Chapter 84: The First Crack

Words : 1113 Updated : Sep 12th, 2025

Chapter 84: The First Crack Caleb POV The stack of papers flew everywhere when I accidentally bumped into Lily in the pack office entry. We both reached down at the same time to gather them up, and our hands touched as we grabbed for the same paper. The moment our skin made touch, something weird happened. It wasn’t a memory exactly, but more like an echo of something familiar. Like hearing a song you’d forgotten but your body still remembered the beat. "Sorry," I mumbled, pulling my hand back quickly. The feeling vanished as soon as we stopped touching. Lily looked at me strangely. "Did you feel that?" "Feel what?" I lied, because I didn’t know how to describe something I didn’t understand myself. She studied my face for a moment, then shook her head. "Nothing. Never mind." We finished picking up the scattered papers in awkward silence. These were the pack duty reports that needed to be sorted before the monthly meeting. Normally, Lily did this work alone, but Dr. Chen thought it might help if we spent time together doing normal things. So far, it had just been uncomfortable. Every few minutes, Lily would look at me like she was waiting for something to happen. And every time she did, I felt the pressure to be someone I wasn’t anymore. "The border patrol reports go in the blue folder," Lily said quietly, giving me a stack of papers. I nodded and started sorting, trying to focus on the job instead of the awkward tension between us. But as we worked side by side, something strange began to happen. Without talking about it, we fell into a groove. She would hand me papers, and I would know exactly which box they belonged in. When she needed the stapler, I passed it to her before she asked. It was like we were dancing a dance we both knew the steps to, even though I couldn’t remember learning it. "You’re good at this," Lily said after we’d been working for an hour. "It’s just sorting papers," I answered. "No, I mean... you know where everything goes. You remember the filing system even though you don’t remember..." She trailed off, not finishing the sentence. Even though I don’t remember you, is what she meant. The words hung in the air between us. I looked down at my hands, shocked to realize she was right. Somehow, my fingers knew exactly how to order these reports. Like muscle memory, but for paperwork. "Maybe some things are harder to erase than others," I said carefully. We kept working, and the weird sense of rightness grew stronger. Not love - I still didn’t feel the butterflies or racing heart that everyone mentioned. But something else. Like puzzle parts clicking into place. When Lily reached across me to grab a pen, her shoulder brushed against mine. Again, that strange echo feeling hit me. This time, I didn’t pull away instantly. "Caleb?" Lily’s voice was soft, upbeat. "I don’t remember loving you," I said honestly, because I didn’t want to give her false hope. "But being here with you feels... right somehow. Like my body knows something my brain doesn’t." Tears filled her eyes, but she was smiling. "That’s more than I’ve felt from you since the shadows took our memories away." "What if it’s not enough?" I asked. "What if I never remember?" "Then we’ll figure out how to build something new," she said firmly. "Maybe it won’t be the same as before, but it could still be real." For the first time since losing my memories, I felt a tiny spark of hope. Maybe everyone was wrong. Maybe love wasn’t just about remembering the past. Maybe it could be about choosing to build a future together. We finished the filing and moved on to updating the pack member information. Again, without discussing it, we worked together easily. Lily would read names and information, and I would type it into the computer. She spoke in a rhythm that felt familiar, stopping exactly when I needed time to catch up. "How did we used to do this?" I asked during a break. "You would read while I typed," Lily said. "You said my handwriting was easier to read than the reports, and I said your typing was faster than mine." I looked at our current setup - exactly the opposite of what she’d explained. "So we switched roles." "Without planning it," she realized. "We just... adapted to what felt right now." That echo feeling was getting stronger. Like somewhere deep inside, a door was trying to open. Not enough to let memories through, but enough to let feeling leak in around the edges. "Lily," I started to say, but then the office door slammed open. Alpha Marcus burst in, his face pale with fear. "Where is everyone? The pack children - they’re all missing!" My blood turned cold. "What do you mean missing?" "They were playing in the field this morning. Now they’re gone. No trace, no smell trail, nothing." Marcus ran his hands through his hair. "It’s like they just vanished." Lily was already grabbing her coat. "How many children?" "Twelve. Ages five to ten." Marcus’s voice cracked. "Including little Emma, the one you helped deliver last year." Something angry and protective rose up in my chest. I didn’t know why, but the thought of those children in danger made me want to tear something apart. "We’ll find them," I said, surprising myself with how certain I sounded. Lily looked at me with wide eyes. "Caleb?" I didn’t know why I felt so strongly about those kids, but I did. Maybe it was another reminder of who I used to be, or maybe it was just who I was now. Either way, I was going to help bring them home. As we ran outside to join the search, Lily grabbed my hand. This time, the repeat feeling was so strong it almost knocked me over. Not a memory, but something deeper. A sense of teamwork, of being part of something bigger than myself. "Together?" she asked. "Together," I agreed. But as we ran toward the field, I caught sight of something that made my heart stop. There, carved into the trunk of a big oak tree, was a message written in what looked like dried blood: "The shadow wolves have your children. Come to Dead Man’s Canyon at sunset, alone, or they die. Tell no one, or you’ll find their bodies spread across the mountainside." Below the message, drawn in the same dark substance, was the symbol I recognized from Lily’s dreams - the mark of the shadow pack.

Chapter 84: The First Crack

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