RUN!!!

Sera’s wolf tore through the forest, branches whipping past her face as she led the border patrol deeper into Silvercrest territory. The rogue’s scent was fresh and growing stronger with every stride. Her enforcers flanked her on both sides, their growls vibrating through the predawn darkness.

Three years. Three years of going through the motions, of pretending she could still lead, of waking up every morning wishing she hadn’t. Three years since Marcus died and took half her soul with him.

The rogue broke from cover fifty yards ahead, a massive gray wolf that moved with deadly precision. Too precise for a mindless wanderer. This wolf had training. Military training.

Sera’s alpha command rippled through the bond connecting her to her enforcers. Circle. Contain. Do not kill unless necessary.

They moved as one, cutting off escape routes, herding the rogue toward a natural clearing where rock formations would limit his options. The rogue’s head swiveled, calculating, and Sera saw the moment he realized he was trapped.

He didn’t run. He turned to face them.

That should have been her first warning.

Sera shifted to human form, her enforcers maintaining their wolf shapes around her in a loose circle. The rogue remained in wolf form, hackles raised, golden eyes fixed on her with an intensity that made her skin prickle.

“Shift,” she commanded, her voice hoarse from disuse. She barely recognized it anymore. “You’re on Silvercrest land without permission. Shift and explain yourself, or my enforcers will force the issue.”

The rogue’s lips pulled back from his teeth. Not quite a snarl. Something else. Something that looked almost like… recognition?

Impossible.

Then he shifted, and Sera’s world stopped.

No.

No.

Marcus stood before her. Her Marcus. Naked, scarred, very much alive, and staring at her like she was a stranger.

The mate bond that had been dead and cold for three years suddenly ignited. Fire raced through her veins, the connection slamming back into place with such force that Sera staggered. Her enforcers shifted immediately, surrounding her, but she barely noticed.

“Marcus?” Her voice broke on his name.

He flinched. Actually, I flinched away from her. “How do you know that name?”

The question hit her like a physical blow. Sera’s legs buckled, and strong hands caught her head enforcer, Jensen. She pushed him away, her eyes never leaving Marcus’s face.

“How do I…” She couldn’t breathe. “Marcus, it’s me. It’s Sera. Your mate.”

Confusion clouded his features. He pressed the heel of his hand against his temple, his face contorting in pain. “I don’t… I can’t…”

“You died.” The words came out as an accusation. “Three years ago. I felt our bond break. I felt you die.”

“I don’t know you.” Marcus’s voice was raw, desperate. “But I feel…” He looked at her then, really looked at her, and the mate bond pulsed between them with enough force that several of her enforcers gasped. “Why do I feel like I’m supposed to know you?”

Before Sera could respond, the sound of additional wolves approaching made her tense. She knew that scent.

Dorian.

Her second-in-command burst into the clearing in wolf form, flanked by his personal guard. He shifted immediately, his handsome face arranged in an expression of shocked concern that would have been convincing if Sera hadn’t been watching his eyes.

For just a fraction of a second, less than a heartbeat, Dorian’s gaze met Marcus’s, and something passed between them. Something cold and calculating that made Sera’s blood freeze.

Then the mask slid into place, and Dorian rushed forward. “Sera! Are you hurt? When I heard there was a rogue…” He stopped dead, staring at Marcus. “By the Moon Goddess. It can’t be.”

“You know him?” Sera’s voice was sharp.

“Know him?” Dorian’s laugh sounded genuinely amazed. “Sera, that’s Marcus. Your Marcus. But he’s been dead for three years. How is this possible?”

Marcus swayed on his feet, still clutching his head. “Stop. Everyone stops. I don’t know any of you. I don’t remember…” His knees buckled.

Sera moved without thinking, catching him before he hit the ground. The moment their skin connected, the mate bond roared to life with such intensity that Marcus cried out. Images flashed through their connection, fragmented and painful. A dark room. Cold metal. Pain. So much pain. And underneath it all, a voice.

Forget her. Forget everything. You belong to me now.

Marcus convulsed in her arms, his eyes rolling back. Sera looked up at Dorian, who was already on his radio calling for medical support.

“Get Luna,” Sera commanded. “Get my sister here now.”

“Already done.” Dorian crouched beside her, reaching out as if to help, but Sera bared her teeth at him instinctively. He pulled back, hands raised. “Sera, we need to get him to the pack house. Whatever happened to him, Luna will need her equipment too…”

“Don’t touch him.” The words came out as a growl. Three years of grief, of barely functioning, of wishing she were dead. And all of it was burning away in the face of this impossible reality. Marcus was alive. Alive and in her arms, and something was wrong.

And Dorian knew something. She’d seen it in his eyes.

Jensen shifted back to human form. “Alpha, we need to secure the rogue…”

“His name is Marcus Stone,” Sera snapped. “He’s my mate and your former head enforcer. Show some respect.”

“But ma’am, we buried…”

“An empty coffin. Apparently.” Sera looked down at Marcus’s unconscious face. Even scarred and thin, even with his hair longer and wild, even without recognition in his eyes, he was still hers. Still beautiful. Still alive.

The bond pulsed weakly between them, like a heart trying to remember how to beat.

“What happened to you?” she whispered.

Dorian’s hand landed on her shoulder, and every instinct in her body screamed wrong. She looked up at him, really looked at him for the first time in three years. He was her second, her trusted advisor, the man who’d kept her pack running when she’d been too broken to function.

So why did his touch feel like a threat?

“Let’s get him to safety first,” Dorian said softly. “Then we’ll figure out what happened. I promise you, Sera, we’ll get to the bottom of this.”

The medical team arrived with a stretcher. Sera refused to let go of Marcus as they loaded him, climbing into the vehicle beside him. Through the window, she watched Dorian speaking into his radio, his expression unreadable.

Luna was waiting at the pack house, her healer’s bag already in hand and her face pale with shock. “Is it really…”

“It’s him.” Sera’s voice broke. “Luna, it’s really him.”

Her sister’s eyes filled with tears, but her hands were steady as she began her examination. Sera stood back, giving her room to work, but kept her hand wrapped around Marcus’s.

The bond thrummed between them, weak and damaged, but still there. Alive.

Luna’s face grew grimmer with each test. Finally, she looked up, her expression a mixture of rage and horror. “Sera, his neural pathways have been tampered with. Magically and chemically. Someone didn’t just erase his memories. They shredded them.”

“Can you fix it?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never seen anything like this.” Luna’s hands trembled as she pulled out another vial. “But Sera, this wasn’t an accident. Someone did this to him deliberately. Someone with resources and knowledge and…”

The door opened, and Dorian walked in. “How is he?”

Luna’s jaw tightened, but she said nothing, turning back to her patient.

Sera watched Dorian approach the bed, watched the way his eyes tracked over Marcus’s unconscious form. Cataloguing. Assessing.

Hunting.

The word popped into her head unbidden, and once there, she couldn’t shake it.

“Dorian,” she said softly. “What do you know about this?”

He looked at her, surprise written across his face. “What? Sera, I’m as shocked as you are. Marcus was my friend too. Seeing him like this…”

“You didn’t look surprised in the forest. Not really. You looked…” She searched for the word. “Prepared.”

“I was prepared to protect my alpha from a rogue threat.” Dorian’s voice was gentle, patient. The same voice he’d used for three years while she fell apart. “Sera, I know you’re overwhelmed right now. Why don’t you let Luna work, and we can discuss?

“Get out.”

Silence filled the room.

“Sera…”

“I said get out.” She didn’t raise her voice. I didn't need to. The alpha command rolled through her words like thunder. “Now.”

Dorian’s eyes flashed with something dark before he nodded and left. The door clicked shut behind him.

Luna let out a shaky breath. “Thank the Goddess. Sera, I need to tell you something. Something I should have told you months ago.”

Sera’s blood went cold. “What?”

“I’ve seen him before.” Luna’s voice was barely a whisper. “Marcus. I’ve been treating a patient in the borderlands. A rogue with no memory who kept having seizures. I recognized him two months ago, but…” Tears spilled down her cheeks. “Dorian found out. He said if I told you, he’d have you declared unfit to lead. He said you couldn’t handle more trauma. He said…”

“He threatened you.” Sera’s voice was dead calm.

Luna nodded, sobbing. “I’m so sorry. I was trying to protect you and…”

“Luna.” Sera crossed to her sister and pulled her into a fierce embrace. “It’s not your fault. However, we need to determine what’s happening. Fast.”

Because Marcus was alive, and someone had stolen three years of their life together.

And Sera had an excellent idea who that someone might be.