Chapter 2
Eva's POV
"Eva, what the hell are you doing?"
Maya—Killian's sister—burst into the clearing behind my cabin. I didn't look up, just tossed another item into the roaring bonfire.
She stopped dead, watching five years of memories burn.
"Spring cleaning," I said flatly, picking up the pendant he'd given me after our first successful hunt.
"This is yours now, Eva," he'd said, fastening it around my neck with gentle fingers. "You're pack. You're mine."
I chucked it in the flames.
"Are you crazy?" Maya lunged forward, grabbing my wrist. "Those are your things! Killian's gifts! You can't just—Eva, that's five years!"
I yanked free and picked up our matching leather gear. Custom made, perfect fit.
"Five years that meant jack shit," I said, watching it curl up and burn. "Your brother made that pretty damn clear."
"That's not Killian! That's the memory loss!" Maya's voice cracked. "The real Killian's head over heels for you! Has been since day one!"
Yeah, I know. Used to know.
I grabbed our mating photo—us looking young and stupid, thinking we had forever.
"Maya, stop." I threw it in. "It's done."
"No way!" She dove for the daggers he had made for our three-year anniversary. "I found the Memory Root! I can make the potion tonight! Tomorrow he'll remember everything!"
I snatched the daggers and tossed them in the fire.
"Even if he remembers, nothing changes."
Maya stared at me like I'd lost it. "What do you mean nothing changes? He loves you!"
He loved me before too. Until I made him remember. Until Sandra died for it.
"Some shit can't be fixed." I shut my eyes. "Doesn't matter anyway. I'm out of here in a month."
"What? Eva, no! You can't bail! This is your home!"
Was my home. Before they all watched him dump me in front of everyone.
"I'm going back to Silver Creek. To my brother Aaron's pack."
"But Eva, you can't just leave—"
"Who's leaving?"
Killian's voice made us both freeze. He stood at the edge of the clearing, those amber eyes taking in the fire and all the burned memories. Something weird crossed his face—confusion? Pain?
Maya shot me a panicked look. "Nobody, Killian. We were just—"
"Nobody important," I said casually. "Maya was asking about some old pack member. Ancient history."
Killian's eyes narrowed but he bought it.
"Right." He walked closer, staring at the flames. "Cleaning house?"
"Getting rid of junk," I said. "No point keeping stuff that doesn't matter."
He nodded slowly, still watching the fire. "Good. Clean breaks work better. Sandra gets upset when she sees..." He waved at the burning stuff. "This is better. Less drama."
Sandra gets upset. Of course she does.
Maya made a choking sound. "Killian, those are your memories! Your gifts to Eva! How can you just stand there—"
"They're just stuff, Maya." His voice was flat. "From a life I don't remember and don't want to."
Every word hit like a punch.
"Alpha!" Some young warrior came crashing through the trees, out of breath. "Alpha Cross! Luna Sandra passed out! She needs you!"
Killian's whole attitude flipped instantly. The cold look vanished, replaced by total panic.
"What? Is she hurt? What happened?"
"She's awake, but she's been puking all morning. Beta Marcus thinks... thinks she might be pregnant, Alpha."
My world tilted.
Killian took off running before I could blink.
Maya stared after him, tears streaming down her face. "He's gonna regret this, Eva. When his memories come back—"
"Maya." I picked up the last photo—our first Christmas, grinning like idiots under mistletoe. "You really want me to stick around? Watch your brother play house with someone else? Watch him love her like he used to love me?"
Her shoulders dropped. "No. I... no."
"Then trust me." I threw the photo in the flames. "Aaron will look after me. Don't worry about it."
The next three weeks were hell.
Killian went nuts preparing for his new family. Made me sick watching it. He redid the Luna suite for Sandra. Hired the best doctors from three states. Walked around with this dopey smile I remembered from when we first got together.
The pregnancy announcement was a huge pack celebration. Killian got up on the same platform where he'd cut our bond and announced Sandra's news like he'd saved the world.
I watched from the back, invisible and forgotten.
But the worst part happened at the ceremonial pond.
I was washing my hands after training when Sandra's voice cut through the air.
"Eva! Fancy seeing you here."
I turned around. She was walking over with one hand on her flat belly, the other showing off that massive engagement ring.
"Sandra," I said, getting up.
"I wanted to thank you," she said, voice all fake sweet. "For being so cool about everything. I know this has gotta suck for you."
She held up her hand, making sure I saw the ring. "Pretty, right? Though it's kinda loose. Pregnancy bloating." She smirked. "But Killian's already gonna get me a new one made. Something that actually fits our bond."
Of course it's loose. That ring was made for me.
"Good for you," I said.
"It really is." Sandra's smile got nasty. "You know what? Since this old thing doesn't fit right, I don't really need it."
Before I could stop her, she yanked the ring off and threw it in the pond.
"Whoops," she said, fake concerned. "Clumsy me."
The Cross family ring disappeared under the water.
I didn't think. Just dove in. The cold water hit me like a slap as I swam down, using my wolf sight to find the ring glinting in the mud.
When I came up gasping with the ring, Sandra was on the ground.
"She pushed me!" Sandra was bawling as pack members ran over, Killian with them. "Eva shoved me when I tried to stop her! She could've hurt the baby!"
What the fuck?
"I was in the water!" I yelled. "I didn't touch—"
"EVA!" Killian's Alpha power hit me like a truck, dropping me to my knees in the shallow water. His boot slammed into my ribs, sending me face-first into the mud. Pain shot through my chest.
"How dare you put your hands on my pregnant mate!"
"I didn't touch her!" I gasped, trying to breathe through the pain.
"Bullshit!" Sandra's voice turned vicious. "She was so jealous about the ring, she didn't give a damn about hurting me or the baby!"
The crowd started murmuring. Some looked unsure, but others seemed to buy Sandra's act.
Killian's fist cracked across my jaw. Stars exploded in my vision. "You jealous bitch!"
"Alpha," Beta Marcus stepped up carefully. "Maybe we should check on Luna Sandra—"
"Eva Thompson." Killian's voice was ice cold. "For attacking your Luna and putting the pack heir in danger, I sentence you to thirty lashes. Public. At dawn."
Thirty lashes. Could cripple me. Could kill me.
"Killian, no!" Maya shoved through the crowd. "She was helping! She got the ring back!"
"Decision's final." His amber eyes showed zero mercy. "Guards, do it now."
