CHAPTER THREE

Her POV

I stared at my reflection in the mirror. It had been three days since Kaile saved me and brought me back here. My ankle had healed and I had the last doctor's appointment just this morning. Over these three days I had been trying my best to remember something but it always ended the same way, a crippling headache. I couldn't get past the dark void and it was frustrating. There was a knock on the door and I turned around excitedly.

"How are you feeling?", Macy asked as she popped her head in.

I couldn't help the slight feeling of disappointment I felt when I saw it was her. Macy was wonderful, she was the maid who had come to see me when I first woke up. She had later told me her name and she was the sweetest and warmest person I'd met so far but I was hoping it was Kaile. Over the past three days I was here, Kaile had never failed to visit me even if it was brief visits late in the evening. He was so kind and he seemed genuinely concerned for me.

"I feel fine", I answered Macy.

"The doctor also said I'm fine now", I added.

"That's good", she nodded.

"Are you hungry? Do you want me to get you something?", she asked.

"Not now, I don't have an appetite", I told her.

"What? Why?", she asked and I sighed.

"Don't tell me you're stressing over that again", she said as I walked back to the bed.

"But Macy, my worries are valid. What am I supposed to do now? I'm better but I still don't remember anything, not even my own name. I have nowhere to go literally", I told her as we sat down on the bed.

"You're worrying yourself too much, didn't the alpha himself say you can stay as long as you want?", she asked.

"Yes, but I feel bad, I don't want to be a burden to anyone", I told her and sighed.

She patted me comfortingly.

"Ok, let's walk through it slowly, if it will make you feel better", she said and I nodded.

"You woke up in the woods.."

"Yes", I nodded.

"And prior to that you only remember being in a dark place with a bright light?"

"Yes"

"And a voice", I added.

"A voice?", she looked at me questioningly.

"Yes, there was no one else in the void but I could hear a voice. It called me towards the light and when I walked into it, I woke up in the woods the next minute", I explained.

"And that's all you remember?"

"Yes", I nodded.

"Hm, honestly, I don't think you're from the Kraken pack", she said after a few minutes of silence.

"Why?", I asked.

"I don't know, you just don't give that feeling, I guess?", she shrugged.

"Also from what I heard, you were found in the inner boundary between our pack and the Ravenwood pack", she added.

"The Ravenwood pack?", I asked.

"Yes, it's the neighboring pack. But we are not exactly on good terms. Their alpha and ours have a bit of bad blood between them, I think", she explained.

"So they're enemies?", I asked.

"Not exactly full blown enemies. They just have a squabble every now and then but they're not going to war anytime soon I guess", she explained.

"The inner boundary where you were found is actually one of the causes of their squabbles. They can't agree on where one pack ends and the other begins", she added.

"And you think I'm from this Ravenwood pack?", I asked her.

"It's possible, I guess", she shrugged.

"But if there's really bad blood like you say between the two packs wouldn't it be a bad thing if I'm from the Ravenwood pack?", I asked.

"I..."

Knock knock

A knock on the door interrupted Macy. The door opened and Kaile walked in.

Macy and I immediately stood up and bowed.

"Oh, I just came to check on you", Kaile said as his gaze flickered between Macy and I.

Macy and I shared a glance.

"Excuse me, my alpha, I'll get back to my errands", Macy said as she bowed before quickly leaving the room.

The sound of her receding footsteps echoing in the hallway, Kaile smiled at me.

"I heard you had your last doctor's appointment this morning", he said as he slowly walked towards me, his movements effortless and graceful.

"Yes, the doctor said I'm fine now and my ankle has healed", I told him.

"Hm, that's good", he said.

"And how about your memories? Still nothing?", he asked and I shook my head.

"Nothing, I actually do not know what to do now", I told him truthfully.

"Like I said before, you are welcome to stay here until you do", he said with a reassuring smile.

"I don't want to do that", I told him softly.

"What?", he blinked, confused at me.

"I don't want to be a burden. You've already helped me a lot, I don't want to take too much from you", I explained.

"It's fine. I am the one who invited you to stay because I want you to..."

"But...", I tried to protest but he interrupted me.

"Besides where will you go? If you have anywhere to go, tell me right now and I'll let you go", he said.

I stood tongue tied.

"See? What kind of person would I be if I let you leave just like that? My conscience wouldn't be able to take it. So you're welcome to stay", he said.

"Ok", I nodded my head in defeat.

"But, if I'm really going to stay, I have a request to make", I told him.

"Sure, what is it?"

"I want to work", I told him.

"No, you don't have to. I invited you to stay, you can stay, you don't have to work"

"No", I shook my head firmly.

"I'm not a guest. You've already helped me this much. I wouldn't be able to stay here as a guest, taking and taking from you, my conscience won't take it", I told him.

"But...", he tried to protest but I stopped him.

"If you don't let me work, then I'll leave. I don't care that I can't remember anything or I don't have anywhere to go, I'll leave", I told him, shocked at myself by how firmly I was speaking to him.

He stared at me for a few seconds before breaking into a smile.

"Well, you are stubborn", he chuckled.

"Fine, you can work", he said as he threw his hands up as a sign of defeat.

I smiled at him.

"I'll talk to Madam Cassandra, surely she can find some work for you", he said.

"Thank you", I smiled at him.

"No problem", he waved his hand dismissively.

"But...", he said after a few seconds, like an afterthought.

"... If you're going to stay here and work here, you'll need a name, don't you think?", he asked.

"Oh", I said as my expression fell.

I still couldn't remember my name no matter how hard I tried. It was kind of stupid and pathetic that I couldn't even remember my name.

"It's ok", Kaile's voice brought me out of self piteous thoughts.

I looked at him and he smiled reassuringly at me.

"It's okay if you still can't remember your name I'm sure it will come to you in time", he said and I smiled back at him.

"In the meantime....", he continued.

"... do you mind if I give you one? Just for now, so we can call you by until you can remember your real name", he said.

I nodded after thinking about it for a few seconds, why not?

He smiled and went on to stare at me for a few minutes. The expression on his face seemed so far away, like he was deep in thought, then a soft smile broke on his face.

"Eve", he breathed softly after a few minutes, breaking the silence.

"Eve", he repeated a bit louder this time.

"What do you think?", he asked me.

"Eve", I repeated the name.

It didn't sound bad.

"I think it has a beautiful meaning. Eve was the first woman on earth, right? She was brand new, just created almost like what you are right now, pure, a clean slate, beautiful", he explained.

I nodded and blushed at him calling me beautiful. I said the name out loud again,

"Eve"

"I like it", I told him with a soft smile.

"That's good", he nodded.

"Eve", he repeated the name again, but this time I noticed a hint of sadness in his eyes.

It was gone as soon as I saw it, I wondered if I had imagined it. We sat in silence for a few minutes as he looked far away in his own thoughts before he snapped out of it. He looked at me and smiled.

"I'll go talk to Madam Cassandra, she'll take care of you", he said and I nodded.

He smiled at me, stood up and began to work towards the door.

"Thank you", I blurted out before he could leave.

He turned around and looked at me curiously.

"For saving me", I added softly.

"I haven't really thanked you for that yet", I continued.

"Thank you", I repeated.

He smiled softly at me.

"You're welcome", then he was out the door.

I sighed and walked towards the mirror. I stared at my reflection as I repeated the name,

"Eve"

I remembered what he said about the name being a perfect fit because I was brand new, a clean slate, pure and I smiled. But the emptiness in my head that was my memories hung over me as I remembered Macy's words that I might be from the Ravenwood pack. What kind of person was I?

What if I wasn't as pure as Kaile thought of me?