Chapter 4 003 – Whispers of the Past

EVELYN POV

Water lapped against her fingertips.

Cool. Gentle. Alive.

Evelyn stirred from unconsciousness, her cheek pressed to the damp soil near the river's edge. Moonlight poured over her, casting silver shadows on the trees.

The world around her felt blurred, like she was stuck between two realities.

And then she heard it again.

"Mama..."

The same tiny voice, soft and innocent, echoing deep within her.

Her chest clenched. She sat up with a gasp, her hand flying to the center of her ribcage.

The scar pulsed beneath her fingertips-warm, throbbing. Something was waking inside her.

"No," she whispered. "This... this can't be real."

But it was.

The vision had been too vivid. The baby. The crib. The weight of love and fear twining together in her chest.

A daughter. She had a daughter.

Suddenly, a set of hands gripped her shoulders.

She flinched hard, nearly screaming-until she saw Theo kneeling in front of her, his face twisted with concern and panic.

"Evelyn! What the hell are you doing out here? You fainted. You're freezing!" he said, yanking off his jacket and wrapping it around her.

"I..." she shook her head, voice weak, "I don't know."

"You could've drowned!"

"I was just-" she stopped. How could she explain it? I heard a child's voice inside my mind? I think I had a daughter with a man I barely know?

"I felt like someone was calling me," she said instead. "I came to the river. Then everything went black."

Theo stared at her, jaw tight. "This is the third time in a week you've blacked out. You need to stop seeing that man, Evelyn."

Her breath caught. "I wasn't seeing him."

"You think you weren't. But it's clear you're unraveling every time he's near."

Evelyn swallowed hard.

"I'm scared for you," he whispered, brushing a wet lock of hair behind her ear. "Let me help you. Just... let him go."

She didn't answer.

Because deep down, she knew she couldn't.

KADE POV

He stood in front of the run-down hunter's shack at the edge of the forest, a place he hadn't visited in years. Rory leaned on the doorframe behind him, watching.

"This is where you last saw her?" Rory asked.

Kade nodded. "She was hiding here during the war. When the raids started, she vanished."

"And the girl?"

Kade's fists clenched. "She was only a few weeks old. Evelyn never told anyone where she hid her."

Rory stepped inside first, brushing dust off an old dresser. "There's something under here."

Together, they pried loose a panel from the floorboards. Inside was a bundle of letters, an old locket, and a stuffed wolf pup doll.

Kade picked up the locket and opened it.

Inside was a tiny painting-Evelyn holding a baby with midnight-black curls and his stormy grey eyes.

His heart punched his ribs.

"She's real," he murmured. "Our daughter is real."

Rory glanced over. "And if Evelyn doesn't remember where she hid her?"

"I'll make her remember," Kade said, voice low. "Because if anyone finds out about her before I do... they'll use her against Evelyn."

EVELYN POV

She walked the path behind the apothecary shop, her head swirling with memories that didn't belong to her-but felt like hers all the same.

Visions.

Flashes.

The soft cry of a baby. A lullaby she couldn't remember learning. Blood. Fire. A man screaming her name.

The world tilted again, but she held on to a nearby tree to keep herself upright.

"I need answers," she whispered to herself.

And she knew the only person who had them was Kade.

But before she could take another step, she heard a voice behind her.

"You're starting to see it, aren't you?"

Evelyn turned sharply.

The seer woman.

The same one from the market. Dressed in ragged robes, hair braided with bones and feathers, eyes clouded with white.

"I told you," the woman rasped, "the bond doesn't die. It waits."

Evelyn stepped back. "Who are you?"

"A witness," the seer said. "I saw the fire that burned you. I saw the child you bled for. And I see what's coming."

"What's coming?"

"The world will try to take her from you."

"Who?" Evelyn whispered, voice barely holding steady.

"Your daughter. Your moon-born child."

Evelyn's heart stopped.

The seer leaned in close. "And the only way to save her... is to reclaim who you were."

KADE POV

He watched her from a distance as she walked through the woods, the seer's cloak fluttering behind her.

He followed only once Evelyn was alone again, stepping carefully into her path.

"You said you wanted to know more," he said softly.

Evelyn stiffened. "I did."

"I found something," he said, holding out the locket.

She hesitated, then took it with trembling hands.

When she opened it, a choked sound left her throat. Her fingers traced the tiny image inside. Her thumb brushed over the baby's face.

"I remember this," she whispered. "I painted it... I think."

"You did. The day after she was born. You were scared. But so happy."

Tears burned her eyes. "What's her name?"

Kade stepped closer. "You named her Avelyn."

Evelyn's lip quivered.

"I would've named her after you," he added. "But you said she needed her own name. Her own strength."

Avelyn.

Her knees buckled, and Kade caught her before she could fall.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered into her hair. "For everything. For the bond. For leaving you alone. I was trying to protect you... but I did it the wrong way."

Her voice was quiet. "Did you ever love me?"

Kade looked at her, raw honesty in his gaze.

"I still do."

EVELYN POV

She sat on her bed that night, locket pressed tightly to her chest.

Avelyn.

A name she never remembered... but felt like it had always been part of her soul.

Theo knocked once before entering.

"Found this in your drawer," he said, holding out a silver ring.

The ring Kade gave her on their wedding night.

The one she'd hidden-forgotten-but never thrown away.

"You've been keeping secrets," he said.

Evelyn met his gaze. "Not on purpose."

"You're in love with him."

Her voice cracked. "I think I always was."

Theo stepped forward. "Then I'll ask one last time. Stay. Stay with me. Let him go."

She shook her head. "I can't."

Theo's eyes darkened. "He'll destroy you, Evelyn."

"No," she said, standing taller. "He already did. But I survived."

KADE POV

Rory burst into the cabin, breathless.

"We have a problem."

Kade's jaw tensed. "What kind?"

"Word's out. Someone leaked it. They're saying Evelyn had a child during the war. One tied to the prophecy."

Kade's chest turned to ice. "Who knows?"

"The Black Fang Pack. And if they get to her first..."

Kade grabbed his weapons. "Then we move tonight."