Chapter 4: Shattered Illusions
1381 Words
The arrow missed Sage's head by inches.
Instinct took over. I grabbed her waist and yanked her behind me, my body becoming a shield between her and whoever was trying to kill us. Another arrow whistled past, this one so close I felt the air move against my cheek.
"Run!" I shouted, but Sage was already moving, pulling me toward the tree line.
We crashed into the forest, branches whipping at our faces. Behind us, I heard footsteps. Multiple attackers, at least four from the sound of it. They were fast, trained, closing the distance with predatory efficiency.
My wolf surged forward, demanding I shift and fight. But something stopped me. That pull in my chest, the one that flared whenever I got near Sage, was screaming at me to protect her above everything else.
"This way," Sage gasped, veering left toward a rocky outcrop.
I followed without question, which should have concerned me. I was an Alpha King. I didn't follow anyone but with her, it felt natural. Right.
We ducked behind the rocks just as another arrow shattered against stone where my head had been.
"They're using wolfsbane-tipped arrows," Sage said, breathing hard. Her violet eyes glowed in the darkness. "One hit and we're paralyzed."
"How many?" I asked, already counting heartbeats in the distance. Four, like I'd thought. "Who sent them?"
"Same people who've been trying to kill you for the past month, I'd guess." She pulled a knife from her boot. "The ones who don't want you remembering what you forgot."
The ones Lyanna had been working with. The pieces were falling into place now, forming a picture I didn't want to see.
An attacker burst through the trees. I didn't hesitate. I shifted partially, just enough to extend claws, and caught him by the throat. He went down hard, unconscious before he hit the ground.
"Behind you!" Sage shouted.
I spun, but she was already moving. Her hand shot out and grabbed the second attacker's face. The man's eyes went wide, then blank. He collapsed like a puppet with cut strings.
"What did you do to him?" I demanded.
"Took his most recent memories. He won't remember the last hour, including who sent him." She wiped blood from her lip. "We need to move. The other two are circling."
We ran deeper into the forest. My mind raced as fast as my feet. That pull in my chest was stronger now, almost painful and watching Sage fight, watching her move with lethal grace, triggered something. A flash of memory that shouldn't exist.
Her, younger, laughing as we sparred in a clearing. Me, catching her around the waist.
Her turning in my arms, rising on her toes to kiss me.
I stumbled, the memory vanishing as quickly as it came.
"Kieran!" Sage caught my arm. "What's wrong?"
"I remembered something," I said. "You and me. We were sparring, and then..." I trailed off, seeing her face go pale. "It was real, wasn't it? We knew each other. We were..."
"Not now," she said urgently. "We need to survive first, talk later."
But I grabbed her wrist, holding her in place. "No. Tell me now. What were we to each other three years ago?"
Her eyes met mine, and I saw pain there. Deep, bone-aching pain that made my chest tighten.
"We were everything," she whispered. "And then we were nothing."
An arrow slammed into the tree next to us, ending the conversation.
We ran again, but my mind wouldn't let it go. Everything. We'd been everything. That meant...
The pull in my chest. The way looking at her made me feel complete and hollow at the same time. The memory of her at my mating ceremony, heartbroken.
"You're my mate," I said, the words coming out before I could stop them.
Sage stumbled but kept running. "Were. Past tense."
"What happened? Did I..." The sick feeling in my stomach grew worse. "Did I reject you?"
She didn't answer, which was answer enough.
Rage flooded through me. Not at her, but at myself. At the version of me who'd looked at this woman, this incredible, fierce woman, and chosen to throw her away.
"Why?" I demanded. "Why would I do that?"
"Because I wasn't good enough," Sage said, her voice breaking. "Because my abilities made me an abomination. Because Lyanna was the better political choice."
I wanted to stop running. I wanted to grab her and make her look at me, make her see that whoever I'd been three years ago was an i***t but the attackers were still behind us, and now I could hear more coming from ahead.
We were being herded.
"Trap," I said, pulling Sage to a stop. "They're driving us somewhere."
She nodded, scanning the darkness. "The ravine. They're pushing us toward the ravine."
Smart. Back us against a cliff edge, leave us nowhere to run. I'd used the same tactic in battle countless times.
"Can you take their memories?" I asked. "All of them at once?"
"Not without touching them. And there are too many now. Six, maybe seven." Her hand found mine, and the contact sent that pull blazing through both of us. "But there's another way."
"What way?"
"The bond between us, it's damaged but not dead. If we both focus on it, we might be able to use it to amplify my abilities." She looked up at me. "But it'll hurt and you'll remember things. Things you might not want to know."
I squeezed her hand. "Do it."
The attackers burst through the trees, surrounding us. I recognized two of them, wolves from smaller packs who'd sworn loyalty to me months ago. Traitors.
"Alpha King," one of them said, drawing a sword. "Nothing personal. Just business."
"Whose business?" I demanded. "Who paid you to kill me?"
He smiled. "Someone who'll reward us well for finishing what should've been done three years ago. Someone who doesn't want you remembering the mate you rejected."
Sage's hand tightened on mine. Power surged between us, and suddenly I was drowning in memories.
Her face, younger, smiling up at me. "I love you, Kieran Vale. Even with your terrible morning breath."
My voice, promising her. "I'll choose you. Always you."
The clearing behind the packhouse. Her begging me not to do it. Me saying the words anyway. "I reject you, Sage Thornwood."
Her collapsing. Me reaching for her. Her grabbing my wrist, and then... nothing.
Emptiness where memories should be.
The memories slammed into me with the force of an avalanche. I staggered, gasping, as three years of stolen moments returned all at once. Every kiss. Every promise. Every time I'd told her she was my world.
And then the rejection. The way I'd looked at her like she was nothing. The way I'd chosen duty over her.
"No," I whispered. "No, I didn't... I couldn't have..."
But I had. I'd destroyed her. Destroyed us.
The power between us exploded outward.
Every attacker within twenty feet dropped, their eyes rolling back as Sage ripped their recent memories away.
Silence fell, broken only by our ragged breathing.
I turned to Sage, and she was crying. Not sobbing, just silent tears streaming down her face as she looked at me.
"You remember now," she said softly. "All of it."
"I'm so sorry," I choked out. "Sage, I'm so…."
"Don't." She pulled her hand from mine, and the loss of contact felt like dying. "You don't get to apologize. Not yet. Maybe not ever."
"I was wrong. I was a coward and I…."
"You need to deal with Lyanna first," she interrupted. "She's been in your head, manipulating you. She orchestrated all of this."
She was right. Lyanna. My supposed mate. The woman who'd been lying to me for three years but all I wanted was to pull Sage into my arms and never let go.
"After," I said. "After I deal with Lyanna, we
talk. Really talk."
Sage looked at me with those violet eyes. "There might not be anything left to talk about."
Then she walked away, disappearing into the forest, leaving me standing among unconscious attackers wit
h a head full of returned memories and a heart full of regret.
I'd found my missing piece and I'd been the one who'd thrown it away.
- Writer
