Chapter 20 Twenty
CHAPTER TWENTY
Sara’s POV
Ryker’s words hung in the air like a warning neither of us was ready for.
The man from my memory.
The stranger with empty eyes.
The one who hunted my mother.
He was inside BloodRidge.
Xenon stepped toward Ryker, his entire body tight with a cold, controlled rage. “Where.”
Ryker swallowed. “Near the inner courtyard. He walked straight onto the grounds without resistance. The border patrol never caught him. He left no scent trail.”
Kael exhaled sharply. “Shadow manipulation. Only a few bloodlines can hide their presence that completely. He should not be able to walk past your barriers.”
“He should not be alive,” Xenon said.
He turned to me.
His eyes no longer looked stormy. They looked like a locked door that would break off its hinges if pushed one more inch.
“Sara. Do not move from this room.”
My pulse kicked. “Xenon—”
“You stay behind me,” he repeated. “He is not approaching you.”
I shook my head. “He came for me.”
“And he will leave empty-handed,” Xenon said.
Kael stepped between us before Xenon could walk out. “Alpha. You cannot confront this man without understanding who he is.”
“I do not care who he is,” Xenon said. “He is inside my territory.”
“He is not a normal rogue,” Kael warned. “You need to think before you approach him. You need information, not anger.”
Xenon’s jaw clenched. “If he comes near her, I will not be thinking.”
Ryker looked between the two of them. “Alpha. He asked specifically for her. By her bloodline name.”
I felt a cold wave rush through me. “He said a name.”
Xenon turned to me sharply. “What name.”
“I do not know,” I whispered. “I could not understand it. It did not sound like Sara.”
Kael nodded slowly. “Then that is the name tied to her memory. Her bloodline identity.”
Xenon’s expression twisted. “She is Sara.”
Kael’s voice dropped. “To you. Yes. But her blood carries more.”
Xenon stepped toward Kael again, but I stopped him, placing my hand on his arm. “Xenon. Please.”
His breathing slowed slightly. He looked down at my hand on his skin, then up at my face. His voice lowered. “You stay with me. No matter what happens.”
I nodded. “Yes.”
He exhaled once, like he was forcing himself to remain steady. “Ryker. Guide us to him. Keep the path clear.”
Ryker nodded and left.
Kael followed, checking the corridors ahead.
Xenon stayed close to me as we walked, his arm brushing mine with every step. His presence wasn’t subtle. It filled the halls like a warning to anything hiding in the shadows.
The corridors grew quieter the closer we came to the courtyard. Too still. Wolves had evacuated the area. Even the guards along the walls had pulled back, standing at a distance with stiff, uneasy posture.
When we stepped into the courtyard, the air changed instantly.
It felt cold.
Not the temperature.
The atmosphere.
A man stood in the center.
He wasn’t tall, but his posture was confident. His hair was dark and streaked with gray. His clothing was plain, but his presence was not. His eyes lifted the moment we entered.
I froze.
Those eyes.
I had seen them in the memory flash.
Dark.
Empty.
Unblinking.
He smiled slightly. “So the child lived.”
Xenon stepped in front of me so fast the air shifted. “You speak to me. Not her.”
The man tilted his head. “Alpha Xenon. The one who guards what he does not understand.”
Xenon’s aura darkened. “Who are you.”
The man did not answer the question. His gaze slid from Xenon to Kael to Ryker before settling back on me.
“You carry her face,” he said softly. “But you are missing her memory.”
My breath caught.
Xenon growled low. “Enough.”
The man took a single step closer, ignoring him completely. “You do not remember me. But I remember you. You were small. Barely able to walk. Your mother carried you through the valley.”
I felt my stomach twist.
Kael stepped forward. “Say your name.”
The man’s smile widened. “Names have power. You of all people should know that.”
Kael stiffened.
Ryker drew his blade.
Xenon moved to block them. “You are in my territory. You answer my questions.”
The man raised a brow. “Or what.”
Xenon did not hesitate. “Or I end you.”
The man’s smile vanished. “You cannot kill me.”
Xenon stepped closer. “Try me.”
The man’s gaze flicked past him to me again. “Come here, child.”
Xenon’s wolf surged so hard the courtyard air thickened. “She is not taking one step toward you.”
The man ignored him. “Come here, memory keeper.”
My legs trembled.
Xenon stepped closer to me, his hand hovering near my lower back without touching. “Do not move.”
But something inside me responded to the man’s voice.
A pressure.
A whisper.
A tug from deep inside my chest.
Kael noticed immediately. “Alpha. She is reacting.”
Xenon turned sharply. “Sara. Look at me.”
I tried.
I really tried.
But the man spoke again. “You know me. Your blood remembers.”
The pressure inside me tightened.
Another flash.
Short.
Blinding.
The forest.
A stone.
The same man reaching toward me.
My mother screaming at him.
A word I didn’t understand.
I gasped, gripping Xenon’s arm. “It is happening again.”
Xenon caught my waist. “Stay with me.”
Kael pointed at the stranger. “He is triggering her. He is doing it intentionally.”
Xenon snapped toward him. “Then stop him.”
Before anyone could react, the man spoke again.
“Sara is not your name.”
Everything inside me went still.
Xenon’s hold tightened instantly. “Do not speak to her.”
The man continued. “Your true name was given to you before you were born. A name tied to your bloodline. A name your mother kept hidden so the Creed would not find you.”
I felt the memory flash rising again. Harder. Faster.
Kael shouted, “Alpha. Pull her back.”
Xenon grabbed both sides of my face gently but firmly. “Sara. Look at me. Not him.”
But the man kept talking.
“Your name is—”
Xenon moved.
He shifted his stance and launched forward with a force I hadn’t seen from him yet, ready to silence the stranger before he said the word.
But the man raised one hand.
Not to stop Xenon.
To stop me.
Because the memory hit before Xenon reached him.
A final flash.
Clear.
Focused.
Undeniable.
I heard her voice.
My mother’s voice.
Calling out my real name.
Not Sara.
A name that burst through the memory and tore into my mind with chilling clarity.
And the world around me disappeared as I whispered it aloud.
“My name is—”
Everything went black.