Bella's throat went dry. "They'll come for me?" she echoed, her voice barely a whisper.
Rafe turned, his jaw clenched. "You shouldn't even know that name 'Moonblood', you shouldn't remember any of this yet. It's too soon."
"Too soon for what?" she asked.
Rafe didn't answer. His silver-gray eyes darted around the hallway, as if checking for someone, or something. A muscle in his jaw twitched.
"Rafe," Bella said more firmly. "You said it wasn't a dream. So what was it? And what do you mean I'm not supposed to remember?"
He exhaled slowly, looking like he was waging a war inside himself. "I already said too much. Forget we had this conversation."
"How am I supposed to forget something like this?" she snapped. "You were there. I felt you. That forest, your voice, it wasn't just a dream. It was real. I know it was."
He stepped closer again, eyes hard. "That place? It doesn't exist in this world. Not in the way you'd understand. And if you keep poking around, Bella, they will find you."
"Who are they?!" she asked, her voice cracking.
His face shifted, softening just a little. "You were safe as long as you didn't remember. But now... they'll sense the change. The moment you remember everything, they'll come."
A shiver ran down Bella's back. She crossed her arms, hugging herself.
"You're scaring me."
"I should be," he said.
"Please help me understand."
"I can't. If I help you, I betray the oath I made. And if I betray that oath..." He trailed off, jaw clenching again. "Let's just say the consequences are not mine alone."
Bella felt as though the hallway around her was closing in. "So that's it? You're just going to walk away and leave me in the dark?"
"I'm sorry. I didn't choose this," Rafe said again, more to himself than to her.
"I didn't choose it either!" she cried. "But I'm here now. I'm remembering things I've never lived through, dreaming things that shouldn't be real, and everyone is treating me like I'm going crazy! What am I supposed to do?"
"Stay away from Luca," he said suddenly.
Bella blinked. "What?"
"You don't know what he is," Rafe said. "And trust me, he's not who you think."
He turned and began walking again.
Bella ran after him. "You're doing it again! Giving me half-truths and riddles!"
He didn't stop this time. "Then stop asking questions. You're not ready for the answers."
"Then make me ready!" she shouted. "Don't you see? This is already happening! You can't stop it by ignoring me!"
He finally turned back around. "Ignoring you?" His voice was raw. "You think I want to be tangled up in your reawakening?"
Her brows furrowed. "Reawakening?"
"You're not new to this world, Bella. You're returning to it." His eyes narrowed. "And if they sense you're back…"
A silence stretched between them.
"What are you?" she whispered.
Rafe stared at her for a long moment, then finally said, "I'm a student like you. I can't say more than that."
Bella felt her knees weaken.
He turned again and began walking toward the exit at the far end of the hall.
"Wait—please, just tell me what I am!" she begged.
He didn't look back.
The door slammed shut behind him.
Bella stood frozen in the hallway, unable to move or breathe.
---
Rafe didn't make it more than twenty feet from the door before Luca stepped out from the shadows, jaw set tight and eyes already burning daggers.
"What the hell do you think you're doing? You told her?" Luca said, his voice vibrating from anger.
Rafe didn't even pretend to not know what he meant. "I didn't."
"She said the word Moonblood," Luca hissed. "Quit this bullshit lies."
"She dreamed it, Luca. I didn't put it in her head."
"She's not supposed to know what that is," Luca snapped. "You know the laws."
"She's remembering on her own," Rafe shot back. "What do you want me to do? Scrub her mind clean every time she opens her eyes? I can't do that and you know it."
Luca stepped forward, tension rippling through every muscle. "You were supposed to stay away. We all were. That was the deal."
"Yeah?" Rafe said, voice hard. "Who approached her first? Huh? Who stared at her immediately she got in the gates?
"Of course, Luca," he said, clapping his hands. "Play the saint. The deal was broken the second she started reliving her past life."
A third figure emerged from the trees, tall and lean, his jacket half-zipped like he hadn't cared enough to finish dressing before stepping out. Killian leaned against a rusted fence post, watching them argue.
"Isn't this cozy?" Killian said dryly. "I miss one meeting and suddenly everyone's growling like it's a full moon."
"This isn't a joke," Luca said without turning. "Bella is remembering too much too fast."
"She's already having dreams of the forest and…" Rafe muttered.
"And what?"
"Moonblood."
Killian's lips curled into a half-grin. "Wow. Isn't that sweet. Besides, if she's remembering, maybe it's time someone actually tells her who the hell she is."
Luca whirled on him. "Don't start."
"Why not?" Killian's grin sharpened. "Because you've already claimed her?"
"Yes. I have claimed her," Luca growled. "She's mine."
"Says who?" Rafe cut in, stepping forward now. "She doesn't even know who she is, and you think you have the right to own her future?"
"Don't twist this," Luca warned. "I've been watching over her since before she was reborn. You don't get to swoop in now and act like you care."
"Watching or controlling?" Killian said coolly, raising an eyebrow.
Luca's fists clenched at his sides.
"You forget the danger she's in," he said. "If she reawakens completely, if they find out, none of us will be able to protect her."
"You're not protecting her," Rafe said, voice bitter. "You're just keeping her in the dark. That's not safety, Luca. That's a cage."
A fourth voice joined the group, this one unfamiliar and hesitant.
"Okay… what the hell are you all talking about?"
All three boys turned as Cassian Vale stepped into view, hands in his pockets. He looked at each of them in turn.
"Who the hell is Bella?" he asked.
There was a pause.
Killian huffed a short, humorless laugh. "Well, there goes the secret circle."
Rafe shook his head. "You seriously didn't know?"
"Know what?" Cassian asked. "You texted me to meet. I show up. Now you're all barking about some girl I've never met?"
Luca stared at him. "You haven't seen her?"
"Who?"
"Bella."
Cassian shook his head slowly. "Is she important?"
Luca's eyes darkened. "She's everything."
Killian rolled his eyes. "Here we go again."
Cassian looked at the others. "Someone want to back up and start from the top?"
"No," Luca snapped.
"Yes," Rafe said at the same time.
They glared at each other.
Rafe spoke first. "Bella's... not new to this world. She's Moonblood."
Cassian went still. "Wait. Moonblood? As in the same Moonblood I think you're talking about?"
"Exactly. Reborn," Killian added. "And her memories are starting to come back."
Cassian whistled low.
"And what have you been doing concerning that?" he asked, directing the question at the three boys.
"Protecting her," Luca corrected sharply.
"From what?"
"From herself. From the ones who are still hunting her. From us."
Cassian blinked. "Us?"
Rafe nodded slowly. "You weren't in the old wars, Cassian. You were still in the orphan pack. But Bella... she was the key. And every faction wanted her."
Cassian rubbed the back of his neck. "So now she's back. And you're all fighting over her?"
"No one's fighting," Luca said coldly.
"Bullshit," Killian said. "You told us to stay away, Luca. But I'm telling you right now…I can't. I've met her. I've spoken to her. And I'm not backing down."
"You don't know what she is," Luca said tightly.
"Neither does she," Rafe snapped. "And none of you are helping her find out."
Cassian held up his hands. "So what, you want me to back you up? Or pick sides?"
"No," Luca said flatly. "Stay out of it."
Killian smirked. "Too late. You dragged him here."
Cassian frowned. "I didn't ask to be part of this. But now that I am… maybe someone should explain why she matters so damn much."
"Because," Rafe said slowly, "if Bella fully remembers, she becomes more than just a girl. She becomes the last link to the Moonblood line. The bloodline that was supposed to be extinct."
"She doesn't know any of this?" Cassian asked.
"No," Luca said. "And she won't. Not if I can help it."
Killian's eyes glinted. "That's not your choice."
"It is," Luca said. "Because I claimed her when she took her first breath in this life."
"You're not her mate," Rafe snapped.
Luca growled. "Not yet."
Killian stepped forward. "And what if someone else is? What if she chooses someone else?"
"She won't."
"You're that sure?" Rafe asked quietly.
Luca didn't answer. His silence said enough.
Cassian exhaled. "You guys are insane."
Killian looked at him. "You'd force it, wouldn't you? If it meant keeping her safe?"
"I'd do whatever it takes," Luca said. "You weren't there last time. You didn't see what they did to her."
"No," Rafe said, "but I've felt what she remembers. And if we keep lying to her, she'll never be strong enough to face it when it comes."
"She's not ready," Luca said again.
"Maybe," Killian agreed. "But you're not ready to let go, and that's the real problem."
Luca's fists tightened.
"I said there would be consequences," Luca growled.
"To what?" Rafe challenged. "To caring about her? To helping her understand who she is?"
"To interfering with the path she's meant to take," Luca snapped.
"And who decides what path that is?" Killian asked. "You?"
Luca's eyes flared golden. "I've seen it. I've felt the weight of what's coming. You haven't."
Cassian hesitated, then said, "I want to meet her."
Luca's jaw locked. "No."
"She's Moonblood, right?" Cassian said. "Then maybe it's time she meets a real pack."
Killian added, "The real threat isn't us. It's the ones who want her bloodline erased. Again."
Luca looked at them. Then past them. His face hard and unreadable.
"If she dies again," he said, voice almost a whisper, "there won't be another."