Chapter 100: Forgotten Identity

MAYA

“Did you really have to smack him?”

“I freaked out!”

Okay, so ~perhaps~ smacking someone who had just survived a major trauma wasn’t the brightest idea. Especially not in the ~head~.

She was caught off guard. No one had confirmed that he was ~definitely~ out of danger. Maya had no way of knowing he would wake up so soon.

~Not her fault at all~.

If anyone was to blame, it should be Olivia for not sharing more details about his recovery.

“Will he be alright?”

Olivia’s gaze dropped to the floor as she gripped her elbow with her other hand. Her fingers were rigid, leaving imprints on her skin from the intense pressure. “I had to sedate him.”

“What?”

Olivia glanced at her, then quickly averted her eyes. She began to smooth out her shirt, which was already wrinkle-free. ~Deflection~.

“He was, well, a bit out of control. Trying to yank out the IV, screaming, lunging at me… I had to do it.”

“You managed to restrain him alone?”

“No, Alex assisted…”

~Great~.

That meant the guy, whatever his name was, must be in pretty bad shape. Alex wouldn’t take kindly to anyone threatening Olivia. ~Oh well~. It was for the best. They couldn’t have an unruly stranger wandering around, mate or not.

“So, will he wake up? And if he does… I doubt he’ll be any calmer.”

“Alex is restraining him…” Olivia paused, her lips forming a thin line “…more permanently. When he wakes up next, he won’t be able to move as much.”

Shackles and chains. ~The ones from the basement~. It was their standard procedure.

They shouldn’t treat him any differently because of his connection to her. She wouldn’t risk the pack’s safety.

Besides, it was for ~his~ own good. Who knew what he might attempt, or if he tried to escape or something even more foolish?

They did recover faster than the average human, but that didn’t mean they were invincible. He could injure himself.

And he ~might~ manage to escape. Then what? He’d perish out there? She’d have to track him down?

“Sorry, he was calm when he woke up. ~Confused~, but calm.”

She didn’t doubt Liv’s words. If she had woken up in an unfamiliar place, unable to recognize anything or anyone, she would have reacted the same way, no question.

Especially if someone had knocked her the fuck out within two seconds of waking up.

Yes, that was entirely her fault, so maybe…

~No~, she didn’t want to play nanny to anyone. Mate or not.

“Maybe it was ~you~.”

“Me?”

“Yeah, he might have felt soothed by your presence… since you’re his… you know, mate.”

He hadn’t behaved as if he had realized it. ~But maybe~. It hardly mattered. It would be easier to talk to him and understand him if they weren’t constantly worried about him running off or hurting someone.

It would also be easier to converse if she didn’t smack him.

“I don’t think he’ll want to see me after I knocked him out cold.”

“~Maya~, he knows who you are. He was probably just startled or confused from, you know, ~nearly~ ~dying~.”

“What exactly do you want me to do?”

“Whatever you’re comfortable with. Do you want to talk to him first? Or just be there while I try to ask him some medical questions once he’s awake.”

~That was new.~ “You’re doing the questioning? Not Alex?”

“Oh no, I meant the medical questions.” She laughed.

“I wouldn’t even try to stop Alex from ~interrogating him~. If that’s what we’re calling it. He’s a bit worked up about the massacre and, you know, him trying to attack me.”

“Good point. Maybe I should talk to him first.”

Truthfully? She didn’t want to talk to him because she didn’t know what to say. Where to start?

She was aware of their connection, but that didn’t make the dialogue any smoother. Especially considering they were practically strangers and the circumstances they’d found him under.

Maya was pretty bold with Alex, and he probably put up with more of her cheek than he should.

She’d been on the receiving end of his fury a few times, though. It wasn’t something she’d suggest for anyone.

Including ~him~.

It was becoming frustrating not knowing his name.

Perhaps a conversation would at least clear that up…

“Okay, okay. I’ll do it. Once the sedative wears off, I’ll talk to him.”

No more dodging the issue.

***

Olivia had been spot on: he was ~restless~.

To put it mildly.

“Who are you? And what is this place?”

His voice wasn’t angry or furious, but she couldn’t ignore how he kept pulling at his restraints, as if they’d magically snap from his efforts.

“I think a better question is ~who are you~?” she countered, folding her arms across her chest.

She waited for a response, or even a refusal to respond until ~she~ did, but she got neither.

Instead, he just stared at her, his dark eyes reflecting the sunlight streaming through the window, and he stayed completely silent.

“What?” she laughed. “Don’t know your own name?”

Maya watched as his head dropped, his shoulders slumping. ~Hold on a second~.

“You do know your name, right?” It was meant to be a joke, just a joke.

But once again, she was met with silence. Except a quick look at his demeanor told her he wasn’t silent because he didn’t want to answer. No, he was silent because he ~couldn’t~ answer.

This nightmare was getting worse by the day. ~Fucking worse~.

Maya barely held back the urge to hide her face in her hands. ~So much for getting any kind of answers from him~.

Was he still out of it? Was it the drugs? The blow to the head? ~Something~ had to be causing this surely temporary situation… right?

“What did you do to me?”

~Yikes~. He had shifted from shocked and upset to angry. And it was all aimed at ~her~. ~How delightful~.

She could walk away and choose ~not~ to deal with this. She could. ~If only her legs would cooperate~.

She was stuck here, in this chair, unable to move. She ~knew~ who and what he was to her, or at least what he was supposed to be, but ~he saw her as the enemy~.

That meant he didn’t know. Whatever he still ~knew~, he didn’t know ~what~ she was to ~him~. For a moment, she felt a pang in her chest, a heavy heartbeat that nearly doubled her over.

If he didn’t know ~who~ she was, she wouldn’t humiliate herself. She wouldn’t go down that path. What was the point?

She had seen Alex explain it to Olivia. She had seen him explain ~many~ things she didn’t understand and it got them nowhere.

Maya straightened her back, sitting up in the chair before crossing her legs, and leaning away from him.

“~I~ didn’t do anything. We ~found~ you. We ~helped~ you. If you want to be a jerk to someone, be a jerk to whoever dumped you in the ground and left you for dead.”

His dark eyes narrowed as he studied her face. ~He was trying to see if she was lying~.

Well, tough luck for him. She wasn’t. Regardless of what he did and didn’t know, he was a wolf. He should be able to tell, he should have a ~sense~.

“Then why did ya chain me up?”

~Good question~. Though the answer was pretty clear. “Hmm, because you tried to attack Olivia?”

“Who?”

“Dark hair, light eyes, dangerous Alpha follows her around like a lost puppy?”

“Alpha…” He exhaled. “Is that what he is?”

~So much for believing he was telling the truth.~ “So, you know what an Alpha is but you don’t know your own name?”

Was this the moment where she called him out or was that even possible? How the fuck was she supposed to know?

It didn’t feel like he was lying. She wasn’t picking up on any signs… No sweat, no salty scent to his musk.

His lips parted and closed, as if the question had made him realize he ~did~ know some things. For a fleeting moment, she wished she could understand what was happening in his mind. How was he processing all of this?

“Let me go, then.”

“Excuse me?”

“You didn’t do this. You don’t know me. Let me go.”

She let out a laugh. He had a bit of spirit for a guy chained to a bed. She had to give him that. But he was a bit ~too~ hopeful. Or was it stupidity? It was hard to decipher. “Hold on, pal. We can’t just release you.”

“Why not?” He reclined against his pillow. His eyes scanned her face and for a moment, she half-expected to see a spark of recognition in them. But there was none.

“It’s just me. I can tell there are many of you. What’s the issue?”

~The issue, you fucking moron, is that you’re my damn mate.~

She wished she could say that, but he hadn’t mentioned the ~m-word~. She wasn’t in the mood to explain it to him.

Perhaps he could sense others’ status… perhaps he ~could~ feel there was something about her, but he couldn’t articulate it.

Then again, if he did, would he genuinely ask to be released?

Because that seemed to be his only concern; to get as far from here as possible. As far from ~her~ as he could. She, the idiot who kept returning to his bedside.

Depart.

He wanted to depart.

Her vision blurred momentarily as everything spun, her blood pounding in her ears. Her chest was constricted, her throat raw, tightening. ~Depart~. Why did that word cause a pain to stab through her heart?

“Y-you can’t.”

It wasn’t a response, at least not one that would satisfy him… or anyone. Maya couldn’t form more words or thoughts. The air had become stifling.

Each breath was difficult to draw, barely inflating her lungs. She could have told him he was too wounded to leave, or that they didn’t know enough about him.

But her mind wasn’t functioning.

Her mind rejected reason.

~She shouldn’t have come here~. She ~shouldn’t~ have listened. Olivia should have kept her damn nose out of it.

“I-I need to leave.”

She heard him ~attempt~ to yell something at her, but his voice was so hoarse, it made it impossible for her to make out the words. Or perhaps it was because she was too preoccupied trying to escape from him. ~Perhaps~.

A coward.

She was acting like a fucking coward.