Page 26 of Awakening

“She doesn’t know anything about her life right now. She needed a place to stay, so Anthony took her in,” Chloe says.

“Oh, I just bet he fucking did.” Then what Chloe said finally hits me. “Wait, why did you say she doesn’t know anything about her life right now?”

“This next part is going to be difficult to hear,” Chloe says.

Pulling my hands down my face, I say, “I didn’t realize you’d been telling me the easy part, Chloe. What is it?”

“Ethan, Olivia is suffering from amnesia. She can’t remember the last four to five years of her life. She remembers me because she woke up thinking she was twenty years old. She was dating Anthony right about that time, so she remembers him too. She didn’t know about you until I told her.”

“Oh, shit,” Nick says with wide eyes as his mouth drops open.

I feel like the air has been punched from my lungs. I don’t even want to ask my next question. Everything fiber of my being is already telling me the answer isn’t going to be good. “The baby, Chloe. How’s the baby?”

Chloe covers her mouth with her hands as tears form in her eyes. She shakes her head. “I’m so sorry.”

“What? What are you saying, Chloe? Our little girl…what happened to our baby girl?”

“Anthony said Olivia went into labor and delivered while she was unconscious. They weren’t able to stop it,” Chloe says through tears. “He said the baby had already passed when she was born. She was likely fatally injured due to the impact of the accident.”

We all stand in dead silence other than the sound of my labored breathing. Grief and anger surge through my veins. I pull my hands down my face as I walk in circles before stopping to yank a painting from the wall and hurl it across the room.

“First of all, this was no fucking accident. Ian killed our baby. I know he’s responsible for all of this. She was probably running from him. And where the fuck is the driver of this car? Our baby is…I can’t even fucking say it.” I pause to take a few deep breaths. “Our baby is…dead…and my mate doesn’t know who the fuck I am. Now she’s living with an old boyfriend, who she remembers like they’re still fucking dating!” My entire body shakes as I pace the room. The pain compounds in my chest and the next thing I know my fist is going through the living room wall as I roar out in agony.

Nick pulls Chloe to him as she sobs. “How is Olivia coping?” he asks.

“Um…there’s more,” she says as her voice quivers.

“More? How can there possibly be more?” I ask, shaking out my wrist and rubbing my throbbing knuckles. “I don’t see how it gets worse, Chloe. Tell me how this could possibly get fucking worse.” I take a few deep, ragged breaths, hanging my head. “I’m sorry, Chloe. I know this isn’t your fault. I just?—”

“I know, Ethan. It’s okay,” Chloe says through tears. “I can’t imagine what you must be feeling right now.”

“Just tell me the rest.”

“I don’t know how to say this, but Olivia has no recollection of being pregnant or giving birth. She’s feeling a lot of guilt and remorse, but it isn’t necessarily because she’s mourning the baby. It’s because she can’t remember it at all. It’s really troubling her. She hasn’t even been able to bring herself to see the baby yet.”

I release a long sigh. “I’ll help her. We’ll find a way to get through it. We’ll go see our daughter together.”

“Ethan, you know she has no idea who she really is now. It’s like we’re back at square one. She doesn’t even know werewolves exist,” Chloe says.

“I know. We’ll figure that out later. I need you to take me to her, Chloe. It’s time to bring Olivia home.”

“Um, before we do that?—”

My stomach drops as I shake my head. “Jesus, Chloe. Please don’t tell me there’s more,” I say, pulling my hands down my face.

“I’m sorry, but it’s really important that you know this before you meet Anthony.”

I widen my stance and cross my arms. “What?”

“He’s different than he was when Nick and I knew him before.”

“What do you mean by different?” Nick asks.

“He’s uh…he’s not so human these days.”

“What the fuck is he?” I ask.

“He’s one of us. He’s a werewolf, and he knows Olivia is too. He assured me he wouldn’t say anything to her.”

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