Chapter Five:The Amber Eye And Fever Dreams

Darkness swam in her skull, as Evangeline struggled to regain consciousness. This wasn't the usual comforting, velvety kind of darkness that lulled children to sleep, this one crackled like lightning trapped inside her bones.

She then woke up burning, not from fever, but from something deeper, clawing its way up her spine like fire running through her blood. Her limbs still refused to move, and even when her eyelids fluttered, her eyes wouldn’t open.

Everything inside her screamed in pain; It was as if she was falling inward - drowning in pain and memory. Somewhere in the haze, voices whispered, like wind through dying leaves.

“…she bleeds silver…”

“…the bond has started…”

“…her blood remembers…”

“…we should’ve waited…”

“…too late now. The Veil already knows…”

She didn’t recognize the voices, but it was her soul that did, as those voices began stir something inside her that had been locked away a long time.

Suddenly, the pain struck sharper than before, earning a grunt from her. A hot tearing sensation spread across her abdomen like she’d been ripped open from the inside.

A hidden memory then surged forward, temporarily making her forget the pain she was in and illuminating the darkness she was in.

Metal screeching... Screams... Fire licking at her skin... The flash of white-hot headlights... and then him - the man she had saved, his golden eyes, bright and merciless.

The sound that barely left her throat at that moment was broken, breathless whimper.

“Shhh…” came a male voice, low, steady, and almost gentle.

“Evangeline… you’re safe. You’re home.”

'No, that was a lie.' she thought.

She wasn’t home... this probably wasn’t even the same world.

She could smell it.

Not smelling the usual disinfectant, antiseptic, plastic curtains nor the sound of hospital monitors, she felt somewhat at a loss. The air was thick with sandalwood, scorched lavender, iron… and something raw and wild - like the scent of rain on old stone, the kind soaked in blood and memory.

Her eyes finally opened - though barely.

At first, all she could make out was golden orbs. Though it was blurred and glowing, it was not fire. It was eyes - four pairs of them - which hovered in the shadows, unblinking and watching as she fell unconscious again.

An hour later, she jolted upon waking up and tried to sit up. But her body refused, pain shooting up her side like lightning. Her chest tightened as she couldn’t suddenly breathe.

'What happened?' she thought, 'Where are the demons? Why can’t I move?'

The memory slammed into her in the parking lot, her cheek was damp with sweat as her head fell sideways. 

Her eyes locked on the figure regally sat next to her now, partly cloaked in darkness. He wasn’t touching her, but his presence alone swallowed the room.

“You’re burning up,” he said, and she recognized that voice now.

It was the man she had saved before but he didn’t sound like the same man. This wasn’t the snarl she remembered back then. His voice now was soft - wounded even.

“Don’t,” she rasped, barely able to speak. “Don’t act like you care.”

He then leaned in, the light in his eyes flickered and her vision cleared for a split second as she drank in his appearance.

He had a well honed bronzed skin and a cape of snow-white fur on his shoulders. But what caught her attention were the faint glowing symbols that danced across his chest like runes made of light.

“I never stopped,” he whispered, those golden eyes locked onto hers.

She didn’t have the strength to argue as the pain surged again, curling her body. She cried out—but no sound came. Her back arched, then collapsed, leaving her shaking and soaked in sweat. Her breath came in shallow gasps as the world slipped out from under her again.

And then she saw them - the other three. No longer wolves, but men. They stood at each corner of the room like guardians - no, like kings.

One had silver hair and a chiseled jaw. Cold as winter steel.

Another had curls of inky black and quiet eyes that seemed to see too much.

The third—a tall woman with deep brown skin, a jagged scar along her face, and eyes full of storm.

And then the weird man that bit her yet unwilling to leave her side.

Together, they all looked like something out of an ancient warning - the kind carved into stone and forgotten by time.

And then, the dark took her again.

When she woke, the voices were gone. The pain had dulled, not gone, just… hovering. Her skin still ached, and her side throbbed beneath a layer of soaked bandages. She tried to sit up but seconds later she realized that it had been a bad idea as a groan escaped her lips.

The door suddenly creaked open and the sound of soft but certain footsteps filled the room.

The scarred woman from earlier entered first, carrying a steaming bowl and something glowing faintly in her hand, like a flicker of fire trapped in glass.

“You shouldn’t be sitting up,” she said. Her voice was calm, emotionless.

"Didn’t ask for help.” Evangeline narrowed her eyes.

"Do you prefer dying?” she raised a brow, coyly 

“I was already dying,” Evangeline hissed.

“No,” she said flatly, placing the bowl on a side table. “You were changing.”

Her blood instantly ran cold on hearing this.

“What?”

The strange woman didn't answer but just gave a faint knowing smirk. But before Evangeline could demand more, the room illuminated, the roots in the ceiling pulsed brighter as he entered.

The man that bit her...

He crossed the room in silence, with that stare that saw too much, causing her hands to shake as she clenched the sheet around her.

“You remember me,” he said quietly.

She didn’t answer causing him to take another step forward.

“From the crash,” she said at last. “Five years ago.”

"Good," he nodded. “And the bite? Did you forget that too?”

"You…" She froze. “You weren’t supposed to survive the accident that night.”

“I wasn’t... either were you.” He knelt. “I didn’t bite you to curse you, Evangeline. I did it because your soul was already breaking. I gave you something to hold on to.”

"You broke me.” Tears burned her eyes. “I'm obviously in pains now because of it!"

“No,” he whispered. “I kept you alive.”

That instant, her palm struck his cheek, the sound echoed, but he didn’t move.

“I cried because of you for years, thinking that what happened that night was a hallucination and it made me almost go crazy because I knew you were real.” she stared at him, her voice trembling. 

His throat then bobbed in guilt as he worked around words he didn’t say: “So did I.”

Silence pressed then between them - the kind that came before a storm.

“What are you...?” she whispered, finally breaking the silence.

No one answered right away.

Then she heard movement behind her as the others stepped forward. Each one slowly approached, not threatening - deliberate.

“I’m Cassius. I'm the eldest of my siblings and we are all Lycans.” said the silver-haired man, in a clipped tone. 

"Lycans... As in werewolves!" Evangeline shivered,

"How dare you compare us to those lowly shape shifters." the scared woman suddenly exploded.

"Calm down, Selene!" Cassius began, but Selene didn't let it slide.

"It was cute when you dissed those demons, but I now get why they really wanted to rip your tongue out!" she huffed, animatedly causing everyone to chuckle on realizing that there was no malice in her tone.

“As I was saying, Ms. Evangeline," Cassius continued. "I'm the First Fang of pack. I stand for discipline, order, and judgment. I don’t sugarcoat things, so don’t expect me to.”

“I'm Lucien,” said the dark-haired one, voice low. “I’m the balance of the pack. The voice in the chaos... you’ll understand soon enough.”

“I’m Selene,” the scarred woman said, arms crossed. “I'm the tactician and executioner of our pack. I don’t trust you yet but I’ll bleed for you if I have to.”

And finally —

"I'm Xander, you already know me,” said the man that bit her. “But you don’t know everything.”

They stood before her, not like strangers, more like… pieces of something broken coming back together.

“We were all born under the same moon,” Lucien said softly. “All four of us marked by the eclipse. We all share one prophecy and one bond.”

'They look nothing like siblings...' Evangeline thought, secretly looking at them.

“You were part of it,” Cassius added. “Before it was stolen from you.”

“I don’t believe in fate,” she whispered.

“Neither did we,” Xander said, his voice like thunder under velvet. “Until you were reborn.”

“Drink." Selene knelt beside her, pushing the glowing bowl toward her again. "It’ll help with the pain. And the memories of your previous life which are coming.”

Evangeline didn’t move on hearing this before slowly turning to face Xander.

“What if I don’t want to remember?”

"Then the world will end exactly the way it did last time." Cassius’s expression hardened. “Except this time… no one survives.”

She looked at them - the four strangers who knew her better than she did. She didn’t know if she could trust them, she wasn’t even sure she trusted herself.

But something inside her, the part still scorched by golden fire, told her one truth: This was just the beginning.