex moves toward me. Without warning, he pushes the blanket aside and lifts me effortlessly into his arms.

"Dex!" Brad exclaims. "She's safe here. You know that."

"I know," Dex says, though his voice sounds firm and final. "But I'm not leaving her again. The last time I did, Baron took her. And look what she's been through because of it."

His words hit Linda hard. She looks away, her shoulders shaking.

Dex walks out of the infirmary, carrying me as if I weigh nothing. I'm too stunned to fight it.

"Where are you taking me?" I ask softly.

"To my room," he answers without hesitation.

My heart starts pounding in my chest. He glances down at me, a faint smile curving his lips.

"Don't worry," he says quietly. "I'm not going to hurt you."

My cheeks flush. Does he somehow know what I was thinking? Can he read my thoughts too?

"I don't understand," I whisper. "Why are you doing all this for me? I don't even know you."

Dex stops walking. The hallway falls silent. His gaze meets mine-deep, unreadable, but full of something I can't name.

"Yes, you do," he says softly.

"I don't," I insist. "I don't know who you are, where I am, or what any of this means."

He takes a breath, as if steadying himself. "My name is Dex Wright," he begins slowly. "I'm the leader of the Silver Crescent Pack, a pack of shapeshifters. Wolves."

For a second, my mind goes blank. His words sound like something from a story, impossible and wild. But then I remember the night-the shadows, the fangs, the claws, and I can't deny what I saw.

"Even if that's true," I murmur, shaking my head. "What does that have to do with me? What do you have to do with me?"

Dex's expression changes. His eyes soften, but there's sadness there too, a pain I can almost feel.

"Because you and I are one," he says quietly, brushing a strand of hair from my face. "You might not understand it now, or even remember it. But you're my mate. The one chosen by the Goddess to be with me, for a lifetime. For all eternity."

His words steal my breath. My heart pounds so loudly I can hear it echoing in my ears.

For a lifetime. For all eternity.

It feels impossible, and yet, somehow, it feels like the only truth I've ever known.