Chapter 102
Chapter 102
CHARLOTTE’S POV
B
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My head hung low as my strength slowly drained out of me. My fingers twitched weakly, the silver chains biting deeper into my skin. They didn’t just knock me out. Something else was inside my system, spreading slowly and making my limbs feel like they didn’t belong to me.
A soft click sounded and a weak yellow bulb flickered to life above me, the light stuttering before it stayed on, barely pushing back the darkness. I forced my eyes open and looked around. The space was tiny, the walls too close, no windows anywhere. It looked less like a room and more like one of those prison solitary cells where people disappeared and no one asked questions.
The door creaked open and someone stepped in. He stayed just outside the weak light, his face swallowed by the shadows. I could only see the outline of his body and the plate he held in his hand.
“Eat,” he said flatly. “You’re going to need your energy for what’s coming.”
He shoved the plate on the floor toward my face. The movement made the thin watery food slide over the edge. It dripped down the plate and splashed onto the floor in front of me, some of it touched my skin.
“In case you haven’t noticed,” I shifted my hands slightly and the silver chains burned deeper into my skin and I swallowed the wince that was about to slip off. “My hands are bound, so how do you expect me to eat?”
“Find a way, Charlotte Creed,” he spat before turning and walking out. The door shut behind him with a dull thud.
Creed?
Before the accident… was that my name? When I started digging into Moon after she came to my hospital, I found something. Her name used to be Moon Creed before she married Ace and took his last name. And she called me sister. The thought twisted inside my stomach. A sour taste rushed up my throat and I bent forward as much as the chains allowed. I threw up everything inside me, my body shaking while the bitter liquid spilled onto the cold floor, I struggled to catch my
breath.
No! This cannot be.
I wiped my mouth against my shoulder, breathing hard. I would be damned if Moon was my sister.
I waited for the door to open again, for someone to walk in after hearing the noise, but no one came.
My eyelids started to grow too heavy. The silver around my wrists wasn’t just burning anymore. It felt like it was draining something out of me, spreading through my veins like poison. My arms felt numb, my shoulders weak, my head dipping lower every second that passed. If this kept going, it wouldn’t take long before my body completely gave out.
“Are you there?” I whispered to Astra but got no response from her. “You can’t leave me alone in all of this,” I murmured weakly. “I need you, please come back.”
I didn’t realize I had passed out until something cold splashed all over my body. I gasped and jerked forward as much as the chains allowed. The liquid ran down my face and into my mouth. It wasn’t just water. The taste was metallic, thick and bitter, like rust sitting on old iron.
“It seems I gave you too much space with the chain and that was why you were able to sleep so smoothly,” Moon said, almost excited. She gestured to the man standing beside her. He stepped forward and yanked the chain hard. The metal dragged against the wall with a loud scrape. My body jerked backward until my back hit the concrete. The chains tightened, pulling my wrists higher The silver burned deeper into my skin and I bit down hard to keep from crying out.
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Chapter 102
“Now,” she said slowly, watching my face, “let’s see how you get some sleep again.”
She flicked her fingers at the man. He turned and walked out without a word.
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“What do you want with me?” I forced out, my breath shaking. The pain that had been dull before was now spreading through my arms and chest.
Moon dragged a chair across the floor and placed it right in front of me. “You don’t know?” she said with a small laugh. “You come into town and suddenly my husband starts acting like a stupid boy seeing his crush for the first time.” Her eyes narrowed at me. “Running after you… and your son.”
She leaned forward slightly, studying my face.
“A son I only recently found out is also his son.”
Oh Liam. I had been so caught up in the pain and everything Moon was saying that I forgot about the message and the video. My fingers tightened around the chains and I pulled hard, the silver biting deeper into my skin. “If you did anything to my son,” I forced out, “I’m going to kill you myself.”
“Awnn.” She tilted her head and pushed out her lower lip, making a fake puppy face. “That’s so cute.” Her lips slowly curled into a smile. “Worrying about your son when you should be worried about your own life.”
She leaned back in the chair, watching me struggle. “Ace must be looking for both of you right now,” she went on lazily. “That is… if he has realized you’re missing.” She gave a soft laugh. “But I promise you something. He will never find you. He will never find this place.”
Her earlier words suddenly came rushing back to me. “What do you mean Ace is Liam’s father?” I asked quickly.
“Yes, you don’t remember anything about your past.” She stood up slowly and reached into her jacket. When her hand came out, she was holding a syringe.
“You know,” she said as she stepped closer to me, “I’ve been doing a lot of research ever since I found out you survived that accident.”
She held up a small vial and pushed the needle into the rubber top then pulled the plunger back, the dark liquid sliding slowly into it. “How to make someone remember everything she has forgotten,” she continued. “But the medical world had nothing useful. Maybe that’s why you also couldn’t find anything to help yourself.”
Her smile widened as she lifted the syringe.
“But I know someone… someone who isn’t allowed anywhere near the wolf world.” She twirled the syringe between her fingers. “A very vile witch.” Her eyes gleamed. “And she gave me this.” She lifted the syringe slightly. “Nocthera.”
“She told me if I inject this into you…” Moon leaned closer, her voice getting excited,
“You’ll remember everything”
No. I had only heard of Nocthera once during a lecture years ago. It wasn’t meant to bring back memories. There were only two outcomes with it. You either ended up locked in a psychiatric hospital for the rest of your life… or you ended up in the
morgue.
“Don’t do this, please,” I begged quickly, my voice breaking. “This will make me crazy.”
Moon’s smile slowly spread across her face. She was enjoying this. My fear was feeding her. “You’re one smart doctor, aren’t you?” she said softly. “You’re right. This will either make you lose your mind or…” her smile stretched wider, almost excited. “better. Dead.”
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Chapter 102
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She stepped closer and pressed the cold tip of the syringe against the side of my neck. I tried to move away but the chains held me down tight. The silver burning through my system made my body slow and weak.
“There’s no better way for this to go,” she murmured, her voice low, “than having you relive that beautiful, excruciating past of yours.”
Before I could say anything else, she drove the needle straight into my neck.
A sharp sting shot through me as the liquid pushed inside. I felt every drop as she slowly pressed the plunger down until nothing was left in the syringe.
My head dropped forward and my body went limp, my eyes closing on their own like my system was shutting down. Then the pain came. It spread through my body fast and my muscles suddenly locked. My body jerked hard against the chains and the silver dug deeper into my skin. I couldn’t stop it.
Moon’s loud laughter filled the room, the sound of her steps slowly faded.
I thought death was finally coming. Liam’s face filled my head then my father, Les and Ethan came next… and somewhere in those thoughts was Ace. I hated that he was there too.
But death refused to come. My mind felt like it was being forced open. Memories I didn’t recognize came crashing in, I wasn’t dying. I was being dragged into a past that hated me, and my mind was forced to relive every single thing I had forgotten.
I wished I didn’t remember.
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Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
