Seven

/-Melucia-/

The doctor had just finished his examination when the door flew open, banging against the wall. I was worried that it was the handsome frightening man again but a man and woman rushed in, their faces etched with worry. The woman’s eyes were red, like she’d been crying, and the man looked like he hadn’t slept in a while.

“Annabelle!” the woman gasped, rushing to my side and throwing her arms around me in an embrace while the man stood at the foot of the bed, obviously relieved to see me.

I flinched, pulling back from the woman. “I’m sorry, but…” I said. “But I don’t know who you are.”

The woman’s face fell and she exchanged a confused glance with the man she had just come in with. “Oh, sweetheart, it’s me. It’s your aunt Elyss.” Her voice cracked on the last word, almost making me doubt what she was saying.

The man’s eyes narrowed at me. “You don’t recognize us?”

I took a deep breath, before answering. “No,” I whispered. “I’m sorry.”

The room went silent. I could feel the tension as if I had said something forbidden.

“She’s being saying sorry since she opened her eyes,” the older woman laughed.

The man pointed to the older woman who had been there since I opened my eyes. “And what about your Mimi?” He asked. “You don’t recognize her?”

I turned to her and wondered why everyone expected me to remember her but she didn’t look familiar at all. The man who had been with her, who I learned was my driver, had explained that the old lady had raised me since I was a child. She was like a second mother, yet she looked very unfamiliar.

I dropped my gaze and slowly shook my head and my “aunt’s” hand trembled in mine, while the man’s face hardened.

“What’s going on here, doctor?” The man asked with his nose flared.

The doctor stepped forward to answer the question. “Alpha Knight, she’s suffering from amnesia.”

“Amnesia?” My supposed aunt repeated in shock.

“Yes,” the doctor said gently. “She took a bad fall—a significant drop. It’s likely her memories will return with time, but for now, she may not remember anything.”

I stared at them, my mind reeling. This Alpha Knight was my father? This was my family?

“Who am I?” I blurted in my confusion.

The man’s eyes softened just a bit. “You’re Annabelle,” he said firmly. “My daughter. A Princess of the WhiteFang werewolf Pack.”

Princess? Werewolf Pack. I took a deep breath because I needed a minute. This was a lot. Too much, in fact.

“But I don’t…” I trailed off, staring at all the faces in the room. I really didn’t feel like a Princess.

I sighed and looked at each one of them. If these people were indeed my family, then maybe I was safe here. Maybe I could actually trust them. My fingers curled into the stiff hospital sheets as I leaned back, trying to relax.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and glanced at the older woman—Mimi, they called her. “But how did I end up here?” I asked quietly.

Mimi’s eyes suddenly looked sad. She hesitated, like she was choosing her words carefully. “You were supposed to be with the twins. You were supposed to be bonding with them but….”

I frowned. “What twins?”

“Alpha Ezra’s sons,” my father answered. I could see how uncomfortable everyone looked at the mention of that name but it didn’t spark anything in my mind.

“Who is he?” I asked, when it seemed like no one was going to say anything else.

“He’s the alpha of the BlackClaw pack,” Aunt Elyss replied. He’s very powerful.”

“From what Alpha Ezra told us, you asked the twins to wait somewhere while you… you decided to run off.” Mimi added, obviously trying to hide her disappointment. “We don’t know why you ran… We never know why you do the things you do, but you fell. It was a bad fall.”

I tried to process her words. Bonding with twins? Running away? My head only ached more when I tried to remember it.

I licked my dry lips and asked, “Why was I babysitting twins?”

A thick silence settled in the room. Aunt Elyss and father exchanged a wary glance, as if they weren’t sure whether to tell me.

Finally, my father spoke up. “They’re your fiancé’s sons.”

Fiancé? I was confused again. So I was engage?

Finally, like a puzzle piece snapping into place, I remembered the blue-eyed man who came around a little while ago. He had accused me of a lot, including abandoning his sons.

My mouth fell open in shock when I figured it out. “The man from earlier…” I whispered to Mimi. “He’s my fiancé?”

Mimi slowly nodded. “Yup. That was Alpha Ezra.”

“Ezra,” I repeated the name, listening to how it sounded in my mouth. I remembered the way he looked at me—furious, disappointed— and it made my heart ache.

Why would I abandon children? Why was I running away from my own fiancé?