"Audrey, your mate got into an accident and suffered a brain injury. He has amnesia and might not remember anything—including you."
The words struck like lightning, scorching my chest and leaving nothing but an aching hollowness in its wake.
I barely remembered stumbling through the halls of the pack hospital. My lungs burned with every sharp breath, my heartbeat rattling in my ears. The sterile scent of antiseptic filled my nostrils, but all I could focus on was the man lying unconscious on the hospital bed.
Alpha Noah Sinclair. My mate. My husband. My whole damn world.
Tubes ran along his arms, a thick bandage wrapped around his forehead. His usually tanned skin was ghostly pale, and his strong, commanding presence—the one that had always made me feel safe—was reduced to stillness.
"How bad is it?" I whispered, barely recognizing my own voice.
The healer standing beside him gave me a cautious look. "He has retrograde amnesia. His memories of the past are fragmented… but it seems the only thing he doesn’t remember—is you."
The world tilted. I gripped the edge of the bed, my nails digging into the sheets as I forced myself to breathe.
I waited, praying for some sort of mistake, some sign that this was all a misunderstanding. Maybe he’d wake up, take one look at me, and his eyes would soften like they always did. Maybe he’d reach for me, murmuring my name with relief.
But when Noah’s lashes fluttered open, revealing the icy blue eyes I had loved for years, there was nothing in them. No warmth. No familiarity.
No recognition.
"Who the hell are you?" he rasped.
The words shattered something inside me. I choked back a sob, but the pain was unbearable.
He doesn’t remember me.
Weeks later. I stayed. I waited. I hoped.
For weeks, I sat by his side, desperate for a flicker of recognition. I held his hand, whispered stories of our past, showed him pictures from our childhood up until our wedding day.
But nothing changed. Noah’s patience thinned, his frustration turning into cruelty.
“Stop forcing this,” he snapped one night, his voice colder than I had ever heard. “I don’t know you. I don’t love you. Just leave me alone.”
His words were a blade, cutting deeper than any wound I had ever endured. But I still stayed.
Until the day she arrived. Caroline. His first love.
She walked into the hospital room like she owned the place, all delicate smiles and fake concern. And just like that, Noah came alive.
His dull, emotionless eyes lit up at the sight of her. He smiled. He pulled her into his arms.
Right in front of me. I felt my soul crack as I watched them. He held her like he once held me, his voice dripping with warmth—the warmth I had been begging for.
And when Caroline turned to me, her lips curled into a wicked smirk. She leaned in, her breath brushing against my ear.
"I have him back," she whispered. "You should leave while you still have your dignity."
I stood frozen, my mind screaming at me to fight, to yell, to do something. But how do you fight for someone who doesn’t remember loving you?
I walked out of that hospital room feeling numb. How could he remember her but not me?
I had been there through everything. Through every battle, every scar, every sleepless night. I had loved him unconditionally. And yet, I was the one forgotten.
As I stepped outside, the cold night air burned against my skin, but I barely noticed. The world had become one big joke, twisting and turning, laughing at my misery.
Then, like the nightmare wasn’t over yet, Caroline appeared.
"You’re wasting your time, Audrey," she said, her voice laced with mock sympathy. "He’s never going to remember you. The bond between you? It’s gone.”
Something about the way she said it—so confident, so sure—made my wolf stir uneasily.
I clenched my fists, my gut twisting. Something wasn’t right.
But before I could process the feeling, I returned home—only to find my luggage already outside.
The Beta of the Skyler pack stood waiting for me, his expression unreadable.
"It’s over," he said. "Your bond with Alpha Noah has been severed."
My bond? Severed? A bond like ours wasn’t something that just disappeared.
I wanted to argue, to scream, to demand answers—but there was no use. Noah had made his choice.
Silently, I picked up my bags and walked away, tears blurring my vision.
I had lost everything. I didn’t know where I was going. My feet dragged against the dirt path as I walked through the woods, my heart aching so badly I thought I might collapse.
And then, I felt it. A presence.
Someone was following me.
I stopped, my body stiff with fear. Slowly, I turned—only to see a rogue stepping out of the shadows.
My pulse pounded. My wolf was weak from the heartbreak and exhaustion. If he attacked, I wouldn’t be able to fight back.
"Please," I gasped. "Don’t kill me. I’m pregnant."
The rogue’s expression flickered with something unreadable. Then, he spoke.
"I’m not going to hurt you," he said, his voice rough but steady. "Not if you work with me."
My breath caught. "What… what do you mean?"
He took a step closer, his eyes gleaming in the moonlight.
"Your mate’s accident wasn’t an accident," he said. "His amnesia? It was planned. Someone wanted you erased from his life. Someone took your place."
A chill shot down my spine. My heart pounded in my ears.
"Who are you?" I whispered.
The rogue smirked.
"The only one who can help you get your mate back."
