THE GHOST AT THE GATE

MAYA

"You're dead."

The sentry's words hit me like a punch to the gut, his spear shaking so badly I thought he might drop it.

I stood at the massive iron gates, gripping the cold bars, my head pounding with that familiar ache that meant another blackout was coming.

"I'm not dead," I said, my voice hoarse from three days of walking through the woods with no water.

He stumbled backward, his face draining of all color.

"I saw you," he whispered, his eyes wide with terror, "Alpha Kaden carried your body out of the woods himself, you weren't breathing, there was so much blood."

My stomach twisted into knots.

I didn't know this man, couldn't remember ever seeing his face before, but something about the pine forest stretching behind him made my chest ache with longing.

Like I'd run through those trees a thousand times.

Like I belonged here.

"Look, I don't know what you think you saw, but I'm here now, and I need help," I said, pressing my forehead against the bars, "please, I just need answers."

The blackouts were getting worse, longer, and the blood under my fingernails this morning hadn't been mine.

I was losing time, losing control, and I was terrified of what I might do next.

"Stay back," the sentry ordered, raising his spear higher, "I need to call the Alpha, don't move."

Before I could respond, tires screeched against gravel.

A black SUV came roaring up the road from inside the compound, moving so fast it fishtailed when it stopped.

The door flew open.

A man stepped out.

Tall, broad shoulders filling out a dark jacket that probably cost more than I'd made in the last month, jaw sharp enough to cut glass.

But it was his eyes that stopped my heart.

Storm gray, intense, boring into me like he could see straight through to my bones.

The air between us crackled with something I couldn't name, an invisible thread pulling tight in my chest, making it impossible to breathe.

My wolf, the part of me I barely understood, surged forward with a hunger that terrified me.

Mine.

The word echoed in my head, primal and absolute.

No.

I didn't even know this man.

He froze mid-step, his entire body going rigid like someone had turned him to stone.

His car keys slipped from his fingers, hitting the gravel with a soft clink that sounded too loud in the sudden silence.

"Sera?"

The name came out strangled, broken, like he was choking on glass.

His face had gone white as death, his eyes wide with something between hope and horror.

I shook my head, confused and scared by the way he was looking at me.

"My name is Maya."

"No," he breathed, moving closer to the gate, his movements jerky and uncoordinated like a puppet with tangled strings, "No, that's not possible, you died, I held you while you.died, I buried you myself."

The sentry backed away, giving his Alpha space.

"I've never met you," I said, but doubt crept in.

Why did his voice sound familiar?

He gripped the bars next to mine, so close I could feel his heat.

"Your eyes," he said softly, "the same shade of gray."

"Lots of people have gray eyes."

"Not like hers."

His voice broke, and I saw devastating pain flash across his face.

I swallowed hard.

"I found this address in my things," I said quietly, "I don't remember anything from before a month ago."

Something shifted in his expression.

"A month ago," he repeated slowly, "you don't remember anything?

"

"I woke up in a witch's cabin with no memory, just this address and blackouts that keep getting worse."

I was saying too much, but something about him made me want to trust him.

"Let her in," he told the sentry.

The gate groaned open.

I stepped through, and he moved fast, impossibly fast.

His hand closed around my throat, not squeezing but firm enough to trap me.

His eyes glowed predatory gold.

"Who sent you?" he growled, his voice inhuman, "who sent you to wear her face?"

I couldn't breathe.

"No one," I choked out, clawing at his wrist, "please."

"My mate is dead," he snarled, "I buried her myself, so either you're a shapeshifter, or someone's playing a sick game."

Black spots danced across my vision.

"I'm not lying."

His grip loosened slightly.

"Sera never begged," he said quietly, "she would have ripped my throat out by now."

"I'm not Sera," I whispered.

He stared at me, then released me completely.

I doubled over, gasping, my throat burning.

"Take her to the main house," he ordered, "guest room, and get Dr. Chen."

"Yes, Alpha.”

I looked up at him.

He stood in the fading light, shoulders hunched, looking lost and broken.

"I'm sorry about your mate," I said.

His head snapped up.

Before he could respond, a woman's scream echoed from the mansion, high and sharp

and full of rage.

The sentry went pale.

"That's the new Luna," he whispered.

I stared at Kaden, confused.

"New Luna?" I asked, "But you said your mate died."

Something dark twisted across his face.

"She did," he said quietly, "and then I was forced to take another."

The scream came again, closer running footsteps approached.

Kaden grabbed my arm, his grip bruising, and started pulling me toward the mansion.

"Don't say a word to anyone," he said urgently, "not until I figure out what's happening."

"Figure out what, who I am or why I'm not dead?"

He didn't answer.

As we approached the mansion doors, a woman's scream echoed from inside, high and sharp and full of rage.

The sound made my blood run cold.

Kaden's grip on my arm tightened.

"Whatever happens next," he said, his voice low and dangerous, "stay behind me."