What he did?

*Tjeck*

 I find myself alone in the pack training room, lost in my thoughts, when Kattie suddenly appears. The moment I see her, it’s evident that she has been crying; her red-rimmed eyes and quivering lips betray her anguish. Instinctively, I halt my training, turning my full attention to her, silently urging her to share what has her in this state.

 “Adis did drugs,” she sobs, stepping closer and sinking into my arms as if it’s the most natural thing in the world. I embrace her tightly, feeling the warmth of her body against mine, even as a chill seeps into my bones. “He went straight to bed this time, but I could see it in his eyes.” Of course, she could. She had witnessed that haunted look too many times since Amber’s death, it is a specter that looms over her and Adis like a dark cloud.

 “We will get through this, Kat,” I reassure her, my voice steady as I press a gentle kiss to her forehead. Almost instinctively, she lifts her head, her eyes searching mine. I know what she craves; she always seeks comfort from me whenever Adis has been particularly harsh. She comes to me, seeking solace in my embrace, yearning for a kiss that ignites the bond we once shared. But this time, I hold back, and I can see the flicker of disappointment in her eyes.

 “The girl woke up,” Kattie whispers, her voice trembling as she hides her face against my chest. “She can’t remember anything, and Adis…” The words catch in her throat, her eyes wide with a mixture of fear and desperation. “Please, Tjeck, kiss me like you used to.” Her plea resonates in my chest; I’ve never heard Kattie beg for anything before.

 “And what about Clay?” I ask, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. Normally, such concerns wouldn’t deter me, but Clay is their beta, and our alliance with The Shadows hangs by a thread. This very much complicates everything.

 “I feel so alone,” she whispers, her eyes fluttering shut. “I miss us.” 

 Kattie and Adis built The Shadows together, raising her sister Hope in a world filled with peril. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if their relationship had ventured into more physical aspects. But Kattie and I share a different history. I was the one who trained her when no one else would, standing by her side as Thorn and Mike mocked her for being a girl. I remember the first time we witnessed death; we were together, side by side in the chaos. We’ve fought in countless battles and navigated the tumultuous waters of our teenage years as a team.

 I ache for those simpler times. I miss the nights when Kattie would sneak into my bed, or when we would break into water parks just to swim alone, just the two of us. I long for the essence of our youth, a bittersweet nostalgia that feels almost wrong since we’re still so young… I'm twenty-six, and she’s twenty-five.

 But just as my friendship with Thorn shifted when he became the beta of his pack, and later, when I assumed my Alpha post, so has my relationship with Kattie transformed. We are no longer carefree teenagers, and she has Clay now.

 “You know very well that I miss it too,” I tell her, pulling her closer, my heart aching at her vulnerability. Without thinking, my fingers trace the bare skin of her lower back, and I can’t help but caress it gently. “So what did Adis do about the girl’s missing memory?”

 “He gave her the name Amber,” she replies, frustration lacing her voice. I can feel her pain; that name could be a death sentence for the girl, a cruel reminder of everything they’ve lost.

 “It’s not her fault,” I murmur, both for her benefit and my own. “We can’t let her pay the price for Adis’s stupidity.”

 “I didn’t know where to go,” Kattie admits, tears welling in her eyes once more. She looks up at me, her hands intertwining behind my neck. “I just need to forget it all for just a moment.” Her lips graze the bottom of my neck, sending shivers down my spine.

 “Clay?!” I whisper, my breath hitching in my throat as I realize the implications.

 “He’s still unconscious and can’t really help me,” she replies, rising on her toes to bridge the gap between us. With a sigh that feels like surrender, I lean down and kiss her back.

 Kissing her again feels electrifying, a rush of warmth and familiarity that ignites something deep within me. She’s strong; I don’t fear breaking her or causing her pain. When she presses her body against mine, refusing to take no for an answer, it ignites a fervor that leaves me aflame with desire. “Let’s go to your room,” she whispers in my ear, a tantalizing invitation.

 As soon as the door shuts behind us, she pulls me in closer, her lips capturing mine again as she yanks my shirt off. I don’t resist; instead, I push her toward my bed, an unspoken understanding passing between us.

 Once I’m within reach, I open the nightstand, retrieving what I need. Without breaking our kiss, I swiftly inject the needle into her neck and press down the piston before she can react. The disappointment in her eyes is unmistakable.

 “I’m sorry, baby,” I whisper softly, pulling out the needle. Her lips part, forming a word that never escapes, and before she can fully comprehend, she collapses into my arms. Gently, I lay her down on my bed, my heart is not the only part of me heavy with regret.

 I sigh, tossing the syringe back into the drawer, the weight of my choice pressing heavily on my chest. It had come too close this time. No matter how desperately I long for her, no matter how much I miss her, I can’t do it. Not to Clay, and not to her.

 *****

 As I step into the dimly lit pack apartment, the atmosphere feels heavy with unspoken tension. KC and Hope are seated in separate armchairs, their postures betraying their emotional states. KC's face is a blank canvas, devoid of expression, while Hope’s tear-streaked cheeks tell a different story… she has clearly been crying, just like her sister.

 "Kattie is at my place," I announce, my voice breaking the silence. "I gave her something to help her sleep."

 "I did the same with Adis," KC replies, his gaze fixed on the floor, avoiding any semblance of eye contact. "He is high as a kite."

 "Yeah, Kattie mentioned that..." I start, but KC interrupts me.

 "She doesn't know how it turned out." Slowly, he raises his eyes to meet mine, an unsettling mixture of concern and resignation etched across his features. "She left as soon as he gave her the name."

 "What else did he do?" My heart races; an overwhelming sense of dread washes over me, as I try not to imagine.

 "Besides forbidding us to ever mention the name Sarah Noble in her presence?" Hope's voice, tinged with an unsettling familiarity, sounds more and more like Kattie's each passing day. "You'll have to see the rest for yourself."

 Without waiting for their responses, I hurry to the room where I previously carried the girl. I feel a gnawing anxiety in my stomach, fearing the worst as I push the door open. The sight that greets me is troubling, yet not as dire as I had anticipated. Adis has cut her hair significantly shorter, now just brushing her shoulders, and dyed it several shades darker. It is a jarring transformation, but thankfully, that is all he has done.

 "I don't get him at all," KC's voice breaks through my thoughts, filled with confusion. "First, he gives her that name because she resembles Amber, and then he makes Hope change her hair to distance her from that resemblance. Why?"

 "How much time passed after he named her before he wanted to change her?" I ask, instinctively feeling for Amber…Sarah’s pulse… a habit I have developed when dealing with the unconscious and sedated.

 "A couple of hours, maybe." KC's voice is low, almost defeated. "He spend an eternity just staring at her, mumbling to himself."

 "My best guess is that the drugs began to wear off, and he became more clear-headed," I speculate, my mind racing. "He couldn’t take back the name, but he could at least alter her appearance in another way."

 "But that doesn’t make it all okay again," KC points out, his tone laden with frustration.

 I nod in agreement. "No, but it indicates that Adis isn’t completely lost to his addiction. If only we could keep him away from the damn drugs..."

 "Not exactly the easiest task, considering he makes his living selling them," KC replies dryly, his cynicism cutting through the tension.

 "He needs to want to stop himself," I insist, turning to face him. "Who knows? Maybe this new Amber will be his salvation." 

 "Or she could be the one to finish him off," KC counters, a shadow of doubt lurking in his eyes.

 "And what if she ends up being the end of us all? The entire underworld, all the packs… considering who she is?" I feel a chill run down my spine as the weight of the situation settles over me. What happens if her father finds her? What about Zombie when he discovers her existence? And what if she doesn’t want to stay? What if she wants to go home? Will Adis even be able to let her leave?

 "She is not going to survive this," KC says, real regret lacing his words. "She doesn't have the physical or psychological strength to endure this life."

 His words hang in the air like a death knell, echoing the grim reality we face. It feels like we stand at the precipice of chaos, and the abyss stares back with a smirk. How can we save her from a fate that seems all but inevitable?