Chapter 2: Pieces of a Puzzle I Don’t Have
1290 Words
I sit up slowly and my body still aches from the cold. Every movement feels heavy like I’ve been trapped under a weight I can’t see. The air here is thick and the walls seem to press in and watch me as if they're alive. But the silence bothers me the most; it wraps around me tight like a rope around my throat.
I don’t know where I am. I don’t know who I am. And worst of all, I don’t know why I feel this constant pull in my chest like something important is missing. Something I’m supposed to have, supposed to feel.
And then his words flash through my mind again: You betrayed me.
Betrayal. It doesn’t make sense. None of it does. I don’t remember him—this man—but his voice and his presence feel like an open wound that never healed. A scar I don’t remember getting.
My stomach twists. Betrayal. But how could I betray someone I don’t even know?
I hear footsteps outside the door—soft and careful like someone trying not to be heard. Before I can react the door creaks open and a woman steps inside with a tray of food. She is small and almost frail with dark hair in a loose braid. Her face is pale but her eyes are sharp.
“Here,” she says quietly.
I stare at the food but don’t touch it. My mouth is too dry and my mind is too tangled.
“Who... who are you?” I ask softly.
The woman glances over her shoulder as if she is afraid of being caught. “Name’s Delilah,” she says. “I’m one of the servants here.”
“Here?” I repeat confusedly. “Where is here?”
Her eyes flick toward the door again and her voice drops to a whisper. “You’re in the Iradel Pack’s territory.”
Iradel. The words mean nothing to me but they stir something deep inside; fear maybe. Fright.
“And... the man? The one who...” I stop because I am unsure how to even explain what he did. How he made me feel like I was both nothing and everything to him. “The one who was here.”
Delilah’s lips press into a thin line. “That’s Alpha Lucian.”
The name hits me like a blow to the chest. Lucian. It sounds familiar now and too familiar like a word I’ve said a hundred times but can’t place. Alpha Lucian.
“He told me...” My voice trembles and I hate the weakness in it. “He said I betrayed him. But I don’t remember anything.”
Delilah’s expression shifts and there is a flicker of something—pity maybe or fear. “There are a lot of things the Alpha won’t tell you,” she says measuredly. “Not everything is as it seems here, Luna.”
Luna. The word feels strange like it doesn’t belong to me. But the way Delilah says it is soft but firm and makes my skin prickle.
“What do you mean?” I ask desperately. “What is he hiding?”
Delilah’s eyes dart toward the door again and she wrings the edge of her apron with her hands. “I can’t say more. Just... be careful. Not everyone here is your enemy but not everyone’s your friend either.”
She turns to leave but I lunge forward and grab her wrist. “Wait,” I say urgently. “Please, just tell me one thing... what did I do? Why does he hate me?”
Delilah hesitates and her eyes are wide and for a moment I think she might tell me. But then she shakes her head. “That’s something you’ll have to figure out yourself.”
And with that she slips out of the room and leaves me alone with the growing emptiness that I don't understand.
The air in the Iradel Pack's council room is thick with tension. It always is since Mara returned. My Betas sit around the long stone table; their eyes are on me as they wait. It's been days since I found her unconscious and broken in the forest, but nothing feels settled.
Rourke clears his throat. He is my oldest and most loyal Beta. “What do we do with her now, Lucian?” His voice is low and steady, but there's an edge to it—maybe concern or frustration. “She doesn't remember a thing, does she?”
“No.” I stand by the window and stare out at the dense forest that surrounds our territory. The trees seem endless and dark; their branches twist like claws reaching for the sky. “But that doesn't change anything.”
Finn leans back in his chair with his arms crossed over his chest. He is my youngest Beta. “And what if she never remembers? What if... the betrayal wasn't really hers?”
I turn to him and my jaw is tight. “She betrayed us,” I say harshly. “Whether she remembers it or not, she's still guilty.”
Finn shrugs and smirks. “If you say so. But don't you think it's strange that after all these years, she suddenly shows up—no memory, no explanation?”
“It's a curse,” Rourke mutters. “That's what I think. The Moon Goddess doesn't just take memories away without reason.”
I close my eyes and rub the back of my neck. The truth is I don't know what to think. When I found her in the woods, my first instinct was to kill her and finally end the pain she caused. But something held me back. Something in the way she looked at me—so lost and so broken—made me hesitate.
And I hate that hesitation. I hate her for making me feel it.
“Lucian,” Finn says seriously. “What if this is all part of something bigger? What if Mara isn't the only one who's forgotten?”
I open my eyes and frown. “What are you talking about?”
Finn leans forward and his expression is dark. “What if we're the ones who forgot? What if she didn't betray us at all, but someone made us think she did?”
Rourke scoffs and shakes his head. “You've been spending too much time with those rogues, Finn. They've got you spinning fairy tales.”
But Finn doesn't back down. He meets my gaze, and for the first time in years I feel a flicker of doubt.
I wander the halls of the pack house and my footsteps are soft against the stone. Every corner feels like it is watching me and waiting for me to make a mistake. I'm a stranger here in a place that is supposed to be familiar. But it isn't. It's a maze full of locked doors and silent whispers.
I find myself in front of a large wooden door that is slightly ajar. Voices spill out; they are low and urgent. I step closer and hold my breath.
“…we're the ones who forgot…”
“…what if the betrayal wasn't real?”
My heart skips a beat. Forgotten? Betrayal not real? The words tumble through my mind, confusing and twisting. And suddenly I feel it—a sense of wrongness like a shadow lurking just out of sight.
Something isn't right here. Something they're not telling me.
The door creaks and I step back as my pulse races. Whatever this is, I need to know more. I need to find the truth.
And somehow, I know it's worse than I ever imagined.
- Writer
