44 - FOUR MONTHS

44 - FOUR MONTHS
FOUR MONTHS

Meridian

My eyes were fixed on the fire in front of me, but I felt nothing but cold. It was as if the shadows were creeping up on me, clinging to my skin and trying to swallow my heart. All around, the murmurs of the pack surrounded me. I could feel the glances—some suspicious, others excited. They whispered about me, as if I couldn't hear them, but I did.

What was I to them? A ghost of what I once was? A relic that came back broken?

Renan was a little distant; his presence was like a blade against my skin; his anger was almost tangible, but there was something else underneath, something that tormented me more than his hatred: pain.

He didn't come to me.

But the alpha came.

I didn't look up immediately. I heard the weight of his footsteps as he approached and sat down next to me, but I continued to stare into the fire. The heat seemed as distant as all the recent events.

"When you were little, you were fascinated by fire." He said, his voice deep but serene. "You tried to touch it without fear of getting burned, as if the flames were a magnet for you."

His words hit me like an echo from somewhere I couldn't reach. Something inside me shook, but then it became empty and silent.

"They say you're my father." I whispered thoughtfully.

"Yeah…" He sighed. "I am."

I raised my eyes to him; finally, they said so much, and at the same time, nothing. It was strange to look at someone who claimed to be my father and feel nothing. Nothing.

"Why are you trying to rescue someone who no longer exists? Wouldn't it be easier to mourn and move on?" I was sincere; there was no attack in my words, just tiredness. "I killed a lot of you, I hurt a lot of you; why do you still insist on rescuing what there is nothing to rescue?" The words came out low.

He smiled for a moment.

"Because you're still here." His eyes met mine, and I wondered what he felt when he saw only black eyes watching him. "One day, when you have children, you'll understand. A father doesn't give up his child; a family doesn't give up one of its own. And you're just a victim. They took you from us and stole your memory and identity. We understand that. There's no way to mourn if there's no death."

"Look, no matter who I've been, I'm not who you expect me to be. I'm a hunter. There's no wolf here, waiting to return; there's nothing. Just a hunter. Your daughter, the little girl you seem to be waiting for, died, died the moment she left this place; if she was once me, she isn't anymore." I felt the pain in his eyes; he took a deep breath after my words.

"No one here is waiting for you to go back to being our girl. We all understand how broken you are and that your actions can't be erased. No one here is waiting for a magic spell." He said, lowering his gaze.

"So, what are you waiting for? Why are you keeping me here? Pretending I'm someone I'm not? Telling me things I don't even remember? What's the point of all this?" I was desperate for answers.

"It's true; we hope that one day your memory will return. Not that you'll go back to the way you were, but that you'll remember your family. I know that when you have nothing, two years seem like everything. But for us, it was just two years, Meridian. Two years of eighteen years with you. If one day we manage to bring back your memories, you'll understand what I'm saying. We don't want you to go back to being our Mel, but we do want you to have your identity back, to know the life you had, the family, to remember us." I could feel the sincerity in his words and also the pain.

"What if I don't come back?" I asked. "What are you going to do if I don't come back? Are you going to keep me here like a prisoner?"

"We'll let time decide; if you don't come back, and you still see us as enemies, we'll let you go, and we'll give you the right to fight with the kingdom you choose. Because one day the war will come, and you'll have to decide a side, we're fair. You are not an enemy to us, but we are enemies to you. If in four months you're still our enemy, I'll let you go and come back for a just war. Then we'll mourn because we'll understand that we've lost you for good. But for now, there's still hope." He sighed.

"Four months." I whispered thoughtfully.

"Yes. But I want you to try, not to look at us through the mouths of those who have told stories about us. Draw your own conclusions. If we're the villains, you'll know." He smiled. "Deal?"

"Deal." I nodded.

He got up and left, leaving me standing there alone. There were no more barriers. Not after meeting the prince, not after he'd practically told me in no uncertain terms that it was real. Only I didn't know how much of it was true, and that's what I wanted to know… If I was taken, why was I taken? For what purpose did they leave me alive? Why did they put me in their territory and take care of their weak spot? There were still many unanswered questions, and I was going to go all the way to find out the truth.