A young man, probably not even twenty yet, standing nearby. With a clean-cut, tall, easily over six feet, with an effortless presence that made him hard to ignore. His features were sharp but not harsh, and his eyes... Honey-gold.

They caught what little light remained, glinting warmly, giving him a strangely gentle, almost radiant look that softened everything about him.

"You are...?" Ashley asked, her voice coming out hoarse and rough, each word scraping painfully against her dry throat.

The young man moved immediately.

He stepped to the bedside table, poured a glass of water, then returned to her side. Seeing how weak she was, he slipped an arm behind her back and carefully helped her sit up, slow and steady, making sure not to pull at her injuries. He held the glass to her lips, guiding her as she took small, careful sips.

Only when she had enough did he lay her back against the pillow.

"How are you feeling?" he asked gently.

Then, as if realizing she might be confused, he added quickly, "Oh, right. My name’s Ace. I’m a university student. I was... one of the people who found you."

He paused for a second, choosing his words.

"We were camping near the lake that night. One of our classmates went missing, so we went out searching for her... and that’s when we found you. You were in the water. I swam out and brought you back."

His tone stayed calm and reassuring, but there was a quiet seriousness beneath it, as if he wanted to make sure she understood exactly what had happened.

"Oh... it was you..." Ashley murmured, a faint, fragile smile forming despite the exhaustion weighing her down. "I’m... feeling a little better now."

Saying it only made the memories resurface: the fall, the pain, the cold water that swallowed her whole. Even now, the ache lingered in her body. But she had survived.

Because of them.

Gratitude flickered quietly in her chest, softening her expression as she looked at him. She was about to introduce herself when a sudden thought stopped her.

She didn’t even know where she was.

"By the way... where am I?" she asked, her voice still weak but steadier than before.

"We brought you to Clarence Medical Hospital," Ace explained, his tone steady but careful. "It’s in the city center, the closest major facility to that forest. You were lucky; it’s one of the biggest hospitals in the country. They managed to pull you through."

He didn’t say it lightly.

Because when they had first brought her in, the situation had been far from hopeful.

The moment the doctors saw her, their expressions had turned grim and uncertain. Saving her from drowning had only been the beginning. Her injuries were severe, far worse than what could be seen at a glance. She had lost a dangerous amount of blood, and some of her earlier wounds, especially the one on her knee, had already been infected.

Then came everything else.

The cold water. The night air. Her weakened state.

One problem after another stacked against her, her body struggling to keep up as infection spread and her immune system was affected. By the time she was admitted, even the doctors weren’t confident she would last the night.

But somehow... She did.

She had even gone into cardiac arrest twice.

With no family by her side, protocol dictated that the police should have been the ones on standby. After all, Ashley was now tied to the investigation surrounding Clarissa’s disappearance.

But Ace stepped in.

He volunteered to stay, not because he had to, but because he wanted to. He had been the one who found her, the one who dragged her out of that lake. And somewhere along the way, that sense of responsibility turned into something closer to concern.

So he stayed.

That first night, when her condition suddenly crashed, he was there, standing just outside, helpless, as the sharp echo of "Code Blue" rang through the hallway. The sound alone was enough to make his chest tighten, every second stretching unbearably as he waited for the doctors to pull her back from the brink of death.

And when they finally did... It felt like he had been holding his breath the entire time.

Ace kept the rest to himself.

There was no point telling her how close she had come to dying, how many times her life had slipped through their fingers. She was already weak and already disoriented. Telling her more would only weigh her down.

So he gave her only what she needed.

Even then, as he watched her looking pale, exhausted, and barely holding herself together, something in him tightened. He couldn’t quite explain it, but there was an unfamiliar pull, a quiet urge to help her, to make sure she was alright.

So he stayed.

Ashley, on the other hand, fell into her own thoughts the moment she understood where she was.

She was too close.

If this hospital were near the forest, then it wasn’t far from Nathan’s territory either. The realization made her chest tighten, unease creeping in as the possibility surfaced.

And that wasn’t even the worst of it.

Nathan’s company operated in this very city.

Which meant his people were everywhere, on the roads, in offices, moving in and out without pause. Eyes, she couldn’t see. Connections she couldn’t predict.

If she stayed here for too long, it wouldn’t matter how careful she was.

Someone would notice.

And once that happened... it would only be a matter of time before it reached him.

What if they found her?

What if he found her?

No.

She couldn’t let that happen.

She needed to disappear. Completely. Start over somewhere no one knew her, with a different name, a different life.

But how?

This wasn’t some distant past where she could simply run far enough and become someone else. This was a world wired with technology — records, surveillance, and information spreading faster than she could outrun it.

And Nathan...

Nathan wasn’t just anyone.

Nathan is a powerful Alpha. One of the youngest, most prominent figures in the country. A rising CEO with influence, wealth, and reach that extended far beyond his own territory.

If he wanted to find her... He could. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

And that was exactly why she had to find a way to stay hidden.

Just the thought of everything she had gone through, everything she had barely survived, made Ashley recoil at the idea of ever returning to either pack.

It wasn’t an option.

Joining another pack nearby wasn’t any better. News traveled fast among them, faster than she could ever outrun. The moment her presence was known, it would spread, and eventually, it would reach him.

But right now... she was in no position to run.

She was weak. Barely able to sit up on her own, let alone disappear and start over. Even taking care of herself felt like a challenge.

So what was she supposed to do?

Across from her, Ace watched in silence. The worry in her expression didn’t go unnoticed, and after a moment, he stepped a little closer, as if about to ask something...

Knock. Knock. Knock.

The sudden sound cut through the room. The steady knock drew both their attention.

Ace paused mid-step and turned toward the door. "Come in," he called.

A moment later, the door slid open, and two men stepped inside. Their demeanor alone made it clear that they were investigators. One gave Ace a brief nod, enough for him to understand.

Without question, Ace rose from his seat and stepped aside, quietly leaving the room.

The two men moved in with practiced ease.

One took the chair Ace had just vacated, settling in across from Ashley, while the other remained standing just behind him, a notebook already in hand, pen poised, ready to record every word the moment the questioning began.

"Hello," the investigator seated beside her said, his tone calm but observant. "The doctors informed us you were likely to wake up today, so we came to check in. Seems our timing worked out."

Just hearing that made Ashley’s heart spike.

It pounded hard against her chest, fast enough that for a split second, she thought they might hear it. But outwardly, she remained still with a blank face, expression carefully controlled, giving nothing away.

Noticing her carefully neutral expression, the investigator continued, his tone steady and professional.

"I assume the young man from earlier has already explained what happened and where you were found. Correct?"

Ashley gave a small nod, offering no words, choosing instead to let him lead.

He acknowledged it with a slight dip of his head before continuing, his gaze sharpening just enough to signal the shift in conversation.

"As you know, you were brought here because of the severity of your injuries," he said. "We need to understand what happened... and why you were in the lake that night."

"I... I..."

Ashley’s voice faltered, trailing off as she lowered her gaze, as if trying to piece something together. In truth, she couldn’t say anything, not the real story.