Anastasia

I've been swimming through this place for days, trying to surface. It's happened a few times, but this time, I'm going to make it all the way. I'm going to grab onto that light and pull myself to it.

I open my eyes.

"You're awake! I can't believe it!" There's a stranger leaping up and down next to me, and I'm confused.

"Who are you?" I notice that I'm in some sort of room, not one I recognize. "Where am I?"

The stranger looks disappointed and sad. I wonder why. "Wait, I'll call your doctor."

Doctor? Oh, I must be in the Healer's clinic. I don't know the reason. My mind is completely blank.

The man leaves, and another comes in. I remember him from coming to the light before. I think he saved me.

"Ana, do you know who I am?" He asks, and I feel embarrassed when I have to shake my head.

"I'm sorry," I reply. If they weren't completely ruined, my cheeks would have turned red.

"You do recognize your name?" The man presses further. I wonder if he is trying to test something. "I'm Doctor Robert, by the way."

I remember flashes of a dream. My mother, hands, a fight. "Yeah, it's Ana."

"Excellent, that's good," he nods, writing something down on the clipboard in front of him. "Anything else? Friends, family, where you live?"

It's a shock to realize that I can't answer him on any of that. I haven't been thinking about it, but I don't know who I am past my name. For the rest, my mind seems to ram into a blank canvas. There's nothing there.

"No," I finally answer in a timid and quiet tone. "I don't know."

"Alright, well." He sighs, and looks me in the eye for the first time. I see sympathy in his gaze, but beyond that, an analytical curiosity. "It does look like the trauma has caused a level of amnesia in you."

"Trauma? I've been wondering why I'm here in the first place." I know that something happened, or the dull pain that lies just outside of my reach would not be there. I would be able to stand, and the burns that cover my skin would not exist.

But I don't know what it could be. A fire, obviously, but how, and where?

"There was a wildfire," Doctor Robert says calmly. "You were caught in it. I'm not too sure of the details, but I would suggest that you don't overwhelm yourself with information right now."

"Do you think I'll ever remember?" It's a fear that suddenly grips me tighter than I expected. "Or will it be like this for the rest of my life?"

"I'm not sure," he admits, and it makes the nerves flutter in my stomach. "We'll have to continue to monitor you during your recovery. Ask questions of the people who come to see you, and see if that will trigger any memories. Aside from that, it is basically a waiting game."

I don't really know what to answer to that, so I simply nod and say, "Okay."

"It's a lot to take in right now, but you just focus on getting better, alright?" Doctor Robert attempts a smile, but the clinical side of him continues to shine through. "You've survived a hell of an ordeal. I'll be honest, even I don't have a clue how you're still alive."

"I'll take that as a compliment," I laugh.

"There are people who would like to see you now, so I'll be off." He starts to walk towards the door. "We'll check on you again in an hour, see if there's any feeling in your feet."

Doctor Robert disappears, and I am curious to see the people that he mentioned. The man who looked excited to see me earlier enters, along with another guy, who instantly has my heart beating quickly.

The latter has dark hair and blue eyes, both blending with the mystery that lays within his movements. I am immediately curious about him. The first guy, on the other hand, looks at me with concern from above a scruffy beard and beneath uncombed hair.

"Do I know you?" I ask, and I see the sting in his eyes.

"I'm your Alpha," he says bluntly. I wonder if my question hurt him, but I'm not sure why it would. Maybe he's simply offended that I wouldn't recognize my own pack's Alpha. That would make sense. "Do you really not remember?"

High-ranking wolves have a tendency to care more about their image than anything else.

"No," I pump as much surface-level respect into my statement as I can. "But it must be an honor to have you here. Who's he?"

I want the conversation to turn to the other guy, who looks at me as if we'd been lovers once upon a time. Maybe we are. There's something inside me that is wildly attracted to him, almost as if it is instinct.

"Oh, hey, I'm Derek." He walks right up to me, triggering the flutter of butterflies in my stomach when he pulls his lips apart to smile at me. If he knows me, we're definitely more than friends.

The prospect excites me. "You're quite nice-looking, Derek. Would you stay here for a while, so I can enjoy the view?"

It feels stupid to say that, but almost natural at the same time. Is he my mate, or are we simply dating? It could be that we're nothing at all, but the chemistry between us is undeniable.

"Sure, let me just see the Alpha out, okay?" Derek winks at me, and leads the Alpha out with a distinct swagger in his step.

When he comes back, he comfortably sits down on the chair beside me.

"I have a silly question," I say, feeling embarrassed once more. "He didn't tell me his name, so… I don't want to offend him by not knowing if I ever see him again."

"Oh, it's Jacob, and you don't have to worry," Derek leans back, crossing his legs at the ankles and stretching his limbs. "He's actually pretty down-to-earth."

"Tell me, Derek," I ask in a tone that I hope is flirty. "How well do you know me?"

"Very," he laughs and leans forward. There is an almost irresistible smolder in his eyes that nearly makes me forget that I'm in a clinics bed.

"That sounds interesting." I try keep my voice level. "I hope you understand that I don't know you at all. We'll have to spend some time together before anything happens again."

He smiles thoughtfully and reaches out to touch my hand. It immediately causes a spark to fly through me.

"Of course, I'm not going to pressure you into anything that you don't want." He pulls his hand back, probably as a symbol of that. "But I think you'll like me. I'm sexy, and funny, and generally pretty cool for a Beta."

"You're a Beta?" I'm surprised that he seems so casual. In all honesty, I have no idea what rank I fall under. Something tells me that it's never been very high.

Right now, my wolf is slumbering, recovering from what happened to me. So, I can't even test her to try and figure it out.

"Yeah, Jacob's right hand," Derek says, almost longingly, like he wishes he was one step higher. That disappears quickly. "Anyway, it doesn't matter. The hierarchy has never been my favorite thing."

"Huh, that explains why I like you," I grin, before the dull pain starts to seep in through my skin again. My eye twitches.

"Are you okay?" Instantly, the joke in his eyes turns to concern. "Should I call someone?"

"No, it's fine," I assure him. "I think it might be time for my pain meds soon, though."

"Just tell me when I need to push a button." Derek's body slightly relaxes again. "I don't want you to hurt anymore. This whole thing sucks."

That makes me laugh again. "It really does, doesn't it?"

"I hope you get your memories back." This time, his voice betrays bits of sadness. "I mean, if you don't, that's fine. I'll sweep your feet out from under you again. It's just, there are a lot of moments that you've forgotten that I haven't."

"They'll come back," I answer. There's something nagging at me in the back of my mind. It flies out of my reach as soon as I'm close to catching it. "At least, I really think they will."

"You must be super bored in here," Derek mentions as his leg starts to shake. "You don't even have a television."

"I spend most of the time asleep, I mean…" I hesitate to point it out, but I do anyway. "I only just really woke up now."

"That's true, isn't it?" Derek looks really curious. "What were your dreams about?"

"I don't remember that much," I say earnestly, despite the flashes that come back to me now. "I think they were decent."

"Mm, then I'm happy," he sighs. "You usually have a ton of nightmares."

I can't imagine that. Sleeping is a great place to be. "Really?"

"Yeah. Don't really know what they're about, though." He's lying, and that makes me curious.

On the other hand, if the loss of my memories is keeping nightmares away from me, then I don't want to find out why. Despite the discomfort, the pain, I feel happy, as if it's something that I never knew before.

"You wanna see something cool?" Derek hops up from the chair, and I nod, intrigued and amused. He goes to stand in front of my bed and flips himself into a handstand, walking around the room that way until he gets me to laugh.

"Excuse me, young man, what do you think you're doing?" A nurse has appeared in the door, and she looks absolutely appalled. Her sudden arrival startles Derek, and he tumbles head-over-heels, landing on his ass on the floor.

This makes me laugh more than anything else. So much so that I can feel the rawness in my throat again, but I don't care. At least the mood isn't so somber anymore.

"Absolutely inappropriate," the nurse says as she continues to admonish Derek. He's red in the face, but I can see a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

The nurse shakes her head and walks towards me, clearly unimpressed with Derek's horrible behavior. He stands behind her, shrugging and sticking out his tongue at the back of her head. I chuckle again, but quickly gain a straight face.

I read her name tag. Rosetta. A fitting name for someone who is so strict.

"How are you feeling, Ana?" Just like the doctor, Rosetta is carrying a clipboard. She starts checking the various tubes that are attached to me.

"Bit of pain now, actually," I say hoarsely. All of the laughing seems to have torn the healing flesh of my throat open. It's worth it.

"Yes, it should be returning." I can't quite put my finger on why she sounds so unnatural when she speaks. "I'll give you something for that. Any other discomfort?"

She starts to move my legs. It doesn't bother me, since I can't feel any sensation in them at all.

"No," I put on a serious expression, despite Derek trying to get me to laugh by pulling silly faces in the background.

"Good, good." Rosetta pulls a couple of medications out of nowhere, and starts injecting them into my IV. I suppose she must have been carrying them with her. "This is going to make you drowsy. I suggest you kick the boy out and get some sleep."

"Mm, okay," I say noncommittally. "Thank you."

The dull pain recedes quickly, and my head begins to spin.

"I'll be back when you wake up for dinner," Rosetta promptly walks off, before I can ask her anything else.

"Will you stay until I fall asleep?" I ask of Derek, already feeling my eyelids becoming heavier.

He comes to sit next to me, holding my hand. "Of course."