Episode 4
1101 Words
**A New Name **
The long, deep, and powerful wail reverberated.
Beside me, Kael froze.
"It was me," he muttered.
I knew it wasn't, though.
Though strange, it sounded *like* him. Sharper. More hungry.
I took hold of his arm. "We must relocate. Right now.
We followed instinct rather than a trail as we rushed through the woods, staying close to the darkness. I remained silent. He didn't either. The cry didn't seem as loud as the quiet between us.
Kael had his hands on his knees and was having trouble breathing when we eventually stopped.
"Lia," he whispered in a strained voice, "what's happening?"
I gave him a look. "I believe your voice belongs to someone."
His gaze expanded. "What even does that mean?"
"I'm not sure yet." After a moment, I said, "But it's not good."
He lowered his gaze to his hands. "Is there a twin of mine?"
"No," I blurted out. "You were born by yourself."
"That's what I was told, anyway."
I blinked. "What do you mean, wait?"
He took a seat on a downed tree. I used to ask inquiries when I was younger. regarding my family. I was born. Gaps were there. things that were illogical.
I knelt next to him. "Tell me."
He gave his temples a rub. Because I banged my head in the crash, I always assumed I was forgetting stuff. However, what if some of the holes existed earlier?
I sat back, trying to think. "I heard the girl mention a curse."
Kael gave a nod. "And regarding a decision."
Again, there was silence. The forest seemed to be listening, tense.
"I think someone intentionally did this to me," he answered softly.
He trembled a little.
"My memories were stolen by them. My name. My voice. Perhaps even my face.
I was chilly all over. "And they're utilizing it now."
"To what end?" he inquired.
I didn't respond.
I already knew because I was afraid.
The only goal of whoever—or *whatever*—was posing as him was to take his place.
Kael gave me a look. "Does he have *your* voice too, if there is another version of me out there?"
I blinked. "What?"
He bent over. "Is *you* someone he knows? Could he deceive you?
"Nobody could," I murmured. "I would recognize you anywhere."
I still shivered, though.
since I had previously believed he was dead.
And if someone else had approached me at that time with his face on...
Would I have accepted it?
Kael jolted me out of my reverie with the words, "Lia, I need to know something."
I gave a nod. "Anything."
I didn't even have a name when I woke up. I was given the name Ash by the doctor. claimed that it fit me. claimed that I appeared to have torched everything in my wake.
My chest hurt.
"At first, I detested it," he added. However, I believe I want to keep it now.
Startled, I looked up.
"I'm no longer Kael," he muttered. "Not quite. I wish to recall my past self. I want to select who I become, though. And that moniker serves as a reminder that I made it through.
My lips formed a smile. "Then hold onto it."
"Ash," he said again, as if he were trying it out. "Ash Wilder."
I arched an eyebrow. "Where did that originate?"
"I'm not sure," he said. "It feels just right."
I gave a nod. That's who you are, then. Your past was Kael. You can choose ash.
He squared his shoulders and rose taller.
"Then let's discover who attempted to remove me."
I saw the spark of the real Alpha glowing behind his eyes at that same instant.
It was there, even though he might not recall it yet.
At that moment, a crow screeched as it soared overhead.
Ash's head c****d. "There will be something."
Both of us turned.
Steps.
Two of them.
Taking hold of his hand, I dragged him behind a tree.
The two black-cloaked individuals emerged from the left. Do not pack. Not a rogue. Another stuff.
I gestured for quiet.
As if tracking, they scanned the ground as they made their way toward the Moon Circle.
Ash looked into my eyes.
They're hunting.
He gave it a mouthful. I gave a nod.
One of them then came to a halt.
His fingers brushed the grass as he knelt down.
"New shift markings," he remarked. "The blood of the Alpha is nigh."
I gasped.
Ash's hold on me became more firm.
The other person came forward. "He must enter before the impersonator does."
My heart froze.
*Imitate.*
Therefore, that was accurate.
Another Kael was present.
“What is a mimic?” asked Ash in a whisper.
"I was barely breathing. "A shifter who lacks a real shape." They take other people. Faces. Voices. even recollections.
Ash's jaw dropped. "So it *is* me."
"No," I blurted out. "It is taking advantage of you."
The two strangers in cloaks turned abruptly.
I went cold.
However, they ignored us.
One took a whiff of the air. "They moved north."
Then they disappeared into the trees as quickly as they had appeared.
For a full minute, we remained motionless.
"They're not packed," Ash muttered at last.
"No," I concurred. "They're worse than that."
"Now what do we do?"
I turned my gaze to the moon. Nearly full. Nearly crimson.
I said, "We found the girl again." "She has some knowledge."
Ash gave a nod.
Silently, we made our way farther into the forest, heading toward the brook that used to delineate the Silverback pack's territory.
Ash stopped as we crossed the rocks.
"Lia."
I pivoted.
Something stuck in a tree's branches caught his attention.
Silk, red, torn ribbon.
He extended his arm and dragged it down.
Then he stopped.
"What is it?" I inquired.
With his hand, he turned it.
There was a name on the ribbon, in little silver letters.
Ash Wilder
I gazed. "But you simply choose that name."
"I did," he declared. "Just now."
"How is this here, then?"
His eyes were wide as he gazed at me. "What if it wasn't my choice?"
I took a deep breath.
"What if I had it planted in me?"
All around us, the woods murmured. The temperature dropped.
Then—
The earth *shook* under our feet.
Enough to shake the trees, but not too severely.
A thing appeared from behind the bushes.
Half-wolf.
Half-human.
and donning the *exact* face of Ash.
---Ash encounters a mimic—a perfect replica of himself, breathing, walking, and observing from the shadows.
- Writer
