Chapter 267
ELENA
The light from the Foundation office windows spilled across my desk in golden lines, a soft glow that matched the calm in the room. Outside, the last stretch of autumn clung to the trees–leaves fluttering in warm orange and red waves. Inside, I was going through the budget report for the upcoming winter supply deve, frowning at a margin error Jacob had flagged earlier.
“We’re still short on the heating units,” I murmured, tapping a per against the clipboard. Across the table, Jacob looked up from his laptop.
“I sent a note to the vendor this morning. They think they can get as thirty more by next week.”
“That still leaves us
11
The words never made it out.
Pain–blinding, savage–split through my head like a thunderclap, I gasped, the pen clattering from my hand. The office around me tilted violently. My vision fractured into shards of light. I staggered back, one hand reaching for the edge of the table, the other clutching at my skull.
“Elena?” Jacob’s voice cracked with concern, chair scraping back.
I couldn’t speak. The pain intensified, rolling through me like waves of electricity. My knees gave out. A strangled cry escaped me as I collapsed to the floor.
I heard Jacob yelling–something about help, someone calling for an ambulance. My body convulsed once, then stilled. The last thing I saw was the ceiling lights blurring into halos as everything faded to black.
***
The rhythmic beeping of machines was the first sound I registered Soft. Steady. Calming.
I blinked, trying to force the white blur above me into focus. Hospital lights. I was in a hospital.
“Elena?” Jacob’s voice again, much closer this time. I turned my head slightly and found him sitting in a chair next to the bed, his expression creased with worry.
“Jacob?” My throat was dry, my voice hoarse. “What happened?”
He exhaled a breath of relief and leaned forward.
“You collapsed. Grabbed your head and went down hard. Scared the hell out of me. I called for help, and we got you here as fast as we could.”
I didn’t remember any of that.
I tried to sit up, but the world tilted again, and I sank back against the pillows.
“The doctors are running tests,” he added. “They haven’t found anything physically wrong yet.”
“Yet?”
“With your history… they want to be thorough.”
I nodded faintly, though I wasn’t sure if I agreed or just wanted the conversation to stop. My brain felt stuffed with cotton. Distant. Everything felt… disconnected.
The door creaked open.
“Mommy!”
Aiden’s voice pierced the haze. He barreled toward the bed, eyes wide, cheeks flushed. I reached for him instinctively and he
Chapter 207
ངག།། ༡༨
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climbed up beside me, curling against my side like he was three again.
“Hey, baby,” I whispered, pressing a kiss to his hair. “I’m okay. You don’t need to worry. I’m in good hands.”
He didn’t answer. Just clung to me tighter. I could feel his heart pounding against my riba.
“I thought you were never going to wake up,” he whispered. “I was so scared.”
My fingers ran through his hair. “I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.”
But even as I said the words, I felt the lie hidden in them. Something had happened. Something big. There was a fog in my head that felt unnatural. Like a door had been slammed shut.
Then I felt it.
A presence.
The air in the room shifted. A spark in my chest flared like someone struck a match to it. Every nerve in my body tingled.
I looked up.
A man stood in the doorway.
Dark hair with a white streak above an eyebrow. Strong shoulders. Something in the eyes–those eyes–sent a current skittering down my spine.
And Nox howled.
I flinched.
The man stepped into the room, pausing as if unsure whether he was welcome.
“Elena,” he said softly.
His voice hit like a tremor. Familiar. But wrong. Like a song I knew once but couldn’t hum anymore.
I blinked at him. Felt the bond scream in recognition.
But I couldn’t find the memory to match it.
“I’m sorry,” I said, carefully. “Have we met?”
DEREK
When Jacob’s name lit up my phone screen, I knew something was wrong.
I was in the park with Aiden. We were watching ducks, eating ice cream–normal things. Good things. But the second I saw the call, my stomach dropped.
“Something’s happened,” I said, grabbing Aiden’s hand. I didn’t wait for his questions. We were in the car within minutes.
I drove like a madman, running yellow lights and swearing at red ones. Aiden sat in the backseat, unusually quiet, clutching the remainder of his cone like it was an anchor.
“Is she going to be okay?” he asked once.
“She has to be,” I said, my jaw tight.
When we reached the hospital, he sprinted ahead of me. I jogged after him, heart pounding.
“We’re here to see Elena Hart,” I told the woman at the front desk
A passing doctor paused. “Are you family?”
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“I’m her mate,” I said smoothly. “Can you tell me what’s going on”
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He frowned. “She collapsed earlier. She’s stable now, but disoriented. With her medical history… we’re going to keep her overnight. Possibly longer.”
“Is she awake?”
“She is now.”
I thanked him and walked toward her room, my steps quickening with each heartbeat.
The hallway was bright, buzzing with hospital energy, but I didn’t hear any of it. All I could think about was the look on Jacob’s face when he’d called. The panic in his voice. The way I’d felt it, down to my bones, that something was wrong with her.
Aiden was already there, holding her hand. Jacob stood to the side arms crossed, tense.
But I only saw her.
And the second she looked at me, our bond roared to life. Not a whisper now. A wildfire.
I felt the tug in my chest. That old, familiar ache that had never truly gone away. My heart stuttered.
“Elena,” I said.
She looked at me.
Brows knit.
Eyes soft.
And then she said it.
“I’m sorry… have we met?”
The floor fell out from under me.
Everything vanished but her.
And I realized the worst thing of all-
She didn’t remember me.
I took a step back, almost without realizing it. The room was too small, too quiet. The machines beeped calmly while inside me, everything was screaming.
Jacob stiffened, like he was bracing for a fight. Or maybe just the fallout.
Aiden looked up, confused. “Mom?”
Her gaze shifted to our son. There was love in it–real, deep love but also hesitation.
“I… I don’t know,” she said softly. “I know you. Of course I do. But…”
Her eyes flicked back to me. “I’m sorry. I don’t know who he is.”
Jacob cleared his throat. “It might be a temporary lapse,” he offered.
I couldn’t speak.
She didn’t remember me.
The bond was still there, blazing in my chest, raw and undeniable—but her side of it was dimmed. Not broken, just… buried.
It had happened again.
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Chapter 267
And this time, I wasn’t sure we’d survive it.
