The Alpha's Second Chance

Chapter 12- Dreams

Lyra POV

I fall into a sleep that wasn't rest, but it at least let my body rest while my mind goes crazy.

However, the sweet bliss of semi-sleep does not last long. The warmth of the bed soon bleeds away and is replaced with the smell of something metallic that feels sticky. I look down and find myself covered in blood.

While looking down, I realise that I have shrunk. I look around madly and catch sight of myself in a broken window, I look on in horror as I find myself back inside the body of my seven-year-old self, inside the home that is on my phone screen but one that I cannot fully remember. A memory tugs at the back of my mind, but before I can pull it forward, I find my body running of its own accord.

I realise that while I may be dreaming, I am essentially watching from my younger body, almost as if I am re-living a memory rather than dreaming. The smell of burning wood and metal hits my nose as I run further into the home, the heat rising which makes my breathing harder and my legs slow down.

I realise that the younger me is running with purpose, we are running towards the sound of a woman calling my name. The voice itself sounds familiar to me, pulling at the strings in my heart, but I simply cannot place it.

My little legs take both of us up the stairs, the heat getting hotter and scrams start to leave my little mouth, yet the younger me continues to run towards the female voice rather than out of the burning building. Whoever this woman is, she is clearly someone very important to the younger me.

Finally, we reach the top floor and bolt to a door a few feet down the hallway, our small hand reaches out and up for the handle but before we can reach it, the door handle turns into a snake and coils itself around my wrist. I start to scream and pull at the snake, but it only tightens its grip on me.

The door handle then reappears and starts to slowly turn, the sounds of screams and the fire receding as silence fills my ears. I watch in horror as the door handle slowly turns and the door opens.

“Lyra…” A voice comes from the room, one that is not the female voice from earlier yet feels just as familiar. “My darling Lyra…”

The snake on my wrist disappears and I find myself and the younger me calming down, both of us taking a step towards the now slightly opened door. But, before we can push it fully open, a hot wind blows out of the room, followed by a single word…

“RUN!” The sound is guttural and fills me with terror as the voice sounds somewhere between human and animal. It was also a male voice instead of the female voice that we had been following.

I watch as my younger body moves of its own accord, as if following the command of ‘run’. Just as we reach the front door, the door swings open and I am blinded by the light…

Light fills my vision and I feel like I am floating…

Suddenly pain fills every inch of me, my body feels like it is being pumped with acid and my mouth opens into a silent scream. My vision is just white; nothing is below me and my heart beats so fast I worry that I am about to die…

Suddenly, everything returns to normal and I bolt upright in the bed, a strangle cry leaves my mouth as I take in a deep breath. My hand flies to my chest, and my heart really is beating so fast but thankfully it is calming down.

For a few seconds I am disorientated, looking around the room confused before the memories of last night come rushing back and I realise that I am in a room within the Silas’ estate.

"Breathe, Lyra. You’re safe."

The voice didn't come from the dream. It comes from near the window. I turn my head slowly, scared of what I might see but I am surprised to see Silas sitting on the chair under the window, he is looking at me with concern etched into his face.

"How long have you been there?" I choke out, my voice raw and trembling.

"Long enough to know that your past is louder than you pretend it is," he says quietly.

He doesn’t not move towards me, but his gaze feels heavy as his eyes stay glued to my face. I the glow of the moonlight, he looks regal sitting in the chair and for a few seconds my breath is taken away.

“You were calling for someone, sounded like you were also running. Your pulse was visible from across the room and the terror in your cries was exceptionally loud.” Silas growls, an emotion coming from him that surprises me. It seems that he is… angry.

“It was a nightmare,” I reply quietly, wiping the cold sweat from my forehead with a shaking hand. “But why are you here? The door was locked; how did you get in?”

“I own every room within this place. I can come and go as I please.” He counters, his voice a low and dangerous growl.

I simply nod my head in response, not really wanting to talk right now. The nightmare has shaken me up, the feeling that it was not simply a nightmare but rather something I had experienced in the past making me confused.

Silas stands up, the movement fluid and fast as he steps forward and sits on the edge of the bed closest to me. Logically, I should pull away but for some reason my mind clears itself and a feeling of safe starts to fill me.

“Tell me more about yourself and the nightmare. All the file says is ‘adopted’. It says that you were discovered by the people who adopted you, they saw you roaming the streets covered in ash and soot, mumbling incoherently at the age of seven.”

Seven? Like in the dream.

“I don’t remember,” I reply honestly. “Everything before the age of eight or nine is blank. I have no memories; it is as if my past was wiped from my mind for some reason.”

Silas nods his head slowly; he reaches out and rests his hand on my cheek. I subconsciously lean into his hand, my eyes closing as the warmth of his hand fills me with a calm sensation.

“There is something someone or you are hiding in you memories, probably to protect you from a brutal truth. Maybe it is something that you want to discover or maybe it is something that is best left buried. Either way, you are safe here Lyra. You always will be.”

I feel like the words from Silas should sound creepy, yet I find them comforting. As if I may have finally found a home, even if it is just for the night.

All of a sudden, I feel a tear slip from my eye. Then, without warning, tears flood from my eyes, and I start to ugly cry. My body shaking as the cries wrack my body.

Silas just holds me, rubbing my back as I let out all of my emotions from the recent nightmares and from a past that I do not remember.

I do not know how long we stay like that, Silas soothing me as I break down but soon my cries taper out and my body starts to feel sluggish and heavy.

"Sleep," he whispers, his voice a command that my body obeys. “I will stay here with you until you fall asleep. You will be safe.” He whispers.

I don’t fight the sleepiness, instead I welcome it as it consumes me. As I drift back off to sleep, I feel Silas pull the duvet up around my shoulders and his hand run through my hair. I smile at the touches, feeling like a child for the first time in a long time as I finally drift back to sleep and this time to a dreamless rest.

When I wake again, the room is grey with the first light of the morning. The chair is empty. Silas is gone. But on the pillow next to me lays a single, dried jasmine flower.