Page 40 of Framed and Forgotten
Col lowered himself, allowing our pup better access as he surrounded and pet us, running his tiny fingers through our fur. When he was done, he stopped in front of us, stretching his hand to our muzzle.
That was our chance.
As my wolf closed his eyes, we gathered our focus. I summoned the shadows within me, channeling my power. Clearing my mind, I concentrated solely on my goal: a deepdesire to connect with Elias and his memories. When we were ready, Col leaned forward until the tip of his wet nose made contact with our little boy’s palm.
And as soon as I touched him, reality warped around me.
25
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K O E N
The scenery twistedaround me, making it hard to keep my footing as the ground swirled beneath me. Just as nausea began to set in, a dark fog closed in. For an instant, I drifted in a void, with no floor, no ceiling, no walls to anchor me. But the vast quiet didn’t last long. Instead of floating, I started falling, faster and faster. My stomach lurched, and I braced for an impact I couldn’t predict. Strangely, it never came.
I landed without impact, the smoke clearing around me, replaced by an intense, blinding light. Instinctively, I squeezed my eyes shut, blinking slowly to adjust to the abrupt shift in ambience. When my vision steadied, I quickly recognized my surroundings. I was still at Crystal Pond - just a little farther from the heart of their territory, where I’d been playing with Elias only moments ago. However, some things weren’t quite the same.
Hues of brown and orange painted the greenery, as if we were at the beginning of fall rather than the end of winter. Instead of the crisp, pale morning light of the morning, soft golden rays stretched across the landscape, casting everything in a warm, dreamlike glow. The sky, once a cool shade of blue, was now brushed with lilac and gold.
I was in the same place, but at a different time, stranded in a moment I couldn’t place.
Before I could grasp any more details, the sound of crying filled the air. My vision suddenly blurred, as if my eyes were misty. I could feel a gentle, rhythmic motion, as if I were bouncing, the scenery around me wavering with each shift.
“Shh, it’s okay, Elias,” a woman said - Nerine. Her voice was unmistakable, especially since it’d begun sounding like nails on a chalkboard to me.
My vision drifted to her, startling me as I saw her head above me, much larger than I remembered. Although it seemed eerie at first, I soon realized I was seeing through my pup’s eyes while she held him in her arms. It must have been one of his memories - one he probably wouldn’t even recall, too young to retain it. Yet, since it was something he’d experienced, I seemed able to access it, even if he had no conscious knowledge of it.
Then, another voice caught my ears. “Can’t you keep that thing quiet?”
I had to do a double take. The male's voice sounded bizarrely familiar, almost as if I were listening to myself, except something about it felt off. It was my tone, my cadence, but with a sharper, more sinister edge, as if twisted through a distorted mirror. I couldn’t place why it felt like I was hearing a version of myself that was both too familiar and entirely wrong.
A gasp escaped Nerine’s lips, her tone tinged with annoyance. “This thingis your pup.” I barely had time to process her words when my focus shifted. After a couple of blinks, the blurry figure of a man came into view.
Not just any man.
Me.
Fuck, what the hell was going on? The longer I stared, the more distorted it became. An unsettling chill crawled through me, my stomach twisting, and my mind spiraling in confusion.I couldn’t tear my eyes away, yet the image made less and less sense with each passing second. Panic set in, my heart pounding as I lost my grip on reality. The memory I’d been visiting began to smudge, the edges blurring, the sounds fading into the background as shadows enveloped me again.
I was disconnecting.
Shit! No, no, no! I couldn’t leave yet - not before I had the full story. It was impossible to tell when I would have another opportunity like this. I couldn’t waste it.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t do anything - when the shadows dispersed, I was back to the now.
“Daddy? Daddy!” Elias called, his little head hovering above my wolf’s.
Col struggled to get back up to his feet, disoriented. Our head pounded, and adrenaline coursed through our veins. I still couldn’t believe what I had seen, and it was just my luck that I’d exited the past with more questions than answers.
Then, I remembered my mission. Elias had already noticed that something was wrong from my disconcerted state. I had to get a grip before he decided to warn someone, or his desperate attempts to reach out to me drew attention. As hard as it was to put the questions aside even for a second after what I’d seen, I had other priorities.
Taking control of our shared body, I transformed back into my human form. I was panting at first, trembling, but I quickly managed to recover. Forcing a smile, I chuckled at my pup.
“Sorry, bud. Dad’s a little tired,” I blurted out the first thing I could think of to soothe him.
Elias arched an eyebrow at me. “But it’s morning!” he argued.
“I know. Daddy didn’t sleep well,” I explained. Before he could ask more questions, I continued, “Sorry, Elias. Can we go for a ride another day?”
