Moonlight forgotten

CHAPTER 9

The Necklace

There was quiet in the air. Kael's body shook—not from the cold, but from the vision that had just passed in front of his eyes—a girl with blood on her clothing, terrified eyes, and a voice filled with pain crying his name. He sat up startled, her scream still echoing in his ears.

Liana was instantly at his side, her hands resting on his shoulders as her worried eyes widened. " Kael? Are you alright?

He tried to make sense of the fading dream as he gazed at her and blinked. It was more than a dream. It was authentic. It seemed more like *a memory* than anything else. He remained silent out of fear that if he attempted to explain it, the moment would pass.

With a raspy voice, he eventually answered, "I saw someone." A female. She was referring to me as Kael.

The name made Liana shudder just a little.

He saw.

His tone was harder than he meant when he replied, "You *know* something."

"I—" Liana began, but suddenly stopped. She turned her head away. "You need to sleep."

Kael shook his head and stood. " No. I need answers.

She sighed after hesitating. She whispered, "There's a location behind the hut." I haven't opened a trunk in a long time. Perhaps the moment has come.

Kael followed her silently out of the cottage and into the dark woods behind it. Except for the crunch of the ice underfoot, the night was still. When they arrived to an ancient shed, time and ivy had almost engulfed it. Moving over spiderwebs, Liana entered and discovered a wooden trunk in the corner.

"My family owned it," she said. "Prior to everything changing."

She pulled it out with Kael's assistance. She opened it, and the wood creaked. There were ancient leather journals, a rusty knife, and folded blankets within. as well as a velvet purse.

Before he could think, his hand moved. He froze after opening the packet.

A silver necklace was within. Despite the old chain, the pendant pulsed with a *familiar* feeling. He brought it up to his nose.

His aroma.

His inner beast rumbled fiercely. He *belonged* to the necklace.

"Where did you acquire this?" he said in a low, menacing voice.

"I discovered it after the collision. Liana's voice was strained as she added, "Near the river." "I was unsure whether you would recall it."

In his hands, Kael flipped the pendant over. The back had an etching on it. The term **Lyra** is all that.

That name. Like a key turning in a rusted-shut lock, it twisted something within his chest.

"I have seen her," he said. "In my dreams."

Liana's face became white.

With the jewelry still in his grasp, Kael moved away from the trunk. The icy metal scorched his flesh.

A snarl suddenly reverberated across the woods.

Both of them froze.

"Have you heard that?" he inquired.

Liana nodded while glancing around the shadowy forest. "We don't have it."

Kael changed his position, alert, and slipped the necklace into his pocket. Once again, the roar grew closer and deeper. Then, in the darkness, a flash of red eyes blinked.

Liana took hold of his arm. "Leap."

But Kael remained still. Sensing danger and identifying something old, something off, his inner wolf arose.

The enormous, growling red-eyed wolf with fur as black as the nothingness came into view. Kael *knew* that this monster had something to do with his forgotten memories as their eyes met.

Then it lunged without notice.

Pushing Liana behind him, Kael prepared for the hit.

*A dazzling silver light burst from the necklace around Kael's neck as he ducked the red-eyed wolf's first blow. The beast let out a burnt howl and stopped in mid-lunge. Kael was not alone in that woodland the night of the accident, and that new recollection broke his psyche in that frozen moment. Beside him, someone was jogging.

*A silver-haired girl. Additionally, she was yelling one name—*

"Save Liana, Kael!"

The light dimmed. The wolf disappeared into the woods.

The name echoed in Kael's mind as he remained dumbfounded.

*How was Liana's name known to the girl in his memory?

The cold silver of the necklace pulsed with an inexplicable warmth as I brushed it between my fingers. It held on to my aroma, faint yet distinct. Beneath my skin, my wolf was awake and restless. It was more than a trinket. I owned this. from a life I was unable to recall.

With my words stuck in my throat, I gazed at Liana. "Where was this found?"

With her hands tightly pressed against her chest, she paused. "You owned it. Prior to

"What came before?" She didn't retreat as I moved closer. However, she turned her attention to the fire, which was faintly flickering in the cabin's corner.

She said, "Before everything changed." "Prior to the fall. prior to the collision. Kael, you always wore it.

I was still not comfortable with the name she gave me. My chest hurt, however, because of the way she said it.

"What prevented you from showing me this earlier?" I inquired.

Her voice broke as she added, "I was terrified." "I'm afraid the anguish will return."

Anguish? I pondered if the anguish she dreaded was mine or hers, given the way her eyes gleamed with unshed tears.

I clenched the necklace in my hand. It felt like a key in terms of weight. It has a homey scent. However, I have no idea where it is.

"You'll remember," she said. "The link is something that never really breaks."

I gave her a blink. "Bond?"

When she realized what she had said too late, she winced. Her words were not as loud as her silence.

I averted my gaze, my mind racing. The jewelry was more than a hint. It was a tether, maybe to her, but perhaps to a lost history.

I had trouble sleeping that night. Softly gleaming in the moonlight that leaked through the roof's gaps, the necklace lay on the table next to me.

Behind my eyelids, I saw flashes of silver fur, a pitch-black forest, and laughing resonating under a full moon. And always, a girl with eyes like rain from the forest and long brown hair. Her grin broke my heart.

I wanted to know whether it was you, Liana. However, I was too terrified of the response.

I got up in the wee hours of the morning, being cautious not to disturb her. I had to breathe. I needed time to reflect. The only area that seemed capable of containing my storm was the forest.

With the necklace securely around my neck, I ventured into the forest. Every stride was quiet, light, and spontaneous. This beat was familiar to my body. Instead of straining to transform, my inner wolf was merely observing.

I came to a halt at the foot of an ancient tree that, for some reason, seemed familiar. Something about the way its roots coiled into the ground like fingers caused my heart to race.

Buried there was something.

I knelt down and started digging with my hands. The ground shifted too readily, as if it had been shaken before. Only a few scoops later, my fingertips slammed into something solid: wood.

A container.

It was little, mossy and dirty, but not rotten. I opened it with shaky hands.

There were old, yellowed, and fragile folded papers inside. A second necklace, too. Not as silver as mine. This one was smaller and gold. The scent was of warm rain and wildflowers.

Liana.

I gently removed the papers. A letter was the first.

**“Just in case you forgot, Kael...” **

I gasped. Even though I couldn't identify the handwriting, it seemed familiar. The words were hazy because my eyesight was swimming.

Another flash: me speaking vows to a girl while holding her hand beneath the moon. Her fingers clasping mine as she slipped the silver necklace around my neck.

**She had replied, "I'll always find you." **

The words rang in my head.

Footsteps crunched behind me. I turned abruptly, heart thumping.

Liana stood there, pale and wide-eyed. "You discovered it," she exhaled.

"What is this?" With a tense voice, I asked. "What caused its burial?"

She glanced back at me after glancing at the package. "Because it hurt too much to be known publicly." The jewelry you gave me was that one.

My mind whirled. "This is what I gave you."

She gave me a nod and approached me gently. "Prior to your memory loss. prior to the collision. We were.

Her voice trailed off.

"Were what?" I walked up to her and asked.

At last, her voice wavered as she murmured, "Mates." "You picked me out. We choose one another.

The wind became stronger, howling through the woods. My wolf responded immediately, snarling deep inside my chest.

Another smell.

Not hers.

Not my.

I took hold of her arm. "We must relocate."

She knew, so she didn't ask why. Running side by side, we made our way back through the woods to the cottage. The fragrance of something *wrong* permeated the air as the wind got stronger. rotting fur. Blood. Fury.

The cabin appeared as we got closer to the clearing's edge, and it wasn't alone itself.

In front of it, a massive, black wolf sniffed the air. In the moonlight, its eyes flashed crimson.

Liana let out a gasp. "No, that isn't possible."

"Who is that?" I moved ahead of her and asked.

She didn't respond.

The wolf turned and met my gaze.

And I realized at that very moment—

It recognized me.

It desired my death.

With an angry growl, the red-eyed wolf attacked, but it didn't target Liana. I was holding the **box**. The instant it hit, the papers caught fire and I was flung backward by a surge of force. I fell hard to the ground, the smell of burning memories enveloping me as smoke filled my lungs. My inner wolf let out a cry, and then I heard a voice I had never heard before:

**"He's conscious. Before he recalls everything, kill the girl. **