Moonlight forgotten

Episode 6

Hands of Kindness

*Liana tends to his injuries. **

"Please don't move."

Even though she said softly, the way she said it stopped my heart. She held me down with gentle pressure from her hands on my chest, not with force but with tenderness.

The tiny wooden hut's ceiling whirled above me as I blinked. My side ached. I had a heavy head. The blankets held on to my perspiration.

"Where am I?" I muttered.

"You're safe," she said in a whisper. "All I have to do is wipe your wounds."

I gave her a look. She had her cheeks flushed and her long brown hair pinned back. Kneeling next to the bed, she dipped a fresh cloth in a bowl of hot water. She wrung it out with trembling fingers, but her eyes remained steady, as if she knew what she was doing—or was making a concerted effort to appear so.

When I attempted to sit up, a searing ache shot through my ribs. With a gasp, I fell back.

"Don't," she hurriedly murmured, putting down the bowl.You have a major cut on your back and at least two shattered ribs. When you fell, you were fortunate that the tree did not crush you.

"Tree?" I made an effort to recall. "I can't recall... anything."

Her hands hesitated.

"I understand," she muttered. "That's what you've been saying ever since I met you."

Carefully reaching behind me, she lifted my arm to wipe the cut. I winced at the sting of the cloth. "Sorry," she muttered, biting her lip.

However, I didn't back down. I let her cleanse my skin of the dried blood and grime. Despite being little and delicate, her hands no longer trembled. They took their time and were cautious. Good hands. Soft hands.

"What's your name?" I inquired.

"Liana."

My tongue felt familiar, but I was unable to identify it. I closed my eyes and mentally repeated her name. *Liana.*

"Many thanks, Liana."

She hesitated. Her hand on my shoulder froze. She shook her head and smiled softly, which surprised me because I thought she might cry.

"I don't need your gratitude. You're still here. That's what counts.

I attempted to smile as well, but my side hurt once more. I suppressed the discomfort.

She held a wooden cup of water for me. It had a crisp, cold flavor. After that, she gave me a tiny slice of bread. As she put a bandage around my ribs, I chewed gently.

The scent of firewood and herbs filled the room. There was a little wooden chair next to the bed, a fire roaring by the entrance, and dried plants hanging over the window.

"How much time have I spent here?" I inquired.

She stated, "Five days." "For two of them, you had a fever."

That clarified the dense haze in my mind. Nevertheless, I managed to recall her voice despite the fog. It calmed me throughout the gloomy evenings.

"You remained here with me?" I inquired.

She no longer tied the bandage with her fingers. "Yes."

"Why?"

She took a while to respond. She spoke in a softer tone. "Because I had to."

It wasn't simply the shattered ribs that made my chest feel constricted after hearing that response.

Next, she washed my arms' cuts. Already, some were scabbing. She dabbed them with a sharp-smelling substance, perhaps crushed herbs, and her touch was delicate.

As she changed clothes, she remarked, "You're lucky." "You would have if that branch had dropped one inch lower."

She left the sentence hanging. Rather, she gave me another look. "I believed I had lost you."

She sounded as though she was hoping to overcome suffering.

I said, "You give the impression that you knew me before the accident."

She averted her gaze. "Perhaps I did."

My heart skipped a beat.

"Do you?" I inquired.

She didn't respond.

She hurried to her feet and walked across the room while feigning to stir the pot over the heat. I observed her. Despite having a straight back, I could tell she was fighting back tears.

I said, "I don't recall anything." Not my name. Not in my hometown. Nothing.

"I understand."

"The only thing that feels... real is you."

I said the words before I had a chance to consider them. I thought she would turn away once more. However, she turned around and went back to me.

"Then I'll be real for you," she said as she sat next to me on the floor.

And my chest didn't feel so heavy for the first time in days.

---

I was sweating when I woke up that night. My heart was racing. Once more, the same dream.

A gleam of silver.

A shout.

A girl yelled my name.

However, I was unaware of the name.

I sat up too quickly. My side ached. I let out a groan.

Liana came running to me, her worried eyes wide. "An additional dream?"

I gave a nod. I don't recall her face. Just the scream.

Her mouth quivered. She adjusted the blanket and helped me lie back down.

I remarked, "I noticed a silver necklace." "It seemed significant."

She gasped.

"What?" I inquired.

"No, not quite yet."

However, it would. I sensed it.

I looked over at her. "Have I got a family?"

"Yes," she murmured quietly. "However, it's preferable if your memories return naturally."

That was nonsensical. Why didn't she tell me directly?

"Why do you conceal the truth?" Sharper than I intended, I asked.

She winced. "I'm not."

"So, who am I in reality?"

She got up. I—I have to go check the herbs out there. I will return.

"Liana—"

However, she had already left.

---

Staring at the ceiling, I laid there.

What made me think I knew her? As if I had previously touched her hands. As if her voice had once meant the world to me.

Why didn't she tell me directly?

Something inside of me said: *Because it would give you pain.*

---

I ignored the agony and was able to sit up again later that night. I had to relocate. I needed to know more.

I hobbled over to the shelf after grabbing the walking stick by the bed. Despite the pain in my side, I grabbed the wooden box.

Something else was inside.

Slowly, I took it out.

A letter, folded.

I took it open.

There was smudging and a jumble in the handwriting.

> *You are alive if you are reading this. However, you don't recall me. You've forgotten about us. I apologize. They would have killed you again if I hadn't forced you to forget. Please pardon me. I took the necessary actions to protect you. — L.*

I went back and read it.

And once more.

Killed me once more?

What was meant by that?

With the letter trembling in my hands, I staggered back.

Had I passed away?

No. That was not feasible. Was it?

I require clarification.

Liana was the only one with them.

---

The door opened with a squeak.

I whimpered and turned fast.

Liana was not alone herself as she stood in the doorway.

An elderly man with bright yellow eyes and a scar across his nose appeared behind her.

He sniffed the air as he carefully entered.

He fixed me with his gaze.

"Kael," he murmured in a gravelly voice.

I went cold. "What was the name you gave me?"

Liana moved ahead of him. Please, Elder Varek. He isn't prepared.

Varek shoved her. The fire should have killed him. He had left. But he's back now? It's not natural.

Liana said, raising her voice, "Get out."

Varek, however, did not move. He gave me another look. He twisted his mouth in distaste.

“Death will follow your return.”

"What do you mean?" With my heart pounding, I inquired.

He looked at Liana.

"You told him nothing, did you?" he snarled. "You didn't be honest with him."

Liana's face went white.

"Tell me what?" I insisted.

Varek had bright eyes.

Inform him that he is the son of the Alpha. Inform him of his betrayal. Girl, tell him who you truly are.

Liana remained silent.

Slowly, she turned. And caught my eyes directly.

She muttered, "I'm the reason you lost everything."

The room whirled.

"What?"

She inhaled nervously.

" I caused you to forget. I took your memories in order to save your life.

I gazed at her. My chest constricted. "You... what?"

Liana took a step forward, her eyes glimmering. " I didn't wish to. There was nothing I could do.

"You caused me to lose my identity." My voice broke.

She clinched her fists at her sides and nodded slowly. "Kael, you are dying. They would have discovered you. To ensure that your smell, bond, or wolf could not track you, the only way to keep you safe was to erase your memory.

"My wolf?" Strangely, the words reverberated in my ears.

Elder Varek gave a sour laugh. He's not even aware. Pathetic.

"What's happening?" I lost my temper. "My wolf," what do you mean? What is this?

Liana appeared conflicted. She opened her mouth, but nothing came out.

"Speak to him," Varek growled. Inform the boy of your true identity. His true nature.

She trembled when she spoke. " Kael, you're not human. You are a shifter of wolves. You're... the Alpha of the Moonfall Pack was going to be you.

The room swayed. I gripped the wall for support.

"I don't get it," I said.

"They betrayed you," she added. Someone attacked the night of your claiming ceremony, which was the time the pack was going to designate you Alpha. You were flung off the cliff into the river and burned. They believed you to be deceased. I located you and concealed you here.

In my ears, my heart thumped. "Why didn't you inform me earlier?"

"Because you would have returned," she muttered. "And they really would have killed you."

Varek spoke softly. The right to know is his. The pack is disintegrating. The Betas have taken control. Rogues are free to roam. Additionally, if they discover that the real heir is still alive...

Liana gave a headshake. "I kept him hidden for that reason."

Varek looked over at me. Your wolf remembers, even if you don't. You have him trapped inside of you. feeble. confined by the enchantment she used.

I gave her a look. "Is that accurate?"

Slowly, she nodded. "I cast the magic of the moonroot. It conceals both your memories and your wolf.

"You enchanted me?" I didn't want to sound that sharp.

Her voice broke as she said, "I saved you." "And ever since, I've lived in constant fear."

With my heart pounding, I retreated while holding onto the letter.

"I need to breathe."

"Kael, hold on—"

However, I had already left, hobbling into the chilly night. I didn't care that the wind was biting my skin. I required room. Truth was what I needed.

Breathing heavily, I staggered past the clearing's edge and through the trees.

Her words seemed too big, too impossible.

A wolf shifter?

Alpha?

A spell?

After then, I heard it.

There was a low snarl behind me.

I pivoted.

Too low to the earth to be human, eyes sparkled in the darkness.

Out of the darkness came a growl.

Then another.

And yet another.

With my heart pounding, I took a hesitant step back.

Between the trees, shapes shifted. eyes that shine. angular teeth.

Wolves.

However, these were not your typical wolves.

They were larger.

quicker.

meaner.

Rogues.

With a snarl deep in its throat, one of them moved forward.

Then it *spoke* in a harsh, human-sounding voice.

"Alpha Kael, we have been searching for you."

I gasped.

They lunged before I could get away.