CHAPTER 5 : THE BOY WHO REMEMBERED

I couldn't sleep after seeing the words on my window.

I HAVE BEEN WAITING.

Who had written them?

And why had my wolf said Rowan's name?

I had never been close to Rowan Black in my first life.

He was one of the three Alpha heirs at Silvercrest Academy, but unlike Kairos Drake and Lucian Rivers, Rowan rarely involved himself in academy politics.

He kept to himself.

He watched.

He listened.

And whenever people tried to get close to him, he made them regret it.

At least, that was what everyone said.

I had never given him much thought.

Not until now.

I woke before sunrise and immediately checked the window.

The message was gone.

No frost.

No footprints.

Nothing.

I touched the glass.

Cold.

Normal.

As if the entire thing had never happened.

But I knew better.

Something had changed.

And whatever it was, it had started the moment I returned.

For the next few weeks, I kept my head down.

I trained.

I studied.

I watched my father.

And most importantly, I avoided Darian.

It wasn't easy.

He tried to visit twice.

The first time, I told the guards I was sleeping.

The second time, I left through another entrance before he arrived.

I knew how this story began.

I knew how easily Darian could make me believe he cared.

I had already lived through the consequences.

I wasn't going to give him another chance to break me.

One afternoon, I was returning from training when I saw a familiar black carriage approaching the estate.

I stopped.

My wolf stirred.

Three guards stepped down.

Then someone else followed.

Tall.

Dark-haired.

Broad-shouldered.

My heart suddenly began beating faster.

Not because I knew him.

Because my wolf knew him.

Rowan Black.

He looked nothing like the image I had carried in my memory.

He was younger, of course, but there was still something intimidating about him.

His amber eyes moved across the estate.

Then stopped on me.

He froze.

I froze too.

For several seconds, neither of us moved.

His expression changed.

Confusion.

Recognition.

Something deeper.

His wolf spoke through his eyes.

I know you.

Rowan walked toward me.

“You're Aurelia Vale.”

It wasn't a question.

“Yes.”

He studied me.

“I've seen you before.”

A chill ran down my spine.

“Where?”

He didn't answer immediately.

“Dreams.”

I almost laughed.

“Dreams?”

His expression remained serious.

“For years.”

I didn't know what to say.

He looked at my collarbone.

The silver mark was hidden beneath my clothes, but somehow I felt as though he could see it.

“What do you want?”

“I came to speak with your father.”

“About?”

“Silvercrest.”

My stomach tightened.

Of course.

Everything came back to the academy.

Before I could ask more, another voice interrupted us.

“Aurelia.”

I turned.

Darian was standing behind me.

My entire body went tense.

He looked exactly as I remembered.

Dark hair.

Strong features.

Confident eyes.

My former mate.

The man who had once been my entire world.

But now, when I looked at him, I felt nothing except caution.

His gaze moved from me to Rowan.

His expression hardened.

“What is he doing here?”

Rowan didn't even look at him.

“I was speaking to Aurelia.”

Darian stepped closer.

“She doesn't need to speak with you.”

I almost smiled.

There it was.

The possessiveness.

The same behavior that had once made me believe he loved me.

I stepped between them.

“I can speak for myself.”

Darian stared at me.

“You've been avoiding me.”

“Yes.”

His eyebrows lifted.

“Why?”

“Because I wanted to.”

He looked genuinely confused.

In my first life, I would have apologized.

This time, I walked away.

Behind me, I heard Rowan say something.

“She's different.”

I stopped.

But I didn't turn around.

Later that evening, I returned to my room and opened the notebook where I had written everything I remembered.

Rowan.

I wrote his name.

Then underneath it:

He says he has dreamed about me.

I stared at the sentence.

Could he remember something from my first life?

Or was there another explanation?

My wolf stirred.

“He remembers.”

I closed the notebook.

“Remembers what?”

“You.”

I waited.

Nothing.

“You can't say something like that and then go silent.”

She didn't answer.

I sighed.

My wolf had become increasingly strange since my rebirth.

She wasn't simply awakening.

She was remembering.

The question was what.

Three months passed.

Then, one evening, my father received another letter from Silvercrest.

This time, he couldn't refuse to let me see it.

“The academy has moved your enrollment forward,” he said.

My eyes widened.

“When?”

“Two months.”

My heart sank.

That wasn't supposed to happen.

In my first life, I had entered Silvercrest six months after receiving the invitation.

Now I had only four months.

The future was changing faster than I expected.

“Why?”

“They say there has been a change in the academy's program.”

I knew that wasn't the whole truth.

Something had caused the change.

And I suspected it had something to do with me.

That night, I decided to visit the old library in the eastern wing of our estate.

My father rarely used it.

I remembered finding a book there in my first life.

A book about ancient bloodlines.

I had never understood why it interested me.

Now I needed it.

The library was dark.

I lit a lamp and searched the shelves.

Ancient packs.

Moon wolves.

Alpha bloodlines.

Nothing.

Then I noticed a narrow passage behind a bookshelf.

I pushed it.

The shelf didn't move.

I touched the silver crescent on my collarbone.

The mark warmed.

The bookshelf clicked.

I stepped back.

A hidden doorway appeared.

My breath caught.

Inside was a small room.

And on the wall was the symbol.

The crescent.

Three claws.

I stepped closer.

My wolf became completely silent.

A book sat on a stone table.

Its cover was black.

There was no title.

I opened it.

The first page contained a single sentence.

THE MOON-BORN HEIR WILL RETURN WHEN THE FIRST LIFE ENDS.

My blood ran cold.

I read it again.

The first life.

My first life.

Someone had written about this.

Someone had known that the Moon-Born would die and return.

I turned the page.

A drawing appeared.

A girl standing beneath a silver moon.

Long dark hair.

Silver-gray eyes.

A crescent mark near her collarbone.

My hand covered my mouth.

It was me.

The door behind me suddenly closed.

I spun around.

Rowan stood there.

I couldn't understand how he had entered.

“What are you doing here?”

He didn't answer.

His eyes were fixed on the book.

Then he looked at me.

“You found it.”

I swallowed.

“You knew about this?”

He took one slow step toward me.

“I've been looking for it for years.”

“Why?”

His face changed.

For the first time, I saw something close to fear.

“Because I dreamed about this room.”

I stared at him.

“And me?”

He nodded.

“What did you see?”

He hesitated.

“Everything.”

My heartbeat quickened.

“Tell me.”

“I saw the academy.”

I waited.

“I saw you standing beneath the moon.”

His voice became quieter.

“And I saw you die.”

My breath caught.

Rowan's eyes met mine.

“I saw the night you died.”

The room seemed to disappear around us.

“You couldn't have.”

“I know.”

“Then how?”

“I don't know.”

He looked at the drawing.

“But every time I dreamed of this place, you were there.”

I couldn't speak.

Rowan stepped closer.

“I didn't understand why until I saw you.”

“And now?”

“Now I know the dreams weren't dreams.”

The academy bells suddenly rang in the distance.

One.

Two.

Three.

The silver mark on my collarbone burned.

I grabbed it.

Rowan looked toward the ceiling.

His expression changed instantly.

“They know you're here.”

“Who?”

He looked at me.

“The people who killed you.”

A deep howl echoed beneath the floor.

The lights in the room went out.

And in the darkness, something scratched against the other side of the hidden door.

Rowan moved in front of me.

“Aurelia…”

“What?”

His voice dropped to a whisper.

“Don't let them find out that you remember.”