Forgotten Things

RHIANNON

I feel dizzy and nauseous as I try to sit up. I blink my eyes to adjust to the light.

I’m lying on a lumpy bed that creaks when I make any minor movement.

“How do you feel, Rhiannon?” I know Ommin’s voice immediately.

I groan and hold my spinning head.

“What happened? I feel like I’ve been—” I suddenly jolt forward and scan the room. “The...the vampire... Where am I?”

“You’re safe, Rhiannon, lie back. Can you tell me what you remember?”

A shiver runs down my spine—everything feels like it’s rushing back at once.

“Mirele...where is Mirele?!” I lost track of her when the kingdom was attacked. We were together, then the chaos ripped us apart.

“She...she didn’t make it. I’m so sorry, Rhiannon. Mag Mell has fallen, the fairy kingdom is no more.” Ommin looks at the ground sadly.

“She’s dead?” I choke on a sob. From the corner of my eye, I see movement across the room.

My neck tingles as I take in the man sitting anxiously in the corner of the room. I gasp as we make eye contact. His honey-colored eyes look so sad. He’s a wolf, I can sense it. An alpha.

Something about seeing him there makes me feel instantly comforted, like I’m being wrapped in a tight hug.

He pulls himself up and takes a tentative step toward me. I can’t look away from him; my eyes roam over his face and body, unsure of where to look.

He looks heartbroken, and it spurs something in me. Heavy emotions overwhelm me.

He doesn’t speak, just looks at me, silently begging me.

“Rhiannon,” Ommin asks me softly, “do you remember how you escaped?”

“I...the vampire king’s sister...she fed me a few times. We made a plan, I was going to escape, but something happened.

“She unchained me but I couldn’t run, I...I don’t remember anything after that.” My heart pounds in my chest.

“Do you know why she helped you?”

“He stole the throne from her. He’s not happy only ruling over vampires, he wants to kill off the wolves.

“That’s why he needs me, so he can get rid of them to rule over everyone. No one is safe.”

I peek at the man, and his sad eyes are still focused on me. I can’t describe the look in his eyes; it’s such a profound, deep sadness.

It makes my heart ache. I want to reach out to him, to comfort him somehow.

“Who are you?” I ask him quietly.

“I’m Alpha Isaac Jackson.” His hoarse voice is laced with hurt, but it still sounds so strong.

“Do... I’m sorry, but do we know each other?” I ask before I can stop myself. His face looks familiar but not from anywhere I can place. It’s like I’ve seen him in my dreams.

“Yes, we do,” is all he says.

“Rhiannon?” Ommin calls to me. “Valera is here. She wants to speak to you.”

I pull myself out of the bed. I notice the Alpha flinch, like his body involuntarily tried to step toward me but he held himself back.

I stand and release my wings, pulling them up into a flight-ready position behind me so they don’t drag across the ground.

There is a female wolf here too. She’s been quiet but her eyes are trained on me. It’s almost protective, like she’s guarding me from something.

When I step outside, I see a very tall wolf is holding Valera against his body tightly, his arm locked around her throat.

I gasp and fly toward them, hovering so that I’m face-to-face with him. “Release her!

He does, immediately. Who are all of these strangers and why do I feel a magnetic pull toward them?

The man looks back and forth between me and the alpha with a sad look in his eyes.

Valera is sputtering and coughing on the ground. I drop down to my knees next to her and pull her into a hug.

“Oh, sure, now you remember me,” she wheezes.

I cock my brow and look back at Ommin. He takes a deep breath and steps forward.

“Rhiannon... when they found you, you weren’t conscious. In order to protect you and the rest of the world, I wiped your memory.”

“Ommin! How could you? Why would you—” Then it hits me. “If I don’t know I’m a fairy, it’s like I’m not a fairy. I would smell human, so the vampires couldn’t find me.”

“That was a year ago,” he continues.

“What?!” I blow up. “Where have I been for a year? Why don’t I remember that part? A year?!”

I flit up just above their heads and start flying back and forth, pacing.

“Rhiannon, come down! You know I hate it when you do that!” Ommin sounds exasperated.

I land angrily in front of him.

“Where have I been for the last year?”

Another wolf steps forward, another alpha.

“I’m Alpha Hunter, you spent half the year with me.”

“And the other half?”

“With me,” the handsome, sad alpha says roughly.

“Why don’t I remember?” I peel my eyes away from his and look at Ommin.

“When we restored your memories, you lost the new ones you made,” he explains.

“Valera came, and we weren’t sure if we could trust her or believe her story about helping you, so we gave you back your memories to figure out the truth.”

“Well, she did save me. We had a plan but it didn’t work out.

“She was going to free me and I was going to escape, then we were going to try to find a potion that could incapacitate him long enough for her to kill him.”

“Why can’t you just kill him? Why do you need a potion?” the she-wolf asks Valera.

“He’s much stronger than me. We’re both very old but he…

“Look, part of what I’m about to say is just a suspicion I have. Winged-fairy blood makes us unkillable. Fairy blood in general makes us very strong—not invincible, but strong,” she explains.

“I tried to kill him before he captured her, but he was much stronger than me. I think he has a fairy. I don’t know if it’s another kidnapping situation or not, but I think he’s drinking fairy blood.

“We wanted a potion that would knock him out long enough to rid his system of any fairy blood. Then I could take care of him.”

“Do you know who the traitor is?” the very tall one asks.

“No,” she says calmly, “but I know there is one. I overheard him mentioning you and talking about knowing where you are because of his helper.”

“How do we know we can trust you? That when you take over the vampire kingdom you won’t try to become untouchable and wipe everyone out like he’s trying to?” The alpha’s sad voice is rough with anger.

“I guess you can’t know that. You’ll just have to believe me when I say that I don’t want to rule the whole world. I know it’s not much of a guarantee, but it’s the truth,” she tells him with a shrug.

“Where is he?”

“He’s set up in Romania. After you got away from where he held you in Brazil, he fled.”

“We need to move on to somewhere safer, then we can regroup over how we’re going to get rid of him.”

Everyone nods.

Everyone starts running around, pulling down tents and packing up their personal items.

I stand rooted to the ground. I feel his stare burning into me, I feel his immense sadness so strongly it’s crippling.

He said that we know each other, but I can’t help but feel that we ~know~ each other. I feel a spiritual connection to him that tugs at my heart.

“Alpha?” I barely whisper but I know he’s listening, he hears me. “Can we talk?”