A Kingdom Lost

Lidia had no choice

She was overwhelmed by fear and something else... There was more to this fearful place than just a supposed rogue camp.

That was the first thing she told herself as she stood frozen beneath the harsh glow of artificial light, her pulse still racing, her wolf still eerily silent

The man hadn’t moved closer.

That, somehow, made it worse.

“Someone who knows you don’t belong here.”

His words echoed in her mind, too precise, too knowing.

Lidia straightened, forcing strength into limbs that still felt foreign to her.

“I belong wherever I choose to be,” she said coldly.

The man’s lips twitched—not quite a smile.

“Right,” he said. “And you just chose to appear on the side of a highway in the middle of the night. Barefoot.”

Highway

Another unfamiliar word.

Lidia’s gaze flicked again to the roaring metal beasts speeding past them, her instincts recoiling each time one screamed by.

“What is this place?” she demanded.

Instead of answering immediately, he studied her—really studied her now .

Like someone trying to solve a puzzle. She asked where this place was, and he became suspicious.

"Route 66, of course, where else? America?" he said with a questioning frown.

“Okay,” he exhaled, running a hand through his hair. “Either you hit your head, you’re in serious trouble… or—”

His gaze sharpened.

“—you’re not crazy. Just… not from here.”

Lidia stilled.

Her instincts flared again, but weaker now, dulled without her wolf.

Danger.

But also—

Recognition.

“You felt it,” she said quietly. “Didn’t you?”

He didn’t answer.

“My name’s Ethan,” he said after a moment, lowering his hands slowly. “Ethan Hale.”

Lidia said nothing.

Names held power. She had been taught that from birth.

“You going to tell me yours?” he asked.

She hesitated.

Then, carefully:

“Lidia.”

Not her full name.

Not her lineage.

Not the truth that could bind her.

Ethan nodded, accepting it—for now.

“Option one,” he continued. “You stay out here, alone, with… whatever is clearly chasing you.” His eyes flicked briefly to the darkness behind her.

Lidia’s breath caught.

“You sensed it,” she said.

“I’m not blind.”

Option two hung unspoken.

Ethan tilted his head slightly.

“Or,” he said, quieter now, “you come with me. Warmth. Food. Time to figure out what the hell is going on.”

Lidia’s instincts warred violently.

Ethan’s home was small.

Too small for an Alpha’s daughter.

Lidia stepped inside cautiously, her senses overwhelmed by unfamiliar scents.

“You can sit,” Ethan said, gesturing to a worn couch.

“You always this trusting?” he asked dryly.

“I’m still deciding whether to kill you in your sleep.”

It hit her without warning.

Lidia staggered, gripping the edge of a table as pain lanced through her chest again—sharper this time, deeper.

“Hey—” Ethan was at her side instantly. “What’s wrong?”

“My wolf—” she gasped.

The words slipped out before she could stop them.

Ethan froze.

“…your what?”

She collapsed to her knees.

“I can’t feel her,” Lidia whispered, panic cracking through her voice. “She’s—she’s fading—”

Her vision blurred.

For a moment—

She wasn’t in the room anymore.

A man stood at its center, cloaked in shadow and power.

Silver eyes burned like the moon itself.

“You run from fate,” he said, his voice echoing inside her soul. “But fate does not forget you, Lidia.”

Her breath hitched.

She knew that voice.

Even though she had never truly heard it before.

“Who are you?” she demanded.

She already knew.

His gaze softened—just barely.

“Your Alpha,” he said.

“Your bond.”

“Your future.”

Kael.

Lidia gasped, her eyes snapping open.

Ethan was crouched in front of her, gripping her shoulders.

“Hey—hey, stay with me,” he said urgently. “What just happened?”

“He found me,” she whispered.

“Who?”

Lidia’s voice trembled—not with fear.

“The one I ran from.”

Ethan leaned back slightly, studying her.

“Alright,” he said slowly. “I think it’s time you start explaining things. Because ‘my wolf is fading’ and ‘the man from my visions found me’ is… not normal.”

“What year is it?” she asked suddenly.

Ethan blinked.

“…2026.”

The world tilted.

“No,” Lidia whispered.

That wasn’t possible.

Her heart began to race again.

“If this is 2026…” she said slowly, dread creeping in, “…then I didn’t just cross into another place.”

She looked at him, fear finally breaking through completely.

“I crossed into another time.”

Elsewhere… Beneath the Same Moon

Kael Draven stood at the edge of the ancient forest, his jaw tight, his silver eyes glowing faintly in the darkness.

The bond pulsed violently in his chest.

“She’s gone,” one of his warriors said.

Kael didn’t respond.

Because he could still feel her.

Not just far away.

Displaced.

His gaze lifted to the moon.

“