Chapter 66: A dream or a memory?

Dorian didn’t return to the villa for hours. Alyssa ate dinner alone, staring at the empty seat across from her and wondering what was taking him so long.

She didn’t have a phone to call him yet, and she shrank away from asking Mary or Alden. She didn’t want to impose or bother them.

After the meal, she attempted to stay awake in the living area to wait for him, but a heavy, unnatural exhaustion suddenly pulled at her senses.

Dragging herself upstairs, she curled up in the massive bed, drawing the covers up to her waist. Sleep mercifully claimed her the moment her head hit the pillow.

***

She woke up to screams. Loud, terrified screams.

The ceiling above her was wrong, covered in a chaotic crisscross of rough wooden planks. The mirrored glass and pristine marble of the villa were gone; she was no longer in Ashgard.

She was trapped inside a burning wooden cabin, completely engulfed in roaring, bright yellow flames that singed her skin with an intense, blistering heat.

Alyssa sat up quickly, only to freeze as she looked down at the tiny, stubby legs stretched out before her. She raised her hands in sheer confusion, staring at small, soft palms. A toddler. She was trapped inside the body of a toddler.

The screams tore through the air again, louder this time, shrill, panicked, and filled with absolute terror. A massive section of the wooden roof collapsed nearby, sending a shower of sparks, flames, and thick, choking smoke billowing through the small space.

Alyssa screamed, her voice sounding foreign, high-pitched, and childlike.

Suddenly, the front door burst open. A young woman with vibrant, pure red hair and identical blue eyes raced into the burning room.

"Mama!" Alyssa cried out. Her primal instincts took over, telling her without a shadow of a doubt that this woman was her mother.

There was a deep, jagged cut stretching across the woman’s brow, bleeding slowly down her pale face. She snatched Alyssa up into her arms, clutching the toddler tightly against her chest with the fierce, protective desperation only a mother could possess.

"I’m right here, Solange. Mama’s here."

Solange?

Before she could process the name, the door burst open a second time. A terrifying Lycan rushed into the cabin, its fiercely glowing eyes locking onto the woman and child.

"Nolan!" the woman cried out. "They found us again. We’re surrounded."

With rapid, fluid swiftness, the massive Lycan form began to recede, the bones shifting and shrinking until a tall man with dark hair and light brown eyes emerged.

"Take Solange into the forest, Rachel," he ordered in a tight voice filled with urgency. "Run toward the river. There is a small boat hidden behind the bushes. Row toward the neighboring pack. I will hold them off here."

"No!" Rachel shrieked, shaking her head violently as she clutched Alyssa even tighter to her chest. "I am not leaving you behind again. I refuse to be separated from you like last time!"

​Nolan strode up to her, gripping her face in his hands, his light brown eyes wild with desperation. "Please, Rachel. I cannot risk losing you and our daughter. I will hold Ozai and his army back. Go! Find a place to hide."

"Nolan..." Rachel’s voice completely broke, tears cutting paths through the soot on her cheeks.

Witnessing the raw anguish in her mother’s eyes, Alyssa began to sob. The cabin was rapidly disintegrating around them, and the thick smoke was quickly swallowing up the last of the breathable air.

Nolan pulled Rachel flush against him, pressing a hard, desperate kiss to her lips before turning to plant a tender kiss on Alyssa’s small cheek. "I promise you, I will find you both. I always do. Now go. Go, Rachel!"

With a heart-wrenching sob, Rachel turned and fled toward the rear of the cabin. She looked back over her shoulder just in time to see Nolan’s Lycan form burst forth once more as he lunged directly into the monsters breaching the front entrance.

Forcing herself to turn away, she wiped the tears from her eyes and extended her bare hand toward the back wall, which was entirely blocked by falling flames. A brilliant beam of pure white light shot directly from her open palm. It struck the burning wood, causing the wall to explode outward in a shower of debris, leaving a gaping exit behind.

As she stepped out into the night air, she swept her hand in a wide, circular motion. Alyssa watched with wide eyes as the same radiant beam of light swirled wildly through the dark, forming a shimmering, protective shield around them.

But just as Rachel started to sprint toward the tree line, an eerie, monstrous beast leaped off the burning roof of the cabin with a thunderous, bloodcurdling roar, as if it had been patiently waiting for them to emerge.

The creature slammed violently against the magical shield. The impact resonated deeply, and Rachel let out a sharp cry of agony, clutching her chest as her connection to the magic severed.

She collapsed onto the forest floor, the shimmering dome flickering before dissolving into nothingness.

Alyssa recoiled in horror at the sight of the predator stalking toward them. It was a massive, demonic wolf with pitch-black, soulless eyes, its entire body shrouded in a thick, rolling mist of dark smoke.

The beast crept forward with predatory slowness, growling threateningly as its black lips pulled back to reveal rows of jagged, razor-sharp teeth.

It lunged suddenly, snapping its jaws, and Rachel screamed. Alyssa squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for the fatal blow to fall...

***

Alyssa shot straight up in bed with a piercing scream of terror.

Beside her, Dorian jerked awake, his instincts taking over as he swept her securely into his arms. His eyes bled into terrifying, pitch-black coals as Shadow emerged to the surface, scanning every dark corner of the bedroom for threats.

The moment he realized the reason for her scream, Shadow slowly retreated, allowing Dorian to regain control.

Alyssa was breathing heavily, her chest heaving, her heart hammering violently against her ribs. Her temples were damp with cold sweat, and the darkness of the bedroom seemed to make the horrific images of the dream linger in the air.

Dorian held her flush against his chest, one large hand soothingly stroking her back while the other gently caressed her hair. "It was only a dream, my love. Just a dream. You are safe with me."

He pressed soft kisses against her cheek, her hair, and her lips, waiting patiently until the rigid tension in her shoulders began to melt away. It took several long minutes for his presence to completely ground her.

Alyssa clutched the fabric of his shirt tightly in her fists, her mind racing. She had never once had dreams of her biological parents, or of anyone from her past. In truth, she rarely ever dreamed at all.

But the one she just experienced felt different. It felt less like a dream and more like a locked memory, and she had no idea what to make of it.

Ingrid had repeated countless times that her birth was the cause of her mother’s death. If that were true, then who was the red-haired woman in the burning cabin? The woman she had instinctively recognized and called Mama?

Why had they referred to her by the name Solange?

"Are you okay, my love?" Dorian asked softly. "Do you want to talk about it?"

She closed her eyes tightly and shook her head, reluctant to relive the horror. Letting out a soft sigh, she glanced around the dark room. The digital clock on the bedside table read just past 3:00 AM.

"When did you return?" she whispered.

"Around midnight. I never intended to stay out so long, but something came up. I wanted to investigate it personally."

She snuggled deeper into his protective warmth. "I’m thirsty," she mumbled against his chest.

Dorian moved instantly, carefully releasing her as he swung his legs off the mattress. "I’ll get you some water."

After he left the room, the silence gave Alyssa the space to truly think. What on earth was that dream? Had Ingrid lied to her all this time about her mother? Her parents?

A sudden resolve hardened in her chest. Perhaps when Dorian traveled to the southern territories, she would accompany him. She had a lot of questions waiting for her stepmother.

Dorian returned a moment later, carrying a glass of water. Alyssa swung her feet off the edge of the bed and stood up, reaching out halfway to meet him.

"Thank you," she said, offering a small, appreciative smile as her fingers wrapped securely around the glass.

However, the moment she touched it, an enormous crack split the side of the crystal. Spidery webs of fractured lines spread across the surface with terrifying speed.

Before Dorian could wrench the cup out of her grip, the glass exploded in her hand.