“I thought that was obvious. To find you.”
My grandfather had said that I arrived in this time alone. Lyall claims I was from the past with him, and we knew each other. “If I’m from the past, then why am I here?”
The grin falls off Lyall’s face and without it, his face darkens. “When we were young men, hunters attacked our village.”
“Hunters? Why?”
“Because of what my people are. Ulfhednar. What your people call werewolves or wolf shifters, mine call ulfhednar.”
“But why?”
Lyall’s lips twist into a scowl. “They came to our village to rescue you. Their leader believed we had taken you as a captive. They attacked us.”
The coffee in my stomach churns unpleasantly. I can’t believe I have no recollection of this. He might as well be talking about someone else’s life, not mine.
Lyall’s knuckles whiten around the mug’s handle. “They killed my father. Tortured my twin. Slaughtered my brother’s son and his mate.” Lyall’s voice is low and calm, but every word shakes with an undercurrent of rage and pain.
“Oh God…” I may not be able to remember this, but it doesn’t matter. Lyall has never forgotten, and there’s no questioning the effect this tragedy still has on him. “What happened then?”
Lyall shakes his head, lip curling to reveal the tip of a fang. A shiver runs down my spine. “The man who led the attack on our village… was your father, Soren.”
His words don’t hit like they should. I shake my head. “No, that’s not—I never knew my father. He ran off on my mother when I was a baby.”
Lyall says softly, “That’s what you were made to believe.”
I don’t know what to think anymore. Everything Lyall’s telling me goes against what I was told by Fergus. Shaking my head, I exhale slowly. “Right. Sorry. I keep forgetting.”
“It’s fine. I know this is a lot to take in. After the fight, the survivors believed that you had been conspiring with your father to attack the village.”
My heart drops into my stomach. Even if I don’t remember the past, if Lyall and I really were in love, I never would have betrayed him. “I wouldn’t have done that,” I say, interrupting him.
Lyall’s eyes widen. “What makes you so sure?”
“Because that’s not who I am. If what we have meant so much to you that you’ve been searching for me all these years—since I waseighteen—I would never have taken that for granted. I’d never have hurt you thatway.”
Smiling, Lyall slides his hand across the counter. His fingers bump against mine. There’s a spark there, like an electric current, that makes my heart jolt. “I know,” he whispers. “No one else believed you, but I did, Soren. Never once did I doubt you.” When I don’t pull away, he slowly drapes his hand over mine. My breath catches, my chest tightening with too many feelings to name.
There’s something about Lyall’s touch that makes me think of northern lights dancing in a moonlit sky. Meadows full of small blue flowers. Of laughter in my chest and love in my heart, burning bright and fierce.
God. Whatever we shared, it was powerful. I know it because after all these years, all that’s left is a void nothing and no one could ever fill because there was no getting over Lyall. Once, I knew this man like I knew myself, loved him like I loved no one before him and no one after.
He was it for me, and if there’s a chance for me to remember why I felt that way… I’ve got to take it, or I will never know true happiness again.
Chapter 9
Lyall
At first, I’d fearedthat turning into a wolf in front of Soren was not the best idea.
Sure, it made sense in my head in that moment, but history has shown I don’t usually have the best ideas. Rather like that time I thought I could chug a whole barrel of mead in under ten seconds. Aye, I could and I did. Was it a good idea? I spent all night vomiting, so likely not.
If Anders were here, he could have talked me out of such a rash decision. Of the two of us, I have the strength of Thor while my brother has the smarts of Odin—or mayhap Loki is a more apt comparison.
“Lyall? What happened next?”
“The pack blamed you for the attack.” Closing my eyes, I run my thumb over Soren’s knuckles just like I used to do. “You were exiled. I tried to change the hearts and minds of my family. No one would believe that you weren’t responsible.” Tears sting the back of my eyelids. It was my fault as well. I should have gone with Soren. If I had, I could haveprotected him from the Council. He might still have his memories. We wouldn’t have lost so much time.
Soren’s hand grips mine, and the storm of guilt and grief in my heart quiets. “I’m sure you did. I can understand why people would think I was responsible.”
