The air grew tense as Elias followed the stranger into the forest's depths. Distant howls echoed like ghosts from his past. Each step felt both familiar and foreign, like retracing an unwanted nightmare. Elias was engulfed with a thousand questions, his body shivering… mostly from the cold. His cloak hung loosely from his head, now torn and riddled with holes, thanks to those he once called family. Every step came with memories, all too vivid and not fading.
But then, a new turn.
His steps halted. It was too familiar. He had walked this path a thousand times while hunting and securing pack grounds, but never on that night.
"Where are we going?" Elias asked, breaking the overdue silence.
The stranger did not stop walking.
"To where it began."
Elias's brows furrowed, and his hands tightened.
"You mean the forest?" he chuckled lightly. "It was a chaotic night… Honestly, I barely remember how I got here in the first place."
The stranger stopped.
"That's because you weren't meant to remember," he said. "But now you must," he added, then continued walking.
Elias was still confused, but two lifetimes were enough to understand the response mechanism of the figure before him.
They soon reached an open clearing with a giant tree at the center. Wild lilies grew around the tree, and the moon shone brightest at its peak, giving it a mystic aura. It was rumored to be the heart of the forest, said to be a place where spirits lived—but he had never believed such things.
Elias watched the place for a moment, and his eyes lit up. It was the place he had first fallen. He was too stressed out and focused on saving his life to notice. He touched the ground, which still carried his dried bloodstains.
"You said I died again," Elias whispered. "It was only once," he stated, then turned.
The stranger smiled faintly.
"Once... you remember. But twice, it happened," he corrected.
Elias couldn't make sense of anything. He recalled falling at that spot—he was bleeding—but his memories after were nothing but blurred shadows.
Why was this happening? He pondered.
The stranger's eyes met his.
"Because something changed."
Elias's hands trembled.
"Change?" he repeated, feeling the cracks in his heart reopen. He wanted nothing but to change the events of that night. He tried to avoid being labeled as a traitor. To leave quietly and not be branded a murderer.
"The bond," the stranger said. "It wasn't supposed to activate. He wasn't supposed to care," he concluded.
Elias felt his body betray him. He chuckled bitterly.
"Rowan or Kael?" Elias demanded furiously.
"He whose eyes you remember," the answer was simple—yet frustrating.
Elias's body stiffened, his hands folded, and his heart raced. He needed no more, not when his memory sounded like a war drum.
"His emotions… they altered the current. The fate tied to both of you shifted," the stranger added.
Elias laughed bitterly.
"You're telling me I died, and because my murderer felt something, I get a second chance?" This was some cruel joke.
"I'm telling you," the stranger said slowly,
"That he saw you. Not the consort, nor the offering. He saw you, Beta Elias. And now fate has no idea what to do with you."
Silence fell like a warning drum. Elias tried suppressing the rage rising within him. His heart ached, his hands trembled, but it never seemed to be over.
"What if I don't want any of it?" He murmured. "The marriage… the bond, the pain." Everything felt repetitive, yet it was happening too quickly.
"You do not have that luxury," the stranger's voice was calm yet cold. "You carry the bloodline the Forbidden Court wants erased… You are likely the last of your kind. You're the key to an ancient order they buried long ago. You cannot run from this, Elias… Fate is knocking, and that call—you must answer."
A rush of wind swept through the forest. Trees danced in its direction, and dust rose in the air.
Elias's heart pounded—the betrayal, death, poisoned Rowan's trembling hands, and those brief eyes… those that carried too much more than they relayed.
He turned—and like before, the stranger was gone.
"I don't even know your name," he lamented.
And like an echo in the shadows, the voice resounded:
"We will meet again, Beta Elias… sooner than you expect. Hopefully, I don't find you dead the next time."
A small chuckle.
"When you wake up… the day will begin. Same court, same choice, different consequences… Choose wisely, Beta."
Then, absolute silence.
Elias pinched himself to ensure he wasn't dreaming, but a sudden wave picked him off his feet. He found his body swaying in the air and was soon dragged out of what seemed like the depths of the ocean.
He yelped, gasped, and then shot forward.
"Nooo!" He screamed, and his eyes shot open.
There before him was the familiar chamber—the soft silk and king-sized bed. It was the morning of the wedding.
He stood up, and his body felt rather painless. Everything seemed to be in place. His hands gracefully touched his pale face. His eyes shone with life and awareness.
The long-awaited knock came right on cue.
"Consort Elias," a soft voice called from beyond the door. "The prince awaits."
Elias's lips curled faintly, his nails dug into his palms, but he smiled and braced himself.
"Let him."
Elias waited patiently. Prince Rowan was pushed inside; his presence commanded authority as ever—his stone-cold face and ancient eyes gazed ahead.
He was the same as the others. But Elias knew best.
He was different—because he remembered. And Rowan didn't.