Jacob

We walk into the room, and I feel my heart falling to see Ana like that. There are so many wires and tubes attached to her, and her body is covered in burns. She looks almost peaceful in her sleep, but I cannot imagine the kind of pain she must be in.

"She's stable for now, but she is still in what we'd call a critical condition," Doctor Robert starts explaining, without even greeting us. "Seventy percent of her body has suffered third degree burns. I'm not sure that she will wake up."

"She will," I insist past the lump in my throat. "Thank you, Robert."

He takes the hint, and leaves the room. Kierren and I move to either side of the bed.

"I can't believe that I wasn't there to save her," I say, wrapping a hand around the metal bars around her. "If I was, none of this would have happened."

"It's easy to blame yourself," Kierren answers calmly. "But you know that there was nothing you could do."

"How sure are you that she's going to survive?" I change the subject, since I'd rather grapple with everything that I'm feeling by myself. I respect Kierren, but he's essentially a stranger to me.

"I'm not," he says. "I'm hoping as much as you are, trust me. In fact, I think I'm going to stay in town for a while, if you'll have me."

"I would be a monster to say no." I sit down in the seat beside Ana's bed. "You're welcome to stay in my home. I'm not going anywhere."

"At least let me get you something to eat," Kierren offers, already walking to the door. "You must be starving after the day you've had."

I don't reply, but I decide that I'll eat if he brings something. For now, I'll simply sit here. I don't know if Ana can pick up on my presence, but it doesn't matter. If she wakes up, I have to be here.

"Please, come back to me," I whisper to Ana, and her eyes flutter as I say that. It makes me feel hopeful. "I can't lose anyone else."

The night passes over into day. Kierren brings food and leaves again. At some point, I fall asleep. When I open my eyes, Ana isn't in her bed. A nurse is pulling the sheets off.

I freeze. "Where is she?"

"Don't worry." The nurse turns to smile at me. "They've taken her to get a medicated bath. Doctor Robert says she might wake up sooner than we think. It's incredible, the way her body is responding to treatment."

"Seriously?" I can't help but smile for a moment. "That's good news."

"Mm." She continues her duties, and I sit back in the chair.

I still blame myself for happened. That Kierren was the one who saved her and not me. I don't understand why she was there in the first place. She should have been at my house.

Actually, no. She should have been at the Alpha's Hunt with me. She is an Alpha, after all, even if the rest of our pack does not know that. Her wolf would stand up against all of them. She is so much stronger than I thought.

Is Kierren right? Am I actually in love with her? Why do I still want to deny that?

I know that she wasn't responsible for Gisele's death. Back then, I wanted to blame her, so that I wouldn't feel guilty myself. Like I do now.

It's not her fault. I should have been faster, should have followed them. If I was there, Gisele could have made it. If I was there, Ana would not be in this condition.

I wait another half an hour before they bring her back. Her body is limp, but her breaths are even now, and no one seems to be rushing around her. That's a good sign.

"Did you have a good bath?" I ask jokingly, even though I know she won't answer. It's one way for me to cope with seeing her like this. Besides, Robert had told me that she might hear when I talk to her, and it might help.

All I want is for her to answer me back.

"Alpha, you need to eat." Robert says when he comes to check on her. "She is making remarkable progress. Fifteen minutes won't make a difference."

"I'm not leaving," I insist, and he sighs.

"Alright, then I will send someone to you."

For most of the day, I sit with Ana, talking, telling her stories. At one point, I hold her hand. I could swear that her eyes opened slightly, and that she sees me there. It might be my imagination, but I don't care.

"I can't wait to see you again," I say, gently squeezing her hand. "The world will be whole when you come back."

Two more days of barely any sleep go by. I sometimes get up to stretch, or go to the bathroom. For the most part, however, I spend my time in Ana's room. Kierren comes to see her, and to update me on what's happening in town. The fire has died down.

I send orders with him for Kimon, Derek, and other guard leaders.

On the fourth day, I am awoken from my slumber by a throaty, dry whisper.

"I'm so thirsty."

It makes me jump up from the seat.

"You're awake!" I almost yell when I see the emerald glimmer of Ana's eyes in front of me. She seems confused, but she's there. "I can't believe it!"

"Who… who are you?" She asks, immediately making my heart fall again. "Where am I?"

"Wait, I'll call your doctor," I answer, unable to entirely process what is happening. I press the button to call Robert in.

"Oh, will you look at that!" He exclaims when he enters the room half a minute later. "Welcome back, Anastasia."

"What's going on?" Her questions are insistent. She seems to be trying to push herself up on the bed, but Robert keeps her down with a hand on her shoulder.

"You need to rest, dear," he explains. "You've been severely injured."

"She doesn't remember me," I say to him, defeated.

"Hmm," Robert nods slowly. "Could you wait outside? I'll have to do some tests."

I honor his request, and go to pace in the hallway. I have to hope that Ana will get her memory back, and that it's just the medication that's confusing her. If she doesn't, then it could be like I've lost her anyway.

"Hey, Jacob." I look up, and see Derek standing a few feet from me. He seems friendly, but upset about something. I'm surprised that he's here.

"Derek?" I say as I'm completely confused. "Uh, have you come to see Ana?"

"Alpha Kierren said that you've been here all week," he answers with a shrug. "Thought I'd come in and relieve you."

"Relieve me?" I shake my head. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Oh, yes, you are," Derek has a hand on my shoulder before I can blink my eyes. "You need a shower. Proper sleep. New clothes. Honestly, man, you reek."

"She woke up," I reply. "I can't leave now."

"She did?" Derek seems happy enough about that, but almost as if she's a far-away family member. "That's great."

"Sort of," I sigh and run a hair through my greasy hair. "She doesn't remember me."

"Oh, man, that sucks."

"Why do you look so unhappy?" I still do not feel ready to share my emotions. I'd prefer to talk about anything else while I wait for Robert's results.

"Yeah, I've had a rough week." Derek leans back against the wall as he releases a pent-up breath. "Medeia broke up with me."

"What?" It's not news that I expected. "Why?"

Derek wrings his hands together and I see the anger in his expression. "She found her mate at the Alpha's Hunt. Dropped me like a hot potato. It's like the last few years didn't mean anything to her."

I want to say that I'm sorry, but even that seems like a trivial problem compared to what Ana's going through. Some part of me thinks that he deserves this after what he's done to her.

"Sucks," is all that I eventually get out.

"I know that it's what I deserve," Derek admits, surprising me. "I just didn't see it coming. I guess I thought she'd reject her mate if she ever found him, instead of me."

"Well, Medeia is unpredictable," I answer. It's the kind of thing that she would do, but I don't add that.

The door behind me opens, and I'm on pins and needles again. Robert walks out with a frown, tapping a pen on the clipboard that he is holding.

"So, good news is that she's awake and I don't think her condition will worsen again," he starts when he sees me. "The bad news is that it's not the medication confusing her. She has amnesia."

"Seriously?" Derek seems invested in that all of a sudden. I wonder if he's going to try and use that to his advantage. I don't think Derek is that kind of guy, but after Medeia broke up with him, it seems natural that he will yearn for his old mate.

"We'll have to see how it goes," Robert goes on. "Perhaps her memory will come back. It's too early to determine."

"So, what do we do?" I hate feeling so helpless. I want to shout my frustrations to the sky, and it's difficult to keep my voice calm.

"For now, I suggest you speak with her, try and see how much she can actually remember," Robert says as he puts his hand in the pocket of his overcoat. "Don't push her, and don't upset her. Honestly, Alpha Jacob, I would suggest you go home to take a shower. She'll be fine here."

With that, he walks off, probably to tend to another of his patients. I am in a hurry to get back into the room. If she doesn't remember, then I have to remind her of who she is. I decide that I will not say anything about Gisele.

It would be better if she could forget that.

"Can I come?" Derek asks, and I can't think of a reason to refuse.

"Sure," I say as I walk back in, where Ana is staring at me with curious and confused eyes.

"Do I know you?" She asks, and the question stings me.

"I'm your Alpha," I answer, thinking that it might be better not to dump everything on her all at once. "Do you really not remember me?"

"No, but it must be an honor to have you here," she says, with a respect that I've never heard from her. As if she's anyone else in town. "Who's he?"

Her eyes light up when she sees Derek, much more than when she first saw me.

"Oh, hey, I'm Derek." He walks right up to the side of her bed, and she smiles at him. I realize immediately that there must be some residual effect of their mating bond still tugging at her heartstrings.

I fight to keep the jealousy down.

"You're quite nice-looking, Derek," Ana laughs, and the fight becomes harder. "Would you stay here for a while, so I can enjoy the view?"

I have to leave. My wolf is furious at the way she is looking at him. She doesn't even try to talk to me again. She only has eyes for Derek.

"Sure, let me just see the Alpha out, okay?" Derek seems to already be in a better mood than he was earlier.

Maybe I should let them rekindle some kind of romance. He is supposed to be her fated mate, after all.

Outside, Derek pats me on the shoulder. "I'll be here until you get back, okay? Get yourself cleaned up."

"Yeah, whatever." I try to keep the envy out of my voice and fail. "Just make sure that she's alright."