Chapter Fifteen - A memory?

The pull in my gut tightened with every step, sharp and insistent—like a string tied around my spine and someone tugging hard from the other end. I wasn’t supposed to go into the woods. Especially not alone. Not after what happened with Raina an hour ago. Not with every pack member still giving me the stink eye.

But I went anyway.

The moment I stepped past the tree line, silence crashed down like a weight. No crickets. No wind. Just that hum under my skin—low... ancient, like something buried deep in my blood had woken up and was screaming to be heard.

I moved fast, branches snapping under my claws, heart slamming against my ribs. The shadow darted ahead again—a blur between trees—too fast to be human. Not wolf either… not exactly?

Then it stopped.

Just… froze in front of this crooked old sycamore with bark peeling off like burnt paper.

I skidded to a halt ten feet away.

My breath came too loud in the quiet—but then—

A whisper.

Not words I could understand… more like distorted overlapped voices—one woman’s voice rising above: “Daphne… daughter of stars… daughter of war..."

A cold shiver clawed up my entire body, my paws digging into the soil.

How did it know my name? What did it even mean?

Before I could react—the ground pulsed beneath me once, soft but deep—and then three claw marks split across the earth at the base of that tree glowing faintly silver before fading into soil as if erased by dirt itself…

And on instinct?

I reached out—

My paws touching where those marks burned invisible heat—

Suddenly flashes ripped behind my eyes:

A woman with white hair standing before fire

A man holding a dagger made from moonlight

A cry of a baby as flames lit up a forest

I yanked back gasping—chest heaving—as if something huge had slammed straight into me without moving its body.

"What was that?" I thought.

That didn't feel like magic.

Didn't feel random.

It felt... personal.

Like... like a memory.

But none of those faces belonged to anyone I knew—or even recognized. Yet somehow—they felt familiar—as though part of me had lived them once long ago...

My parents?.. Maybe?

Footsteps snapped behind me—I spun fast—but relaxed slightly when Tessa came rushing through brush followed closely by Naomi both wide-eyed panicked looking ready to fight whatever spooked them. I shifted into the woods to change back and Tessa threw me her sweatshirt to put on.

"Daphne!" Naomi hissed low "What are you doing out here?! We saw you run off—we’ve been calling!"

"I—I didn’t hear anything," I said breathlessly hand still tingling where it touched earth.

"We weren’t calling,” Tessa whispered darkly “Your phone's been dead since Raina poured soda all over it remember?”

Oh right. Raina spilled drink on me.

And now here we were—with Maddox whispering filthy promises in one ear while shadows dragged me deeper into places only rogues or nightmares dared enter...and I had a memory. I looked around but the weird shadow had disappeared.

This is quite a long day.

Naomi grabbed my wrist suddenly "We need to go —now”

Her eyes flickered past me toward trees beyond “Something’s watching us Daphne —not pack scent—not... not human either. Didn't you notice that this part of the forest is darker?”

Oh, I didn't notice that.

Tessa pulled out her phone light scanning edge line "It's not just today," she muttered "People have gone missing near these woods for years—and no one talks about why."

Another gust hit silent until sound returned slowly cicadas first then breeze rustling leaves again normal almost—but fake? Like nature trying hard pretending nothing happened when everything did?

I glanced back at sycamore one last time——bare now. No glow, no voices, just twisted wood shaped almost deliberately into curve resembling wings folded shut

"My parents tried killing the king..."

"You don't belong here" Those words were pour d on me since I was a kid.

But what if?

What if there was more?

Not rogue blood...

But something else entirely?

What if my parents weren't rouges? What if they were those two people in my memory?

"Daphne?” Tessa pressed pulling gently on my arm

“You okay?”

"Yeah," I lied softly already knowing truth nestled underneath pulse racing faster than fear ever caused alone:

Whatever ran through these woods was definitely not an accident.

This?

This was my past waking up.

And soon I would find out who I really am.