“Whose room is this?” I asked as we filtered in, wondering aloud because my nerves were going haywire.
“I think it used to belong to one of the seconds. It’s been empty for a while. I suppose that’s why they decided to keep Griffin here tonight,” Greylen offered, already more knowledgeable than the rest of us, even though he just got back, but that was hardly new.
“They’re moving me to Doc’s place in the morning,” Griffin called out, and my attention went solidly to the dragon propped up in the bed.
He was amess. Face black and blue, a busted lip, and a nasty cut around his eye. I’d felt guilty before, but seeing him now was a kick to the nuts. Orsen had gone apeshit on the guy.
“Shit… Griff…” Orsen sounded strangled.
I glanced over, seeing the tension all over his face for myself. It was one thing to know he’d hurt him, but getting a good look at the damage was visceral. Still, it felt oddly reassuring to see him visibly affected by his own handiwork.
Not as soulless as he might seem.
“That was brutal, even for you, Orsen.” Griff chuckled weakly.
“I’m… I’m sorry. I just…”
“Overreacted?” Griff supplied, his brows up.
Orsen nodded once, his jaw tight. “Yes. I don’t know what happened. My vision went red and I lost control of my body. All I could think about was her. And unfortunately… we still need answers. How do you know Emmeline?”
“Are you sure it’s her?” Griffin asked with a frown. “You went straight to punching. I honestly thought you’d lost your damn mind.”
Orsen tensed, seeming to nearly snap at Griff. But the guy hadevery right to be pissed at the Alpha. Orsen could cool it and let him be snippy with him for a while. I stood near the grump, putting my hand on his bicep. Adjusting, his jaw muscles standing out as he bit back his words, Orsen nodded, taking a few breaths before I answered for him.
“Of course it is. I would recognize her anywhere. And, needless to say, we were all surprised when we came home to find you and our half-dressed mate, who we assumed was dead, in your room. Orsen… Well, he’s sorry he lost his shit.”
Griffin sighed, scanning over us all, thinking through his words. “I met her five years ago. Her name is Rowan Doe. She haszeromemory of her life before six years ago. Hence, the last name Doe—she genuinely has no clue who the fuck you are, who she is, any of it. She’s a blank slate.”
“How?” Orsen frowned, shaking his head as he took a step forward. “How did she lose her memory?”
Griffin paused, leaning farther back against the cushions, his face full of conflicting emotions. “That’s her story to tell, but I’m not sure she should stay here.”
“She’s my mate. She’ll fucking stay here,” Bastian growled, and I was only surprised that he beat Orsen to it.
Rolling his eyes, Griffin shook his head. “You know what? Fine. Someone tried tokillher, damn near succeeded. Rowan woke up in a ditch six years ago, with horrific burns and no memory of who she was or where she came from. A healer named Kiki found her, the elder from the Southern Dust Lands Horde. She nursed Rowan back to health, and eventually, Rowan took an interest in healing.”
“What do you mean, someone tried to kill her?” Orsen asked. “Maybe she just hit her head? That is, if she truly doesn’t remember. She has our mating bites, for fuck’s sake. She shouldn’t be able to avoid that.”
I understood why Orsen didn’t immediately believe this story. It seemed… impossible. Then again, our mate, who we’d feared the worst for, was right in front of us. This all felt like our wildest dreams come true, while still being our worst nightmare. Someone had tried to hurt Emmy? If that was real, the entire situation was a lot more complicated than we all suspected. She was going to have quite a bit of trauma to work through.
“Have you even looked at her, asshole?” Griffin growled, sitting straighter,and we all saw how it pained him. “Haven’t you noticed the scars? She’s covered in them. It was dragon fire. Someone wanted her dead six years ago; it’s a fucking miracle they failed. Once she realizes she used to know you, she’s going to run for the hills. Rowan wants nothing to do with her past life because she barely survived it. For years she’s traveled the east coast healing. Never staying in one place too long, and never returning to the west despite it being the only place she’s ever known because she’s terrified that whoever hurt her would find her again.”
We all froze. No, of course we hadn’t looked at her. We just met her, but… scars? From dragon fire? That was impossible. Wasn’t it? Who the hell would do something like that? Simmering rage warmed my blood, and I couldn’t help but ball my hands into fists. If someone had hurt Emmy, they needed to pay. But we knew nothing about the situation. We’d missed so much.
And as much as I hated to admit it, the idea of her leaving again broke my heart. We’d just gotten her back. I didn’t think any of us would cope if she left again.
“She can’t leave,” Orsen announced, everything about him as rigid as steel. “I won’t let her. Emmeline stays with us.”
“Rowan. That’s her name now, and if you don’t learn it quickly, she willneverwarm up to you.” Griffin met Orsen’s glare with one of his own, but then it cracked almost immediately, and he sagged against the bed. “Look, I care about her too. She’s my friend. I’m trying to protect her, just like you assholes are trying—and potentially failing—to do.”
Orsen was still on edge, and I could feel it coming from Bastian, too—two glowering peas in a fucking pod. But this posturing wasn’t going to get us anywhere. If we wanted Rowan to stay, to remember who we were, what it was like to be part of a clan, we needed to give her a damn good reason to want to.
Greylen shifted closer to the bed, meeting Griff’s eyes in that frank, neutral way of his. “We need more information about what happened. For her sake and ours. If there is a dragon out there scorching healers, or humans in general, they need tobe dealt with. But it’ll all be out in the open. We aren’t interested in keeping secrets from her, and I hope she won’t be, either. Like you said, she isn’t the same Emmeline we knew. We can’t change the past, so we’ll work with what we have in the present.”
Grey was always very no-nonsense and straight to the point. I had to admit his clear direction was comforting right now. Emotions were running high, and it was going to take someone with a level head—along with someone with way more tact than all the rest of them—to navigate this situation.
I could handle the tact if Grey could help me wrangle the others. “Thank you, Griffin. You’re right. We need to respect who Rowan is now. And jumping to conclusions about what she was doing with you was wrong. We hope you can understand where we’re all coming from. Not an excuse, an explanation.”
