Safe
1356 Words
Everything is white.
The first sensation I register is light. Blinding, unforgiving light.
Then comes pain.
I fell dull throb pulsing behind my eyes, sharp aches in my limbs, and soreness my ribs.
I blink slowly as the world comes into focus in fragments—a ceiling painted in a soft cream hue, a chandelier swaying gently, the subtle scent of something clean and masculine surrounding me.
Where am I?
Panic stirs in my chest. I try to sit up, but my body screams in protest. Pain shoots up my spine, forcing me to fall back in bed.
"Easy." I freeze.
The voice is deep, smooth, commanding. Not threatening—but powerful. I slowly turn my head in its direction.
A man sits by the side of the bed. Broad-shouldered. Muscular. His dark hair is tousled, and his sharp jawline is relaxed and a smile splays across his full lips. His green eyes, as green as fresh leaves, lock onto mine with a strange intensity that makes my heart skip.
I should know him.
But I don't.
"Who..." My voice cracks, dry as sandpaper. I swallow hard and try again. "Who are you?"
The man's expression shifts and for a second, he looks like I've stabbed him. But his expression changes back to neutral.
He rises to his feet slowly like a predator trying not to spook injured prey. "You're safe," he says, not answering my question. "No one's going to hurt you here."
I furrow my brows. That doesn't answer anything.
"What happened to me?"
He sits again, this time closer. There's a basin of water and a folded towel on the side table. Gently, he dips the towel in and begins to dab my forehead. His touch is unexpectedly gentle for someone who looks like he could crush stone with his hands.
"You fainted on my doorstep last night," he says. "You were bruised, bloody, half-starved. I don't know how you got here, or who hurt you... but I swear, you're not going back to wherever you came from."
Wherever I came from.
I shut my eyes tightly, searching my mind for something—a name, a memory, a face. But it's like staring into a void. Blank. Empty. Cold.
"I don't remember."
His hands freeze. "Anything?"
I shake my head, and it takes more effort than it should.
"My name, my family, how I got here... it's all gone."
He doesn't speak for a while. I open my eyes again and glance at him. He's watching me with an unreadable expression.
"Do you know who you are?" I ask.
A soft huff escapes him, not quite a laugh. "Yeah. I know who I am."
I wait, but he doesn't elaborate. Just when I open my mouth to press further, he says, "My name is Jarek Thornfield. I'm the Alpha of Blackthorn Pack."
Alpha?
That word strikes something deep inside me, but I can't seem to put a name to it.
"Alpha," I repeat slowly, the word tasting familiar and foreign all at once. "Is that like... a leader?"
Jarek nods once. "The leader of a pack. A group of werewolves."
Werewolves.
Another jolt. My heartbeat picks up, and I realize something strange: his words don’t feel strange. They feel right. Logical, even.
"Am I one too?"
"Yes." He says it without hesitation. "But... there's something wrong."
I lift my gaze to him.
"Your wolf isn't healing you. Not like it should. It's like she's... distant. Silent."
Wolf. Healing. Goddess, this all feels like a dream laced with madness. But even as my logical brain tries to protest, I feel the truth of it in my bones.
Jarek leans closer. His scent surrounds me—earthy, clean, and something uniquely him. It's comforting. Safe.
"You're not alone anymore," he says softly. "Whatever happened to you, whatever you're running from... I'm here now. You're not going through this by yourself."
Tears prick my eyes as I feel the truth in every word of his.
"Why are you doing this?" I whisper. "You don't even know me."
He meets my gaze, unwavering. "You're my mate."
The air leaves my lungs.
Mate.
The word rattles in my chest. I don't understand it completely, but the way he says it—with reverence, with conviction—sends a shiver down my spine.
"We were chosen for each other," he explains, his voice quieter now, almost reverent. "By the Moon Goddess. It doesn't matter if you remember or not. I know who you are to me."
I stare at him.
I should be scared.
But I'm not.
His presence is grounding. Even when the pain pulls at me, even when confusion clouds everything, something inside me recognizes him.
"I'm sorry," I say. "I wish I could remember."
"You will," he says with certainty. "And until then, I'm not going anywhere."
A knock comes from the door.
Jarek stands instantly, his whole body shifting from calm to alert in an instant. He goes to the door and speaks in low tones. A woman enters—tall, with kind eyes and silver-streaked hair pulled into a bun.
"Luna," she says bowing and the word makes my heart skip again, "I'm Dr. Bianca. I'm going to do a full check-up on you... if that's okay by you." She smiles softly st me. Her brown eyes full of warmth.
She doesn't seem much older than I am too.
It takes my a second to realize she was asking something of me. "Oh, yes you can. Sure." I say as the words tumble from my lips.
Her smile widens as she moves closer to me. "You gave us quite a scare."
Jarek stays by the door but doesn’t leave. His eyes stay on me like I might vanish any moment.
Bianca begins examining me, and I let her, even though everything inside me feels raw. She murmurs comforting things, her hands skilled and professional. She confirms the bruises, the shallow cuts, the exhaustion.
"Malnourished," she says softly. "You haven't been fed well in weeks, maybe months. But you’re strong. We'll get you back to full health. I'll come back to check up on you later on, okay?"
I nod and smile at her. She stands to leave and just before she does, she turns to look at me.
"We've longed to have you in our midst, Luna and I want to be the first to welcome you. You can call me Bianca and I'd love it if we can be friends. You don't have to answer now. Give me an answer when I come back later, okay?" She doesn't wait for an answer as she bounces out of the room with excitement causing me to giggle.
When she leaves the room to prepare something, Jarek returns to my side.
"Bianca can be something at times, but she's good. She means well." He says.
"I'd love to be her friend and get to know her too." I mean what I say.
She seems fun and she seems like the person to bind with.
Jarek smiles at that. "I'm okay with that. But for now, you need rest." he says, brushing a strand of hair away from my forehead, causing shiver to run down my spine as his finger connects with my skin. "You're safe here."
I want to believe him. I do believe him.
Even without memories, even without a name of my own, I know one thing with absolute certainty, Jarek Thornfield will protect me.
So I lie back on the bed and let sleep take me.
********
Far off in the woods, bodies lay spiraled and disintegrated. All except one.
Cassian jolts awake with a gasp as his eyes shine bright. Every vein in his body is lit.
Hee checks his body for injuries and sees none but an itch on his face. He touches it and winces in pain. Then he feels it slowly and realizes his face is burnt by moonfire. The only thing that saved him from being completely burnt being the blood of Celestine which he'd taken.
"CELESTINE!" He screams in rage as the woods shake from his fury.
- Writer
